Defence and security company Saab has received the first order for its HUD-system following flight evaluations by the US Army Aviation end customer with the system installed on a Blackhawk helicopter.

Saab secured the order in cooperation with the contract prime, BAE Systems Inc. for the U.S. Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) pursuit. The customer will now perform further flight tests using the system on the Blackhawk as well as other helicopter platforms. The target is to increase safety while flying at low levels and during take-off and landing in degraded visual environments (DVE).

Breaking new ground

“The HUD is a product for which Saab is in the front line on the market, breaking new ground”, says Thomas Mörth from Saab’s business area Electronic Defence Systems.

Saab North America’s Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Mr. Wes Walters continues, “Though relatively small in terms of order value, this first order represents a significant step for Saab. Not only with the launch of yet another new and innovative product from our company, but also that the launch is in the United States.”

Enhancing situational awareness

Saab’s HUD (RIGS) is an advanced, light-weight integrated head up display, which improves safety during all phases of flight. With its high resolution and excellent optical quality, the HUD provides crisp and clear flight information enabling head-up/eyes-out operations, significantly enhancing situational awareness and flight safety. This means the system is well suited for situations where vision is limited, for example in adverse weather conditions or while fire fighting.

Saab is developing the HUD system with the capability and integrity to ensure compatibility with current and future enhanced flight vision system (EFVS) operations. The system is designed to increase flight safety for end users including police forces, fire protection services and coastal protection agencies.

Saab new HUD system is designed to be compatible with a wide range of helicopters and small aircraft. Saab’s business area Electronic Defence Systems has a solid background producing HUD and optical systems such as the HeliTOW sighting system.