Consultancy builds working Typhoon cockpit display for BAE Systems

Samlesbury based npd Studio has delivered a fully functional replica of the Typhoon’s central cockpit display, now used by BAE Systems engineers to develop and test software.

North Product Design (npd Studio) has designed and built a working version of the large area display (LAD), the 23.8 inch screen at the centre of the Typhoon cockpit. The units have a working display, touchscreen, buttons and active cooling, and are in use across BAE Systems departments for software development and testing.

The project follows npd’s earlier work on the Typhoon’s high integrity panels (HIPs), the smaller displays either side of the LAD. npd delivered the HIPs in three months against a projected 12. That project was featured as a case study in the Ministry of Defence’s SME Action Plan, published this summer, as an example of what SMEs can bring to a prime’s supply chain.

BAE Systems came back to npd with the bigger brief. Earlier models used by its teams had buttons that did not work, so engineers needed units that behaved like the real thing to test against them with confidence.

npd took the same approach as on the HIPs, combining off-the-shelf components with custom circuit boards and commissioned cable assemblies, then planning how each part would fit inside the display housing. The buttons went through multiple iterations to find the right actuation force, giving a clear click and tactile feedback suited to the cockpit.

Because the units work like the real display, BAE Systems teams have found further uses for them beyond the original brief. The LAD was also shown at Farnborough International Airshow in July.

Nathan Partington, founder and CEO of npd Studio, said: “BAE Systems’ engineers needed something they could test against as if it were the real display. If a button doesn’t click the way it will in the aircraft, the testing isn’t telling you the truth. We kept iterating on the buttons until the click felt right. It sounds small, but it’s the difference between a mock-up and something engineers can rely on".

Martin Evans, Typhoon senior systems engineer at BAE Systems, said: “Over the past 18 months, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Nathan and the team at npd. What stands out most is their agility, willingness to lean in when challenges arise and their commitment to our programme’s success.”

Nathan will speak on Thursday 22 October at DPRTE, the UK National Defence Procurement and Supply Chain Summit, at the Kimpton Clocktower in Manchester. He joins a panel on dual use technologies and the routes smaller firms can take into the defence supply chain.