Applying Virtual Environment Technology to the Design of Fighter Aircraft Cockpits: Pilot Performance and Situation Awareness in a Simulated Air Combat Task

1994 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. Hettinger ◽  
W. Todd Nelson ◽  
Michael W. Haas
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Current Experiment ◽  
Pilot Performance ◽  
Fighter Aircraft ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
Air Combat ◽  
To Receive ◽  
The U.S

The use of multi-sensory displays for fighter aircraft cockpits is being investigated at the U.S. Air Force's Armstrong Laboratory as a means of enhancing pilot performance. The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of employing such displays on the performance of a simulated air combat task. Each of four experienced US Air Force F-16 pilots flew 12 simulated missions which required them to locate and destroy four enemy bombers whose flight path was pre-programmed. Simultaneously, two other pilots were assigned to auxiliary cockpits in the laboratory and flew enemy fighter aircraft in an attempt to intercept and shoot down the primary pilot. Therefore there were three active participants in each air combat scenario. Each pilot flew six trials using a cockpit comprised of conventional F-15 flight instruments and six trials using a modified, multi-sensory cockpit. The results indicated that pilot performance and situation awareness were generally superior with the multi-sensory cockpit as opposed to the conventional cockpit, although statistical differences between the two were at best marginally significant. Nevertheless, the results suggest that if pilots were to receive advance training with the multi-sensory cockpit their performance may exceed that in the highly overlearned conventional cockpit by even more substantial amounts.

Effects of Virtually-Augmented Fighter Cockpit Displays on Pilot Performance, Workload, and Situation Awareness

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence J. Hettinger ◽  
Bart J. Brickman ◽  
Merry M. Roe ◽  
W. Todd Nelson ◽  
Michael W. Haas
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pilot Performance ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
Cockpit Displays ◽  
Air Force Base ◽  
Aircraft System ◽  
Military Pilots

Virtually-augmented display concepts are being developed at the US Air Force Armstrong Laboratory's Synthesized Immersion Research Environment (SIRE) Facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, for use in future USAF crew stations. These displays incorporate aspects of virtual environment technology to provide users with intuitive, multisensory representations of operationally relevant information. This paper describes an evaluation that was recently conducted to contrast the effects of conventional, F-15 types of cockpit displays and virtually-augmented, multisensory cockpit displays on pilot-aircraft system performance, workload, and situation awareness in a simulated air combat task. Eighteen military pilots from the United States, France, and Great Britain served as test pilots. The results indicate a statistically significant advantage for the virtually-augmented cockpit configuration across all three classes of measures investigated. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for the continuing evolution of advanced crew station design.

Thunder Versus Lightning: A Performance and Cost Analysis of the A-10 “Warthog” Versus the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-468
Author(s):  
John Green ◽  
Richard Zeckhauser
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Service Life ◽  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Fighter Aircraft ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Effectiveness Analysis ◽  
Critical Requirement ◽  
Cas A ◽  
The U.S

AbstractFor decades, the U.S. Air Force has contemplated replacing the A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” with a newer fighter aircraft. However, a quantitative analysis comparing the Warthog’s performance and costs with those of its intended replacement, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, shows that retiring the Warthog would be operationally unsound and fiscally imprudent. The rationale for the replacement is that it would increase airpower capability while controlling costs. That rationale does not withstand scrutiny. An effectiveness analysis based on results from a survey of joint terminal attack controllers indicates that the A-10 vastly outperforms the F-35 in providing close-air support (CAS), a critical requirement for future conflicts against terrorists and insurgents. A cost analysis demonstrates that replacing the A-10 before its service life ends in 2035 would cost at least $20.9 billion. The replacement plan would waste substantial resources and seriously impair U.S. military capabilities. Given that constrained future budgets and low-intensity conflicts requiring precision CAS can be expected, the U.S. air fleet should include the A-10 Thunderbolt II.

Impact of Visual Scene Field of View on F-16 Pilot Performance

2007 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Estock ◽  
Amy L. Alexander ◽  
Emily M. Stelzer ◽  
Kathryn Baughman
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Visual Scene ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Pilot Performance ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Air Combat ◽  
Standard Training ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Integrated Team

The tremendous expense and inherent dangers of training in the aircraft have led to the increased use of simulators for practicing and maintaining air combat skills; However, the advantages and disadvantages of using high or low-fidelity simulators for such training must be specified. An experiment was conducted to examine the in-simulator performance differences between pilots flying lower-fidelity simulators compared to higher-fidelity simulators. The primary difference between the two simulators is the visual scene field-of-view. Sixteen U.S. Air Force F-16 pilots flew standard training missions as an integrated team of four (a “four-ship”) with two pilots flying in the high-fidelity simulators and two pilots flying in the lower-fidelity simulators. Various subjective and objective measures were collected to assess the pilots' ability to maintain a briefed formation. Overall, the results suggest that pilots who practice four-ship employment in the lower-fidelity simulators can perform at the same level as those who practice in the high-fidelity simulators. Future analyses should be conducted to examine the impact of simulator fidelity on other air combat skills and on training effectiveness.

9. Per ardua ad astra?

2020 ◽  
pp. 124-128
Author(s):  
Frank Ledwidge
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Military Operation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
Combat Aircraft ◽  
Air Combat

We are only at the beginning of the age of the drone and many possibilities are mooted for their future. The idea of unmanned fighters making air combat and manoeuvring decisions in microseconds may only be a couple of decades away. Will fighter pilots exist then? Will aircrew in combat aircraft become a thing of the past? ‘Per ardua ad astra?’ explains how, today, major air forces such as the RAF and US air force consider themselves aerospace forces, operating in space, cyberspace, and airspace. Whether the structures of air forces remain similar, or change radically, one thing is certain—aircraft of one kind or another will continue to be vital components of any military operation.

Doubling Down

Vulcan ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-161
Author(s):  
Steven A. Fino
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Military Technology ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Fighter Aircraft ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
Air Combat ◽  
Organizational Inertia ◽  
Complex Technology ◽  
The Military

The us Air Force’s and Navy’s semi-autonomous radar- and infrared-guided air-to-air missiles performed miserably in air combat over Vietnam. Despite accusations that the military’s overreliance on complex technology was to blame, the two services continued to invest in ever-more advanced fighter aircraft and high-tech missiles after the war. In 1977 at the behest of Congress, the Air Force and Navy spent almost a full year evaluating air combat tactics and new infrared-guided air-to-air missiles. According to the services’ interpretation of the results from the aimval and aceval tests, future air combat demanded both improved infrared-guided missiles and revolutionary radar-guided missiles. The apparent paradox—testing infrared missiles to justify a more expensive radar-guided missile—was seized on by the military “Reformers” as emblematic of the us military’s unhealthy fascination with exorbitantly priced high-technology. This paper discusses the pivotal aimval-aceval tests, including their laborious design process and execution, and their subsequent role animating the early-1980s public debate over military technology. This understanding is crucial when evaluating the relative significance of organizational inertia in the Air Force’s air-to-air procurement decisions following Vietnam. Additionally, the aimval-aceval tests offer evidence of three pathologies that distinguish military tests from their typical civilian exemplars: military tests cannot be conducted independent of the service(s); the tests are generally inflexible and unreplicable; and their data are usually shrouded by classification concerns. These pathologies make it difficult to reconcile divergent interpretations and resolve controversies that emerge from military testing activities.

scholarly journals Next Generation 2 MW Turboshaft and Turboprop Engines

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Vogt ◽  
Arun Sehra
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Us Army ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
Us Navy ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Turboshaft Engine ◽  
The U.S

Textron Lycoming of Stratford, Connecticut is incorporating the latest in advanced technology into turboshaft and turboprop engines for near term commercial service. The level of cold section technology being incorporated is the already demonstrated next generation of axi-centrifugal compressor beyond that which was developed for the U.S. Army T800, 0.9 MW turboshaft engine in the late 1980s. The compressor evolution is given special emphasis. The hot section technology is a robust, simplified, low cost, commercial endurance derate of the tri-service; US Army, US Navy, US Air Force and Textron Lycoming joint core engine [1] now on test. The new 2 MW commercial engine has substantially reduced fuel consumption, is lighter, and is smaller than today’s best engines. Engineering development is now underway and certification is slated to be completed in 1996.

Predictive Validity of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) for Pilot Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-81
Author(s):  
Khalid ALMamari ◽  
Anne Traynor
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Air Force ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Perceptual Speed ◽  
Pilot Performance ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
The Us ◽  
Validity Generalization ◽  
Selection Test ◽  
Primary Selection

Abstract. The Air Force Qualifying Test (AFOQT) has been the primary selection test battery for officer candidates in the US Air Force since 1953. Despite a wealth of literature on the validity of the AFOQT in predicting pilot performance, there is less evidence on its validity generalization. This study investigated the predictive validity of 16 AFOQT subtests and its Pilot composite via psychometric meta-analytic procedures. Based on 32 independent samples from 26 studies, results indicated that pilot performance is best predicted by subtests indicative of perceptual speed, aviation-related aptitude and knowledge, and quantitative ability constructs, and least predicted by subtests indicative of verbal ability construct. Evidence for validity generalization of AFOQT subtests is presented, and implications for practical use are discussed.

A PC-Based Driving Simulator for Assessing Situation Awareness

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 895-895
Author(s):  
Leo Gugerty ◽  
William Tirre
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Situation Awareness ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Flexible Tool ◽  
Us Air Force ◽  
The Us

We plan to demonstrate a PC-based driving simulator developed by the US Air Force for assessing situation awareness (SA). This simulator is a flexible tool that allows researchers to assess drivers' SA using a variety of different probes. The simulator allows assessment of explicit knowledge used in driving, as is done in a number of SA assessment tools. However, unlike other SA assessment tools, the simulator also allows assessment of implicit, automatized knowledge.

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