US army to give Apache helicopter pilots full-colour target images

The US Army has unveiled technology that will allow Apache helicopter pilots to see targeting and surveillance data in full, high-resolution colour, instead of the present fuzzy black-and-white images.

An official said sensors developed by Lockheed Martin over the past four years could help avoid mistakes such as the 2007 attack by two United States helicopters that killed 12 people in Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff, after they were mistaken for armed insurgents.

An investigation of the incident found that forces were not aware of the presence of the news crews and believed a camera held by one of the men was a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

"This additional situational awareness ... will give soldiers what they need to make the right decisions on the battlefield," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Van Riper said when asked if the technology would help avert such mistakes.

"That's our goal ... This will cut dramatically the amount of voice communications and other things that take precious time on the battlefield, time that could be used better to make decisions," he said during a demonstration at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, where the army tests new aircraft.

"Now they can focus on those tasks and not worry, 'Am I looking at the right thing'?"

Van Riper said the sensors would help pilots better track suspicious cars identified by troops on the ground by their colour, or even individuals tagged in specific clothes.