Evaluation of a Temporal Display for Presentation of Threats in Air Combat

The purpose was to evaluate the feasibility of a temporal display (TD), presenting information about time-constrained events (weapon emission or evasive action). BVR air combat was simulated. Two fighter pilots were used as subjects. Two conditions for presentation of tactical information were compared. In one a tactical situation display (TSD) and a multisensor display were used. In the other condition the above temporal display replaced the flight data display (FDD). Pilot performance (no. of weapon emissions, no. of hits) was recorded. Subjects also rated workload (WL) and situation awareness (SA), and answered queries in written and oral form . Precision (no. of hits/ no. of emissions) was found significantly higher when the temporal display was available. Neither WL nor SA was affected by the presentation of the temporal display. Subjects complained about, e.g.: -) Inappropriate col or coding; -) Inadequate symbol resolution, insufficient display size to enable focus on a specific area. The TD was tested in a generic cockpit environment. Performance figures in the simulation cannot be compared to performance figures in any specific aircraft.