Posted on 10/24/2019 8:43:46 AM PDT by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
The U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft is officially about to get some surround sound.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Wednesday awarded Terma North America Inc. a $60 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to retrofit 328 3D audio systems for the close-air support aircraft's cockpit, according to a Defense Department announcement. The company is a subsidiary of Terma A/S, a Danish defense and aerospace company.
Pilots have multiple audio signals coming at them, making it difficult to discern certain radio calls and warnings. The 3D audio system will give pilots the ability to distinguish between signals and discern where they're coming from.
Last year, the service said it had planned to award a sole-source contract to Terma to integrate the enhancement. The upgrade would "drastically improve the spatial, battlespace and situational awareness of the A-10C pilots," according to a request for information (RFI) published at the time.
The 3D audio technology has previously been used in the Danish F-16 Fighting Falcon Missile Warner System upgrade.
The A-10, which entered service in 1976 and has deployed to the Middle East, Europe and the Pacific, has also played an outsized role in Afghanistan and the air campaign that began in 2014 against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, helping provide close-air support for Iraqi and U.S. partner forces on the ground.
The latest news comes after the Air Force made another major investment into the aircraft, demonstrating its willingness to keep the A-10 around longer and boost its survivability in a high-threat environment.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
So it can play rain in blood while pumping out depleted uranium rounds?
Does Spotify and Pandora come with it?
Quadrophenia, man...
Would be nice to have a bluetooth connection so these pilots could have a “Mayhem” playlist.
Surgeons often have a surgery playlist, why not our pilots?
Iron Eagle!!! Put in the cassette tape.
“Hey Siri, play death metal playlist.”
ac/dc TNT,
“Cause I’m T.N.T. I’m dynamite
T.N.T. and I’ll win the fight
T.N.T. I’m a power load
T.N.T. watch me explode”
I believe “Thunderstruck” is the official A-10 theme song.
The American dream is to crank it up without distortion while flying an A-10.
Let the Bodies Hit the Floor!
Some cheery polka music, please!
One word question... Helmets?
Yeah, they really need this when they will have to remove their helmets to actually utilize it.
Well...if there is one warplane worth pimping out...the A-10 is it! Goes for the B-52 as well!
LOL.... It is built into the helmets son.... This is the hardware in the cockpit that drives the speakers in the helmet and does the phase and time shifting to make it seem like the sound sources are directional.
That comment was epically funny. I was drinking coffee and actually blew some out of my nose reading it. So blissfully unaware... It is precious.
Back in the late 80’s, I toured NASA Ames research facility in Sunnyvale CA and was treated to a demonstration of 3-D audio. The demo was of air control traffic at an imaginary busy airport. I could position the traffic in the space around me like I could position the source of a horn honking or wheels skidding in the street. About l0 yeas later, Bose came out with a commercial hifi version of the 3-D headphones. Now the military decides it needs cutting edge technology 35 years later. (sigh)
Rock The Casbah!
... Or ...
Don't Fear The Reaper
Almost all modern fighter planes have some form of it. The A-10 was just the neglected stepson. Wasn’t sexy like the other jets and why not spend hundreds of millions per new plane when you are going to get a very cushy job at the manufacturer when you retire? No money or retirement to made on the A-10.
I think it is run through the pilot’s headphones and takes into account his head angle, so if the warning sound is “behind” the pilot and he is looking left the primary sound will be on his left ear. If he then turns to his right the sound will switch to the right ear.
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