Future combat aircraft will need to do more than just fly and utilize their own sensors and weapon systems. The concept being explored in Europe for the next generation involves aircraft connected to drones, other platforms, and command centers, capable of exchanging large amounts of information during a mission. This scenario also necessitates a reevaluation of one of the less visible elements of a fighter jet: how the pilot receives, interprets, and manages all that information.
Indra is participating in this work through the European Pilot Interface Integrated Cockpit (EPIIC) program, a European research and development initiative that began in 2022 with the participation of 27 companies from 12 countries and a budget of around 75 million euros. The Spanish company is working in several areas, including augmented reality, biometric monitoring of pilots, and new human-machine interfaces.
The goal is not merely to introduce more screens or information within the cockpit. The problem the program aims to solve is precisely the opposite: how to provide the pilot with the necessary data at any moment without increasing their workload to counterproductive levels.
A cockpit through which one can see the aircraft
One of the technologies developed by Indra employs augmented reality to create what is referred to as a virtually transparent cockpit or fuselage. The concept is based on images captured by cameras installed on the exterior of the aircraft, which are processed and projected onto the transparent lenses used by the pilot.
By combining the real image with that captured by external sensors, certain physical parts of the aircraft can virtually disappear from the field of vision. The pilot could thus observe what is happening beneath or around the fuselage without the aircraft’s own structure visually blocking that area.
The same interface could display images from other connected platforms. A pilot might receive, for example, video obtained from a reconnaissance drone or another aircraft, overlaying relevant information onto their field of vision.
Indra has already conducted flight trials of this technology in Lugo. The company opted for augmented reality using transparent lenses instead of systems that completely replace real vision. This choice is also based on safety criteria: if the electronic device fails, the pilot still sees the outside world directly through the glass.
Sensors that detect fatigue, stress, and loss of attention
Another area that Indra leads within EPIIC is the Crew Monitoring System (CMS), designed to understand in real time the cognitive and physiological state of the aircraft’s pilot.
The system uses sensors embedded in the helmet and flight suit. Among the analyzed parameters are specific eye movements, heart rate, breathing rate, and skin conductivity. The combination of these signals allows for the identification of situations such as drowsiness, loss of attention, acute stress, or mental overload.
The aim is not only to alert of a problem. The project studies the possibility of the cockpit interface automatically adjusting the amount and priority of information displayed based on the detected state.
If the pilot is under excessive cognitive load, for instance, the system could temporarily reduce secondary data and highlight those directly related to the mission or an immediate threat. The rules that would determine these adaptations are being developed with participation from military operators.
From eye tracking to brain-computer interfaces
EPIIC is also exploring new ways to operate the aircraft’s systems. Some of these are already present, at varying degrees of development, in other technological fields: eye tracking, gesture recognition, or voice commands.
The most experimental line Indra is working on is a brain-computer interface. Using sensors placed on the pilot’s head, the system attempts to interpret certain brain signals associated with the intention to execute an action.
According to available information about the project, a possible application could be selecting a function on a screen or activating specific commands by focusing attention. The technology is still in the biomedical experimentation phase and, therefore, cannot be presented as an operational capability currently available.
The pilot as the manager of a connected system
The research conducted under EPIIC sheds light on the direction of future developments in aerial combat systems. The piloted aircraft would cease to operate as a relatively isolated platform and would instead become one of the nodes in a network formed by other aircraft, drones, sensors, and command centers.
This shift increases the importance of software and interfaces that allow for the conversion of large amounts of data into comprehensible information.
