Safran Electronics & Defense has announced the signing of a major contract with the NATO Helicopter Management Agency for the development of the Eurofl’Eye distributed panoramic vision system. Awarded in partnership with NHIndustries and Thales, the contract responds to the requirements of France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement and Spain’s Dirección General de Armamento y Material, and marks a significant strategic milestone for helicopter pilot assistance systems in Europe.
Eurofl’Eye is an advanced Distributed Aperture System designed to provide NH90 pilots with a panoramic and highly detailed view of their surroundings, even in the most demanding operating environments, including night operations, dust and fog. The system fuses imagery from six wide field-of-view infrared cameras and delivers a real-time, pilot-aligned image directly to the TopOwl helmet-mounted display developed by Thales. By offering a wide and continuous field of view, Eurofl’Eye significantly enhances situational awareness and supports safer, more precise execution of complex missions.
Alexandre Ziegler, Executive Vice President of the Defense Business Unit at Safran Electronics & Defense, said the system will simplify access to critical information by integrating it directly into the pilots’ field of vision. He added that Eurofl’Eye will improve pilot responsiveness and decision-making, particularly in severely degraded external conditions, and that the programme demonstrates the strength of European cooperation by bringing together leading industrial players to deliver advanced helicopter solutions.
The Eurofl’Eye system will be deployed initially on French and Spanish NH90 TTH helicopters. Its development will draw on the combined expertise of key European industry partners, further reinforcing cross-border innovation and strengthening operational capability for helicopter fleets across Europe.
