NATO STO

The vision standards for initial entry and retention of pilots, aircrew systems officers (navigators/CISO), and other aircrew (flight engineer, load master, gunner, boom operator etc.) vary broadly throughout NATO even though similar aircraft are flown and mission sets may be similar. Some NATO countries use tried and true paper-based vision testing with most answer keys on the internet while other countries use computer-based digital tests of varying reliability. There currently is no across-the-board discussion of aircrew vision standards, vision testing, vision injury/disease and return to flight status or operational vision research within NATO. Military aircrew vision standards in most countries of NATO were established in the World War I era at the best guess of vision specialists, pilots and flight surgeons. Aviation technology has changed dramatically in the last 100 years, with the introduction of new display technologies in particular that have imposed increasing visual demands on aircrew. Most of the vision screening tests currently used by NATO countries to fly those aircraft were first adopted post-World War II, and vision screening standards and technologies must be updated to improve medical readiness and optimize performance with advanced aviation display technologies. Vision screening methods developed to screen aircrew to view distant targets with unaided vision may not be adequate for aircrew using advanced color-coded display technology and vision enhancement devices such as night vision devices and thermal imagers, helmet-mounted displays, hyper-stereoscopic remote vision systems, and many other advanced technologies now routinely used by military personnel. Furthermore, new research is demonstrating that injury/disease states can be identified earlier, and therefore treated sooner, through the use of more accurate and reliable tests. Additionally, treatments for injury/disease can be tracked more carefully with the use of more accurate/repeatable tests, which could allow faster return to service for military personnel, improving readiness. Similarly, the effects of degraded environments on vision, such as hypoxic conditions, can be more carefully evaluated using more accurate and repeatable vision tests. Finally, the vision screening requirements for aircrew requires substantial resources, which often include travel and continued monitoring throughout the careers of many military personnel. Increasing the accuracy, repeatability, and efficiency of these tests is expected to result in substantial cost savings and improved health monitoring. A NATO operational vision ET will compare current aircrew vison standards and the rationale/data to support those standards. Varying demographics of the participating countries impacting vision attributes and potential implications for vision standards, operational performance, and recruiting could also be discussed (e.g., incidence of hyperopia, myopia, etc.). The partner nations could engage in collaborative research to examine the impact of vision, display characteristics, and environmental stressors (e.g. hypoxia, fatigue, etc.) on operationally relevant performance, as well as vision injury/disease of trained aircrew, policies to return to fly, and modernized vision screening methods. Technologies like LASIK refractive surgery and other visual enhancement procedures and devices and their utilizations and administrative procedures could be discussed within the group and possibly standardizing vision standards if the partner nations request that. Enhancing, educating and updating all NATO countries’ vision knowledge, aircrew standards and operational vision research from the working group could provide a critical strategic advantage to NATO countries in combat and humanitarian operations, increasing the competitive advantage of allied forces. Aligning allied forces’ vision standards and screening methods will improve interoperability.