By John McHale

ORLANDO - U.S. Air Force officials selected electronic displays from Barco Federal Systems LLC in Duluth, Ga., for the display system upgrade for the B-2 trainers at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. Barco officials announced the contract win in November at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Fla.

The Air Force will retrofit three simulators with Barco’s CD series of cross-cockpit collimated displays. Barco will perform the upgrade work via a contract through RSI Visual Systems in Euless, Texas.

“Our goal is to provide the latest and best technology for use by the B-2 Training department to aid in the effective training of the Air Force’s B-2 aircrews,” says Ken Bowers, program manager at Redifun Visual Systems. “Barco’s display system will allow the full capability of the Raster XT Image Generator to be shown.”

Barco’s collimated display improves performance over traditional collimated display systems. This solution consists of a wide field-of-view collimating mirror design. Barco will provide the projector, rear-projection screen, and light-tight enclosures. The CD Series will be optimized for use with Barco’s line of SIM 7 LCoS projectors and is engineered to be FAA/JAA Level-D compliant.

U.S. Air Force display system upgrade for B-2 trainers will use Barco’s line of SIM 7 LCoS projectors.Click here to enlarge image

Designed for flight simulation, Barco’s SIM 7 projectors combine a resolution of 3.2 megapixels with smear-reduction technology to deliver artifact-free images, Barco officials say. Barco’s SIM 7 offers a dynamic contrast ratio 1,000,000:1 and a brightness output of 2,000 lumens for true day- and night-time scenario flight training.

“The B-2 Weapons Systems Trainer upgrade is a significant program for Barco as we launch our cross-cockpit collimated display systems,” says Dr. Al Herman, vice president and general manager for Barco’s simulation activities.

“As each B-2 mission is rehearsed in the trainer, our system will aid B-2 aircrews to become proficient in operating the aircraft’s weapon systems under realistic, simulated combat ­situations,” Herman continues.

For additional information, visit Barco Federal Systems LLC online at www.barco.com.