TopOwl — a high-tech helmet display worn by U.S. Marine Corps aviators — is getting some support under a recently awarded defense contract.
Thales Defense & Security Inc. will perform roughly one third of a $14.1 million defense contract in San Diego.
The deal covers support, including specialized test equipment for depot level maintenance, for Optimized TopOwl helmet-mounted sight and display systems, worn by pilots who fly the Marine Corps’ H-1 helicopter.
The high-tech helmet contains many features, including a heads-up display. The technology replaces night-vision goggles.
According to a Dec. 2 contract announcement, the deal also “provides for associated installation and integration, and technical data rights for technical specifications, drawings, schematics and procedures required to establish depot level support.”
Work is expected to last through May 2019.
NAVAIR, the Naval Air Systems Command of Patuxent River, Md., awarded the contract.
Thirty-seven percent of the work will be performed in San Diego and the rest will be performed in Bordeaux, France. Thales Group is a $15 billion publicly traded French aerospace company with its main U.S. defense contracting office in Maryland.
