A helmet-mounted display (HMD) is a device used in aircraft to project information to the pilot's eyes. Its scope is similar to that of head-up displays (HUD) on an aircrew's visor or reticle. An HMD provides the pilot with situation awareness, an enhanced image of the scene, and in military applications cue weapons systems, to the direction their head is pointing. Applications which allow cuing of weapon systems are referred to as helmet-mounted sight and display (HMSD) or helmet-mounted sights (HMS). Requirement Aviation HMD designs serve these purposes: using the head angle as a pointer to direct air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons seekers or other sensors (e.g., radar, FLIR) to a target merely by pointing his head at the target and actuating a switch via HOTAS controls. In close combat prior to HMDs, the pilot had to align the aircraft to shoot at a target. HMDs allow the pilot to simply point his head at a target, designate it to weapon and shoot. displaying targeting and aircraft performance information (such as airspeed, altitude, target range, weapon seeker status, "g", etc.) to the pilot while "heads-up", eliminating the need to look inside the flightdeck. displaying sensor video for the purpose of: verification that the chosen sensor has been cued to the right target or location without requiring the pilot to look inside the flightdeck viewing outside terrain using sensor video in degraded visual conditions. HMD systems, combined with High Off-Boresight (HOBS) weapons, results in the ability for aircrew to attack and destroy nearly any target seen by the pilot. These systems allow targets to be designated with minimal aircraft maneuvering, minimizing the time spent in the threat environment, and allowing greater lethality, survivability, and pilot situational awareness. History In 1962, Hughes Aircraft Company revealed the Electrocular, a compact CRT, head-mounted monocular display that reflected a TV signal onto a transparent eyepiece. From 1966 throughout the early 1970s , Mirage 3CZ and Mirage F1AZ of the SAAF (South African Air Force) was the first to use a locally developed helmet mounted sight. South Africa was the first country to develop and use HMSs in combat, a locally developed helmet-mounted sight integrated with the Armscor V3A heat seeking missile. This enables the pilot to make off-bore attacks, without having to maneuver to the optimum firing position. After the South African system had been proven in combat, playing a role in downing Soviet aircraft over