GENOA, Italy, April 12 (UPI) -- An Italian-made system that provides an all-direction view to helicopter crews has been selected for evaluation by Australia.
Selex ES has said the selection of its VigilX enhanced vision system was made by the Australian Defense Science & Technology Organization which is looking at an integrated visual solution for military helicopters operating in degraded visual environments.
"The Australian Defense Force sees the development of degraded visual environment capabilities as being crucial to increasing aircrew safety and survivability in the hazardous missions carried out by the military," said Maj. Ryan Maher of the Australian Department of Defense's Capability Development Group. "Additionally, this technology will provide aircrew with a distinct tactical advantage on the battlefield."
The VigilX system marries feeds from cameras – supplemented by 3D conformal symbology -- situated around an aircraft to create a single integrated panoramic image. The image can be viewed by aircraft crews on helmet- mounted displays.
The contract from DSTO will be primed by Rheinmetall Simulation Australia Pty Ltd, Selex said but additional details were not disclosed.
