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What is a helmet-mounted display?
A helmet-mounted display or HMD, as it’s commonly known, is a see-through display that’s projected directly onto the inside of a pilot’s visor. Similar to a head-up display, a HMD provides its user with significant situational awareness by projecting real-time, critical information overlaid onto their view of the outside world.
The world’s most advanced helmet-mounted display
The Striker II HMD builds on the already well-established Striker HMD, which has decades of combat-proven experience on Typhoon and Gripen C/D aircraft. A full-colour solution, Striker II provides fixed- and rotary-wing pilots with remarkable situational awareness, next generation night vision, 3D audio and target tracking technology; all within a fully integrated visor-projected HMD system.
The highly sophisticated Striker II lets pilots see through the body of the aircraft via a distributed aperture system, giving them a vital advantage when it comes to split-second decision making. Using optical sensors embedded in the aircraft, Striker II immediately calculates the pilot’s exact head position and angle. This means no matter where the pilot is looking, Striker II displays accurate targeting information and symbology, with ‘near zero’ latency.
Features & benefits
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Integrated night vision: All the capability, all the time
Striker II introduces a high-performance, digital night vision camera into the helmet, creating a truly 24/7 capable HMD and removing the need for heavy and obtrusive night vision goggles. The night view is captured by the integrated camera, processed and projected onto the inside of the visor — displaying a digital image to the pilot in real time. With this seamless day-to-night capability, there is no trade-off between the situational awareness provided by the visor-projected display and the acuity of the night vision goggles.
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Colour symbology: A mission critical introduction
In addition to the integrated night vision, Striker II now enables the use of colour symbology. Although it may seem like a simple addition, the ability to display colours — other than the typical monochrome green — greatly reduces a pilot’s workload. In a high-pressure combat environment, being able to see an enemy in red symbology, and friendlies in blue, can become a critical factor in the success of a mission. The cutting-edge tracking system ensures the pilot’s exact head position and the aircraft’s computer system are constantly in sync with one another, meaning the system can position symbology onto the visor that is perfectly aligned with the real world.
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Picture-in-picture technology
Similar to today’s most advanced televisions, Striker II supports picture-in-picture technology. This involves displaying imagery — separate to that of the main display — in a small offset window. The separate feed of data is large enough to digest, however placed intelligently on the main display so as to not detract from the essential flight information. This capability proves invaluable to pilots, whether they’re closing in on a target or surveying an area of interest. The pilot is also able to receive a live video feed to this window fed by UAV’s or support on the ground via datalink. This is a vital asset in situations where time is of the essence and decisions need to be made quickly.
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Significantly lighter than today’s HMD/NVG solutions
Striker II is significantly lighter than today’s current HMD/NVG solutions, which means pilots can fly longer missions with reduced fatigue. The system also offers a better balance and centre of gravity with its integrated night vision camera configuration — increasing comfort during high G-level manoeuvres on fixed-wing platforms and significantly reducing neck loads for extended rotary-wing operations. Every helmet fit is tailored to ensure perfect weight distribution for each pilot; with the inner lining manufactured to the exact shape of the wearer’s head, finished with Italian leather.
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3D Audio and active noise reduction
A unique feature of Striker II is its 3D audio capability, paired with intelligent active noise reduction (ANR). The 3D audio provides the pilot with complete 360-degree directional audio, allowing them to hear the threat relevant to their position while also seeing it visually through colour symbology. The pilot can even tailor the direction of where specific communications come from. For example, they may want ground communications to sound as if it’s originating from below the aircraft and friendly forces to be audible from above. ANR greatly increases the audio clarity delivered to the wearer by significantly reducing noise developed from the platform or the environment. The noise reduction technology supports the loudest of platforms and, by reducing airborne and acoustically transmitted noise, pilots are able to distinguish and interpret what’s most important to their mission.

For today and tomorrow — no matter the platform
Striker II has been specifically designed to allow for ease of integration across a wide range of both rotary- and fixed-wing platforms. It’s compatible with aircraft that have analogue display drive electronics, via a low latency conversion device, and has a digital interface for aircraft with digital display drives. The comprehensive list of features work together seamlessly to provide pilots with unmatched awareness. Most importantly, the information is displayed in an intuitive way, allowing for a natural response in what can be the most challenging and unnatural of environments.