Thales will supply Scorpion HMD kits to equip F-16 combat aircraft fleet. Credit: US Air Force photo by Tech Sgt Alexandre Montes.

Thales has received an order to supply its Scorpion Helmet Mounted Displays (HMD) for the US Air National Guard’s F-16 Falcon combat aircraft fleet.

The initial order has been placed under the Nato Support & Procurement Agency’s Aviation programme.

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The contract under the programme aims to facilitate the procurement of Scorpion HMD and other associated equipment by Nato nations.

It will allow the replacement of the existing Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), without any platform modifications.

Under the contract, the company will provide Scorpion retrofit kits for the Air National Guard’s F-16 multirole fighter block 40 and 50 aircraft.

Once equipped, the new Scorpion systems will become the standard HMD solution for the entire F-16 block 30, 40 and 50 aircraft fleet across the Air National Guard and US Air Force (USAF) Reserve.

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Thales’ Scorpion HMD system was also chosen for the A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft fleet in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

Thales Defence & Security president and CEO Mike Sheehan said: “Moving their entire fleet of F-16s to Scorpion is a testament to the capability, quality, and low lifecycle costs that Scorpion provides the war fighters and the Air Guard.

“With Scorpion’s superior situational awareness, featuring a single display that provides colour symbology and allows for the use of unmodified night-vision goggles, it is unmatched in the HMD marketspace.

“Furthermore, we can provide the same upgrade to any customer flying a JHMCS-equipped aircraft.”

Scorpion HMD system will provide the F-16 pilots enhanced situational awareness along with motion-tracking accuracy, using Scorpion’s Hybrid Optically based Inertial Tracker (HObIT).

Besides, Thales’ Scorpion HMD is ejection safety certified for use on all the F-16 aircraft configurations.

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