For more than 30 years, night vision goggle (NVG) helmet mounts and battery packs used in military aviation have experienced few changes. After looking at the strengths and weaknesses, two leaders in aviation innovations, Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) and Wilcox Industries, joined forces to build the next generation of easy-to-operate mounts and battery packs.
Unveiled at Heli-Expo 2016, ASU’s new NVG helmet mount and battery pack is lighter, smaller, easier to setup, and more durable than previous models. One of the most significant improvements allows users to mount NVGs to their helmet more easily with the use of just one hand.
“Operators of the new NVG mount and battery pack will need little or no training,” said Justin Watlington, Chief Pilot at ASU. “The transition will be seamless.”
He added that the companies addressed several issues with the legacy NVG mounts which included reoccurring breakage. “One problem that we saw time and again was cracking and breaking of the sidebars on the goggle mount,” He said. “While working through the Wilcox Industries engineering process, we resolved this and several other issues that resulted in a far more durable mount.”
Unlike current NVG mounts, Justin explained that the new design allows for the replacement of the broken part, not the entire unit and at a fraction of the cost. It’s greater endurance, seamless training transition and reduced wear from day-to-day use is a budget-friendly upgrade.
Testing is already underway on the mount and battery pack, which exceeds DO-275 and Technical Standard Order C-164 standards. ASU anticipates receiving certification in the fall of 2016 and pricing will be announced when full production begins this fall.
