Elbit to Demonstrate Upgraded Counter-DVE Solution for CV-22 Osprey

Elbit Systems of America will demonstrate its upgraded Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) technology aboard a US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft at Hulbert Field in Florida

Elbit to Demonstrate Upgraded Counter-DVE Solution for CV-22 Osprey

An MV-22 demonstrates the effect of brownout during a training sortie in Arizona. The USAF is trialing a helmet-mounted solution for crews of AFSOC’s CV-22 platforms. (Source: US DoD)

Elbit Systems of America is to demonstrate its upgraded Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) technology aboard a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, the US military has disclosed.

A USD748,609 contract for a real-world evaluation of the company’s DVE equipment aboard a V-22 was announced by the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in late January.

According to the notification, the trials will take place aboard a US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) CV-22 at Hulbert Field in Florida, and have been given the go-ahead after a successful simulator demonstration that took place in late 2016.

Speaking to Jane’s, a company spokesperson said, "Elbit Systems of America is under contract to Boeing to supply the Color Helmet Mounted Display [CHMD] with tracker for the Air Force Special Operations CV-22 community. The contract to demonstrate the CV-22 Synthetic Vision System [SVS]/Degraded Visual Environment was awarded to Elbit Systems of America. The simulator test for this new capability was successfully completed in November 2016, [and] as a result of this successful test, the system has been approved for demonstration on actual SVS/DVE flights in 2018."

Elbit’s color HMD is based on its Aviator Night-Vision Imaging System/Head-Up Display (ANVIS/HUD) system. It couples the company’s Display and Tracking System technology with new color symbology, allowing the pilots to fly "heads up and eyes out." As noted by the company spokesperson, the new trials are for an upgraded CHMD system that provides 3D conformal symbology and an integrated head-tracked HMD system.

"This increases mission effectiveness and improved safety for CV-22 pilots by having situational awareness information visible while they look outside the cockpit, at any angle," he said, adding, "Advances in computing abilities allow us to fuse real-world imagery with computer-generated imagery [i.e., SVS] and symbology for improved pilot situational awareness, availability of mission-critical information, and overall flight safety."

[Source: Jane's]