The HUD and MMDP (including mounting assembly) are both COTS components while the VDI is an F-14B legacy display that has been retained and reworked into the VDIG-R system. The last VDIG-R- equipped F-14B was delivered to the Navy on Aug.
Since then, 60 B models have received the VDIG-R modification at Oceania NAS, three at Point Mugu, Calif., and one at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md. The first modified F-14B with upgraded avionics flew in December 1999 just 14 months after contract award. Those include VF-32, VF-11, VF-143 and VF-103, which support the Navy strike fighter role, and VF-101, which supports the F-14 training command.
#F 14D COCKPIT UPGRADE#
The HUD symbology is presented in a clear, sharp display with high brightness and clarity that allow pilots to increase their aiming envelope and benefit from greater overall accuracy and an enhanced combat safety margin.Īll Navy F-14Bs with the new VDIG-R upgrade are assigned to squadrons at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va. Features include a built-in-test capability for simplified maintenance and internal data logging and continuous testing to track system conditions during flight. The SparrowHawk HUD provides pilots a 25-degree total field of view with a 5-inch (12.7-cm) aperture in a unit lighter than the previous system. Now, some five years after contract award, the fleet of 64 Navy F-14B aircraft is operational with an updated vertical display indicator group replacement (VDIG-R) system. The company’s HUD originally was developed for commercial use and is flying on a number of turboprop trainer aircraft around the world. (now CMC Electronics), Sugar Grove, Ill., to retrofit the Navy’s F-14B fleet with its SparrowHawk HUD and FV-3000 modular mission display processor. After evaluating a number of competitive bids, Northrop Grumman selected Flight Visions Inc. This meant that a new VDIG suite would be needed.Īgainst this background, Northrop Grumman launched a competitive procurement in 1997 that mandated a COTS avionics solution.
#F 14D COCKPIT PLUS#
Fleet experience, plus test results validated by an early F-14B upgrade aircraft, confirmed what pilots had known for years: the VDI and HUD were simply inadequate and outdated for the mission. The team found improvements were essential to erase the continual erosion of the VDI reliability, coupled with a marginally effective HUD.
#F 14D COCKPIT UPDATE#
(The F-14Bs still had sufficient fatigue life to keep flying for an additional 10 to 12 years.) What was needed, the team reasoned, was a timely and cost-effective solution that could further update the F-14B, as the Navy looked forward to the more advanced F/A-18 Super Hornet and the multiservice Joint Strike Fighter. In order to implement the logistic engineering change proposal (LECP) to replace the B model’s VDIG, the NavAir-Northrop Grumman team first had to demonstrate that such a move made sense from both a mission and fiscal standpoint, especially during an era of dwindling budgets and curtailed programs. ("Vertical" in this context refers to the orientation of the MFD.) This VDI includes the legacy multifunction display (MFD) assembly and serves as the mechanical mount and electrical interface for the HUD. The later upgrade described here comprises the head-up display (HUD), a modular mission display processor (MMDP), and the vertical display indicator (VDI). An F-14B avionics upgrade program began in the early 1990s, but, due to funding constraints, did not replace the VDIG. Introduced in the late 1980s and incorporating more powerful engines, the F-14B retained the avionics of the older F-14A, which joined the Navy in the early 1970s. Navy pilots have tested the results in combat in Iraq. The Naval Air Systems Command (NavAir) and Northrop Grumman made a point of using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to get the improved Tomcat avionics system to the fleet in the most cost-effective manner. Navy’s F-14B pilots now enjoy greater situational awareness, thanks to the replacement of the combat aircraft’s vertical display indicator group (VDIG), the avionics portion of a larger upgrade program.
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