AAWSAP DIRD, Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight, November 2010

This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, dated 1 November 2010 and numbered DIA-08-1011-002, was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office. It is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications program. It draws mainly on the book Frontiers of Propulsion Science and speculates about breakthroughs such as control of gravity and inertia and faster-than-light travel. It then proposes a provisional cockpit design with six-degree-of-freedom controls, virtual displays and no windows.

From the source:Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: 11/1/10, Las Vegas, Nevada. Released with redactions. This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP’s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD’s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD examines how cockpit design might change if future aerospace vehicles were ever to achieve major propulsion breakthroughs such as control over gravity and inertia, “propellantless” flight, or faster-than-light travel. The report does not describe an existing or emerging vehicle class. Instead, it asks what such hypothetical capabilities would mean for piloting, displays, controls, and human factors, and it argues that the biggest design challenges would come from full six-degree-of-freedom motion, operation across multiple flight regimes from near-surface flight to orbit and deep space, and the possible separation between the craft’s actual motion and the crew’s internal physical sensations. It combines those assumptions with established human-machine-interface principles and with maturing inputs such as gesture, voice, and brain-machine control to outline a provisional cockpit centered on intuitive displays, stress-tolerant physical controls, and a virtual surround display.

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Figure 11. Contemporary Primary Flight Display.
Source:
An analogous display will be required for the breakthrough-era craft, but with
modifications to accommodate the full six degrees of freedom and the additional flight
regimes of orbit and deep space. For example, the artificial horizon and altimeter have
meaning near the surface of a gravitating body, but it is not clear how effective such
references will be in flight regimes of orbit or in deep-space flight.
These orientation cues as well as compass headings are Earth dependent. Far from
Earth, the value of maintaining these cues is unknown, and substitute cues have not
been identified . Other orientation standards wi ll have to be developed for
breakthrough-era craft that will still be consistent with this aircraft convention when
operating near the surface of a gravitating body.
Navigation Display
The next most significant display is for navigation. Near Earth, this takes the form of a
map that can be augmented to show terra in and weather. Due to its importance, it has
a prominent place on the flight deck. Numerous related controls and displays are
avai lable for allowing the entry of destinations and waypoints into the system to
augment this one display screen .
Breakthrough-era craft will require additiona l navigation cues; these may include those
that will direct pilots into orbits and those for navigating in deep space.
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