Field Investigations of Laser Eye Protection F-15E Aircraft Lighting Compatibility

Abstract

The need to protect aircrews from ocular laser exposures increases as lasers proliferate in military systems. Many aircraft lighting incompatibilities are associated with the current Air Force daytime laser eye protection (LEP) visor. Weapons Systems Trainer (WST) and ground tests were conducted to determine the compatibility of three prototype LEP visors with F-15E aircraft lighting. In the WST, aircrews rated statements concerning the visibility and color appearance of the instruments with the LEP. For ground tests, F-15E instructors viewed lights inside and outside of the cockpit with the LEP before and after sorties and completed questionnaires about their visibility. The visibility of most of the F-15E instruments was not detrimentally affected by LEP use, but their color appearance was altered, which affected the utility of two head-down displays (HDDs). One LEP visor also affected exterior aircraft lighting visibility. The majority of the aircrews judged the LEP visors to be safe for F-15E flight operations.