On January 14th, 2026, Thales announced that it has received a contract from NAHEMA, the NATO Helicopter Management Agency, for the development of advanced functions for its TopOwl DD, for Digital Display, helmet. This follows the order by Spain of 31 new NH90 helicopters [1], which add to the 18 Special Forces NH90s by France, the helmet development programme becoming a binational one, under the auspices of the French Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) and the Spanish Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM)

The new TopOwl DD will be installed on the 18 French Army Special Forces NH90 Caïman in the Standard 2 configuration, also known as NH90 TFRA standard 2. The prototype of the Standard 2 helicopter flew in June 2024, and was unveiled in early April 2025 at the SOFINS exhibition. The French DGA ordered the first 10 NH90 TFRA standard 2 in 2020, a second order for eight more helicopters being filed in 2023, deliveries being planned between 2026 and 2029.

In the new configuration the helicopter is fitted with the Safran Euroflir 410 electro-optical system, a new digital map generator, the provision for a third crew member, and new enlarged rear sliding windows able to accommodate self-protection weapons. The new standard already takes into consideration the addition of new enhanced vision systems, the Thales TopOwl DD helmet, and Safran Electronics & Defense Eurofl’Eye distributed panoramic vision system [2]. Both systems will also be fitted on Spanish helicopters, synergies between the helmet and the distributed aperture system considerably increasing the aircraft operational capabilities.

The first Standard 2 NH90 will be delivered to the French Army 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment based in Pau and will replace Caracal and Cougar helicopters currently in service. EDR On-Line understood that the TopOwl DD should start to be delivered by the end of the decade.

“The new development contract is an evolution of the already existing combat proven legacy TopOwl, which will introduce new features thanks to some hardware and software modifications to enable pilots to operate in all conditions,” Florent Chauvancy, the Vice President of Flight Avionics at Thales, explained. These will improve night vision [3], will provide higher definition camera video feed, and in due time will allow the two pilots to share information as well as to add augmented reality elements. “This once again demonstrates the Thales Avionics expertise in the military sector,” Florent Chauvancy stated, adding that this will allow “the French Army and the Spanish military to meet the evolving operational needs.”

The TopOwl DD already in development not only for the NH90 Caïman in the Standard 2 configuration, but also for the new Tiger, once known as Mark III, and H160M Guépard (Cheetah) Joint Light Helicopter for French Forces, which first flew on 24 July 2025.

“A new function is the capacity to couple the TopOwl DD with the mission FLIR, so you can display the image from the mission FLIR in picture-in-picture mode, which can be useful to follow a target,” Philippe de Bellaing, a former French Army Aviation helicopter pilot who is now the Key Account Manager at Thales for French Ministry of Defence helicopter programmes explained. “The image obtained from the mission FLIR can also be displayed in the wall screen mode, something useful for target detection, reconnaissance, and identification,” he added, highlighting that this function will be available in all the three aforementioned helicopter types. The speakers highlighted that an interface between the TopOwl DD is needed, which is developed according to the type of FLIR installed.

And to this end the NH90 will be fitted with the under development Safran Eurofl’Eye distributed vision system, which will feature several cameras located in the nose of the helicopter. “What is new is that connecting the TopOwl DD helmets of the two crew members to that specific type of FLIR, the two pilots can look in different directions at the same moment, getting each one a different FLIR image. On legacy NH90s or other helicopter you can slave a mission FLIR only on one crew helmet, the former ALAT pilot underlined adding that “this is a game changer for a helicopter flying in degraded visual environment (DVE) [4] and in dark night.”

Looking to the near future augmented reality should be the first add-on, and this might be very close. Further to the right, Thales is already considering adding further capabilities to its TopOwl DD. “For the future we are considering adding colour, which makes easier to discriminate symbology and allows to have a daytime colour image,” Philippe de Bellaing said, EDR On-Line understanding that this might be also linked to the option of a synthetic vision system, which is part of the Thales roadmap. “We are also contemplating exploiting the picture-in-picture capability to display videos from a UAV, as well as from the seeker of a loitering munition, which is also defined as air-launched effects. These functions are not available today, but the capacity is there, and we will be ready if these will become necessary in the future,” de Bellaing added.

The helmet mass remains that of the legacy TopOwl, which is 2.2 kg, the TopOwl DD maintaining the 40° field of view, the compatibility with NBC masks, as well as the back-up battery on the helmet should the airframe power fail.

The TopOwl DD development is ongoing, and moves in parallel with the Safran Eurofl’Eye system, as both will be installed on French and Spanish NH90s, the two companies awaiting in due time a production contract from Airbus.

Thales is looking to the international market, its TopOwl DD being ready to be adapted to other types of helicopters and to be interfaced with other types of FLIR, something that has already be done with the legacy model.

Photos courtesy Thales/E.Raz, Safran E&D and P. Valpolini

---

[1] Of the new 31 NH90s ordered by Spain 13 will go to the FAMET, the Army Aviation, 12 to the Air and Space Force, and six to the Navy, the latter to complete the Amphibious Force helicopter capacity.

[2] On December 22^nd 2025 Safran Electronics & Defense announced the signing of a major contract with NAHEMA for the development of the Eurofl’Eye.

[3] The TopOwl is fitted with two image intensification (II) tubes located on each side of the helmet which provide the night vision image on the high-resolution semi-transparent screen in front of the pilot’s eyes that provides the see-through capability. EDR On-Line understood that Gen 3 tubes with a higher FOM (Figure of Merit) have been installed, FOM having stepped from 1800 to over 2300 in the latest II tubes, the actual FOM of those adopted remaining classified.

[4] Usual DVE situations are White-out and the Brown-out, typical of landings in snowy or sandy/dusty areas.