Honeywell announced at the Paris Air Show on 19 June that it had been selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to develop artificial vision technology for the Black Hawk helicopter. The concept is designed to aid pilots' situational awareness when taking off or landing in clouds of dust. "Taking off and landing in arid desert terrain during self-induced brownouts can lead to obscured vision, disorientation and accidents," said Honeywell Vice President Vicki Panhuise. "This technology development program addresses vital warfighter needs to help ensure safer helicopter missions." Brownout-induced loss of vision is the cause of most helicopter incidents in Iraq. Veterans of both theaters claim that the fine dust in Afghanistan is worse. Honeywell is the recipient of an 18-month, $6.9 million contract for its part in developing hardware and software for the Pentagon's Sandblaster program. Sikorsky is teamed with Honeywell and with Sierra Nevada Corp. Honeywell will design and produce a Sensor data-driven, Localized, External, Evidential Knowledge base (SLEEK) capability integrated with the company's synthetic vision system. Sierra Nevada Corp. will provide see-through sensing technologies. The final visual aid will create a three-dimensional view of the landing area that will be displayed in the cockpit. The blind-flying display will be overlaid with other symbology to convey flight data. For a dusty insight into the problem, and the obviously vital requirement for the Marines' Osprey tilt-rotor, see the image at tinyurl.com/3yek22