The U.S. Army has selected Rockwell Collins as the prime contractor to provide an integrated video display system for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Mounted Soldier System (MSS) program, which initially includes M1-A2 SEP V2, M2-A3 Bradley, M3-A3 Bradley and M113 Medical Evacuation Variant vehicles.

The MSS program will increase mission effectiveness on the network-centric battlefield in the areas of command and control, situational awareness, force protection and survivability.

Rockwell Collins will provide the Mounted Soldier Display System (MSDS), which includes the SO35-A Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) and a vehicle mounted video distribution switch.

"The integrated solution we're providing to the MSS program will allow soldiers in the U.S. Army to better visualize the battlefield, which ultimately translates into increased mission effectiveness and enhanced safety for the troops," said Bruce King, vice president and general manager of Surface Solutions for Rockwell Collins.

"This program win reflects the utility of advanced situational awareness systems for the military and provides future growth opportunity for Rockwell Collins."

The S035-A features a full-color resolution micro-display with a 35-degree diagonal field of view. The S035-A system incorporates Rockwell Collins' proprietary technology in an extremely low power and compact package.

The system's video distribution switch builds on the successfully fielded Mounted Warrior, Land Warrior and Tank Urban Survivability Kit HMDs.

The Vehicle Video Switch (VVS) component of the system accepts the output from the electronic sensor and situational awareness systems in military vehicles such as the Abrams Tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and provides the display to the soldier. The soldier can select any of the video input sources and view them on the HMD. The operator control is provided by the SO35-A Display Control Module, which is attached to the soldier's vest.