The primary surface is a chemically tempered glass substrate. On the front of the integrated MFD assembly is the pilot interface module that contains multiple pieces, which are combined to provide the reflective surface for the projection system. These elements all plug into a backplane, or interconnect, that interfaces with the aircraft. Collins designed and will build the display processor. The total package Collins will provide for the F-35 includes the two 8-by-10-inch MFDs, a pilot interface module, and, for each display, a low-voltage power supply, lamp, cooling fan and igniter, and display processor-used to process all display management functions. "And if you take a look at projection displays compared to LCDs, you find this technology is coming to market and is going to be successful in fighter cockpits in a much shorter time span than LCDs ever were," he says. For the F-35, "more advanced, fourth-generation technology is being used," Frey says. However, future Boeing F/A-18 avionics block builds do not call for a projection display system.Īlthough not originally slated for the Lockheed Martin F/A-22, the Air Force's new air superiority fighter, a projection display unit has replaced the aircraft's original 8-by-8-inch, centrally mounted tactical LCD display. Rockwell Collins flew its first projection display system-a 6-by-6-inch reflective micro-LCD, projection-based "smart display"-on an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in May 2002. But only recently has this technology been chosen by U.S. Currently, Thales Avionics provides projection-based head-up displays (HUDs) for Mirage and Rafale fighters and Airbus aircraft, as well as projection helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) for helicopters. It improves sunlight readability by a factor of two to three over conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) units in other fighters, Frey claims.Īvionics projection display technology originated in the 1980s, and some prototype displays were flown in several European aircraft. Another performance advantage touted for the projection display is brightness. Frey heads a team that includes nine cockpit engineering disciplines, ranging from ejection seats to flight controls. "A lot of it has to do with how efficiently we have set it up for the pilots to use," he says. "In our simulations, this is the first cockpit I have worked on where the pilots haven't asked for more display area," claims Frey, who also worked on the F/A-22 cockpit. Employing touch screens (the first on a large-format display) and voice recognition, the team has been able to integrate many cockpit control functions typically found on switches into the displays themselves. "And we're at least 100 pounds lighter because of the way we've integrated our cockpit," Frey maintains. Using "reflective light" technology borrowed from the commercial TV industry, the Lockheed-Collins team is providing two adjacent 8-by-10-inch display surfaces built as one 8-by-20-inch viewing area-the largest display area in a fighter aircraft to date. Rockwell Collins, in San Jose, Calif.-formerly Kaiser Aerospace prior to its acquisition in 2000-was chosen to provide the F-35's multifunction display system (MFDS). "In the late '90s, we made a strategic decision that projection display technology was going to be a discriminator in cockpit advancement when it came to the mid-2000s," says Tom Frey, F-35 pilot systems integrated product team (IPT) lead for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. Air Force (USAF), Navy and Marines (USMC), and the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. Almost 2,600 of the aircraft are slated for the U.S. The F-35 is to be produced in three variants-conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier-based, and short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL). and UK defense departments are moving ahead with plans to fly 15 projection display-equipped fighters beginning in the summer of 2006 in the JSF program's system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. Prime contractor Lockheed Martin and avionics provider Rockwell Collins are placing a calculated bet that their new flight deck projection display technology for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will result in a better, lighter and less expensive aircraft.Īnd despite some doubts from other quarters, the U.S.
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