BAE Systems to Modernize Head-up Displays for UAE F-16 Fleet (Video)

By
Tammy Waitt
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Using the company’s Digital Light Engine technology, BAE Systems will modernize head-up displays on F-16 aircraft for the United Arab Emirates. (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)
Using the company’s Digital Light Engine technology, BAE Systems will modernize head-up displays on F-16 aircraft for the United Arab Emirates. (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)

BAE Systems has been chosen by Lockheed Martin to modernize head-up displays (HUD) on F-16 aircraft for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, to replace the fleet’s analog system with advanced digital technology.

The HUD, which sits directly in a pilot’s line of sight, is a see-through display that presents real-time, flight-critical information without obstructing his or her view of the outside world.

BAE Systems will use its cutting-edge Digital Light Engine (DLE) technology to implement a HUD upgrade that integrates seamlessly into the F-16’s existing HUD space, requiring no changes to the aircraft, cabling, or computing.

(Learn More. Through developing and implementing the world’s first head-up display (HUD), BAE Systems, along with Cintel, piloted the future of navigation dashboards and changed the way military pilots fly forever. Courtesy of BAE Systems and YouTube)

This advancement will remove the outdated cathode ray tube image source and replace it with a digital projector.

A head-up display or HUD, as it’s widely known, is a see-through display that sits directly in a pilot’s line of sight, significantly increasing their situational awareness. The system presents real-time, essential flight information overlaid onto a view of the outside world, allowing pilots to digest vital data with a ‘head-up, eyes-out’ approach. (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)
A head-up display or HUD, as it’s widely known, is a see-through display that sits directly in a pilot’s line of sight, significantly increasing their situational awareness. The system presents real-time, essential flight information overlaid onto a view of the outside world, allowing pilots to digest vital data with a ‘head-up, eyes-out’ approach. (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)

“To the naked eye, the pilot sees no difference in performance when our DLE HUD is installed,” explains Andy Humphries, director of Advanced Displays at BAE Systems.

“It retains the existing optics, video camera, and control panel.”

“The real difference is the significant cost savings our customer will experience over the product’s life cycle as a result of reduced maintenance and spares requirements.”

The fully digital system has the potential to reduce life-cycle costs by 20 percent and offers at least four times the reliability of legacy analog systems.

The DLE HUD features high-resolution symbology that is viewable under any flight condition, and it is designed to accommodate future advancements in symbology and video.

This contract underpins BAE Systems’ world-class position as a premier provider of high-integrity aircraft displays.

In 2017, the DLE technology was selected to modernize the F-22 HUD for the U.S. Air Force.

The company provided the original analog HUDs for both the F-16 and F-22 aircraft.

DLE HUD (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)
DLE HUD (Image courtesy of BAE Systems)

BAE Systems has been a leader in HUD development and production for more than 60 years, a position gained through continuous investment in technology and innovation.

To date, the company has produced more than 15,000 head-up displays that have been in service on more than 50 different aircraft types in more than 50 countries around the world.

BAE Systems’ displays perform on some of the most advanced and demanding military aircraft around the world.

 

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