Nighthawk Flight Systems unveils game changing Guardian avionics system

Nighthawk Flight Systems, Inc., a developer of advanced compact federated avionics, is excited to unveil its revolutionary Guardian large format glass cockpit avionics system. Unlike any system currently on the market, Guardian is a lightweight, customizable, and easily expandable system that operates seamlessly with the owner's current cockpit avionics while providing unmatched situation awareness and reduced pilot workload.

“We developed Guardian to give general aviation aircraft an affordable system with all the functions and features of advanced glass systems, but better. We provide a much lighter, more affordable system with the best, most realistic synthetic vision on the market,” said Nighthawk Flight Systems, Inc. CEO Paul Martin. “We offer general aviation pilots, owners, and operators a far superior fully customizable glass cockpit, with unmatched simulated vision. We use “Smart I/O” to operate seamlessly with existing systems and sensors, on a single or multiple touchscreen displays.”

Unmatched Graphics

Guardian features revolutionary 3D imagery never before experienced on the market. The graphics display consolidates multiple sources of obstacle, flight environment, traffic, weather, terrain, satellite imagery, and more, displaying it in a high-resolution real-world 3D view on programmable touchscreen displays. Unlike other synthetic vision, Guardian's imagery provides high detail that dramatically improves definition and situation awareness.

Light, Compact Design

Up to 50% lighter than current, equal-capability avionics system, the ingenuity behind Guardian is its compact computing center called the NEST. The NEST can be installed anywhere in the aircraft, connected to the lightweight, thin, touchscreen Guardian panel display through a single cable. The NEST houses individual 'blades' that provide mission computing (the MCU), air data/attitude/heading reference system (ADAHRS), and smart I/O (programmable input/output to connect to existing avionics). The MCU contains all computational and graphical information for display. The smart I/O pulls together information from existing onboard avionics including autopilot, GPS, radios, navigation aids, weather, ADS-B In, and more for access on the programmable displays.

The NEST can be fitted with additional blades for added capabilities not currently installed in the aircraft or to replace existing avionics such as radios, navigation, ADS-B, transponder, GPS, and more. Unlike a traditional multifunctional display (MFD) system, this allows individual capabilities to be quickly exchanged or upgraded without the need for a full system upgrade, leading to considerable savings down the line. The display can also be replaced independently if desired.

See a live demonstration of the Guardian display at Oshkosh 2025 in the Nighthawk Flight Systems space.