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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      US Air Force upgrades eye protection for aircrewPublished Nov. 19, 2023
                    
                    By Brian Brackens
                    
                    
                    Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs
            **WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) --**The **Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s** Human Systems Division is in the process of upgrading protective eyewear for aircrew operating various U.S. Air Force aircraft around the world.A B-52 aircrew member participating in a laser eye protection test. (U.S. Air Force/courtesy photo)A B-52 Stratofortress aircrew member participating in a laser eye protection test. Eyewear devices include separate day and night spectacles, ballistics spectacles, and visors designed to integrate with night vision goggles. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo)
            
            
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“The health of the eye is so important to our pilots,” said Capt. Pete Coats, lead program manager for the Human System’s Division’s Aircrew Laser Eye Protection Program. “The consequences of getting lasered without having proper protection could not only prevent the pilot from flying and landing an aircraft safely, but it could also cost them their career. So, our goal is to ensure the right eyewear is available to everyone.”
Eyewear devices include separate day and night spectacles, ballistics spectacles, and visors designed to integrate with night vision goggles. The devices will be available for all aircrew except for those operating **U-2** and **F-35 Lightning II** aircraft.
The type of eyewear protection aircrew will receive will depend on the mission.
“If flying low and slow or hovering like a helicopter or **CV-22 Osprey**, aircrew would prefer to have ballistic protection as well as laser protection,” said Mark Beer, Aircrew Laser Eye Protection Program deputy program manager. “However, if you’re in a fighter aircraft or flying in a bomber at high altitude, the chances of you needing ballistic protection are not nearly as high.”
Along with improved protection, the night eyewear will allow more natural light through the lens increasing visibility for crew members. 
A key part of developing the eyewear has been partnerships with stakeholders.
“We’ve worked very closely with the **Air Force Research Laboratory** on this effort,” Coats said. “They [AFRL] were instrumental in the pre-engineering manufacturing and development phase and experiments with dye and filter technologies.”
“We also worked with the U.S. intelligence community which provided an assessment of the threats facing aircrew members,” Beer said. “We used that information to determine what we needed to protect against and which eyewear protection technologies we needed to pursue.” 
More than 42,000 devices will be fielded to Air Force units by 2027.LR 



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