Lockheed Martin has demonstrated a pilot visual system aboard a Bell Helicopter-built V-280 Valor tiltrotor during a series of flights that occurred in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Piloted Distributed Aperture Sensor delivered simultaneous coverage to multiple independent displays and captured spherical infrared images in real time as the aircraft operated at a high speed above tactical environments, Lockheed said Monday.
PDAS is designed to generate high-resolution, 360-degree imagery for situational awareness and equipped with six infrared sensors that can connect to aircrew helmets via an open architecture processor.
Rita Flaherty, vice president of strategy and business development at Lockheed, said the technology will work to help military aircrews detect and counter incoming threats.
The company seeks to update the system to generate imagery that would support up to six users such as pilots who operate other aircraft as well as ground mission commanders.