The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has selected Elbit Systems to provide a low-profile head-up display (LPHUD) that will be part of the Advanced Cockpit System for Boeing fighter jets. The LPHUD decision presents additional opportunities for Elbit Systems to develop advanced cockpit avionics capabilities at its Brazilian subsidiary AEL Sistemas.

"Boeing's selection of Elbit will bring AEL more opportunities for high-technology work and help expand the knowledge and capabilities at AEL's Advanced Cockpit Technology Center of Excellence," said Susan Colegrove, regional director of International Strategic Partnerships for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "These activities broaden Boeing's engagement in Brazil in general, and our industrial participation offer in the country's F-X2 competition in particular."

Boeing is offering its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the F-X2 fighter competition.

The LPHUD selection follows an agreement announced in March for Elbit to provide the Large Area Display (LAD) system that will be part of the Advanced Cockpit System to be offered on Boeing Super Hornets and the F-15 family of aircraft, including the Silent Eagle.

"Today's announcement further demonstrates the breadth and depth of opportunities Boeing and its suppliers are creating with industry in Brazil," said Donna Hrinak, president of Boeing Brazil. "Through industrial collaborations such as this, Boeing and its partners together are growing their businesses, innovating their products and expanding their capabilities."

Beyond LAD software and hardware opportunities, AEL now will participate in the design, development, production and support of LPHUD components. Boeing, Elbit and AEL also are collaborating on a joint distributed simulation project. The knowledge and capabilities gained from these activities support Elbit and AEL's efforts to establish an Advanced Cockpit Technology Center of Excellence in Brazil, which will position AEL to expand its advanced cockpit avionics market reach to other fixed-wing platforms as well as to rotorcraft.

Elbit's LAD is the centerpiece of Boeing's Advanced Cockpit System, an upgrade common to the F/A-18 and F-15 platforms. The LPHUD will feature a more streamlined size and shape, requiring less space than typical HUD designs and allowing more room for the 11-inch by 19-inch (27.9 x 48.2 cm) LAD.

The Advanced Cockpit System will improve the way the pilot interacts with the aircraft and will enable growth to next-generation visual cueing, improving situational awareness and increasing aircraft effectiveness.