If you thought tanks were nothing more than hulking slabs of armor, barely able to get out of their own way much less other friendly vehicles, well, then you better think again. The Israeli Defense Forces are fielding a brand new helmet-mounted display dubbed IronVision which gives buttoned up tankers the ability to see through their vehicle thereby offering 360 degree situational awareness. The system works much like the helmet-mounted displays F-35 pilots are using to see through the floor, sides and nose of their plane’s fuselage to better gauge where the enemy is in a knife fight. Under development by Elbit Systems for several years, “the Helmet Mounted System (HMS) provides “protective glass walls” for tank or armored fighting vehicle crews who may need to operate in so-called closed-hatch mode when maneuvering in high-threat areas, according to Boaz Cohen, director of Elbit’s land systems division,” says Defense News.
Further information on the system and what it can do can be found here: http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/land/2016/06/08/elbit-helmet-ironvision/85592560/