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Thales successfully tests its TopOwl helmet onboard military transport aircraft

06 November 2007

Neuilly sur Seine, 6 November 2007 – Thales announces today that its TopOwl Helmet-Mounted Display System has successfully completed a series of flight tests on-board military transport aircraft in France.

Tests were carried out using Thales's highly successful TopOwl-H Helmet Mounted Sight and Display, originally designed for helicopter pilots. TopOwl is based on a unique concept incorporating a night vision system with a 100% overlapped projection of a binocular image on the visor. Projecting an image on to the visor allows the pilot to see through the intensified image, identifying obstacles with greater accuracy and improving overall perception of the aircraft's environment.

Given the operational advantages provided by TopOwl, in addition to the difficulty of night flying, it was decided to assess the potential use of the TopOwl helmet on tactical transport aircraft.

The tests at the Toulouse-Francazal air base were organised in May and June by French Air Force Staff and the military flight test centres CEV and CEAM to evaluate the night vision function of TopOwl on C-160 Transall aircraft.

The tests aimed at gaining French defence procurement agency clearance for the Helmet-Mounted Display System by evaluating its suitability for military transport aircraft and its contribution to flight safety, with a view to qualification on the A400M for night missions.

Air Force and CEV aircrews carried out the test flights under operational conditions at night, validating the use of the TopOwl system for all the tasks performed by pilots of tactical transport aircraft.

Notes to Editors
Thales is designer and supplier of TopOwl, the most advanced Helicopter piloting Helmet mounted Display system available to date. TopOwl is currently in full-scale production and Thales has delivered more than 400 systems to both US and international customers. TopOwl has been selected by 15 nations including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Finland, Norway, USA, Belgium, Oman and the Netherlands. More than 1500 will be delivered over the next 10 years for those programs for which TopOwl is already selected.

About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales's leading-edge technology is supported by 22 000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group's civil and military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of € 12 billion.