Flying Eyes Optics and Cambium Unveil Anti-Laser Pilot Eyewear at ALPA's 70th Air Safety Forum
Why It MattersThe collaboration shows cockpit safety equipment increasingly requires pairing specialized materials science with wearable ergonomics, since a protective lens only works operationally if pilots will actually keep it on under a headset.
What happened
Flying Eyes Optics and Cambium announced a collaboration to develop purpose-built laser eye protection for cockpit use, with the product set to debut at ALPA's 70th Air Safety Forum in Washington, D.C., held September 14–17, 2026.
The partnership pairs Cambium's SentinelOps™ laser-blocking lenses with Flying Eyes Optics' patented headset-compatible frames. The lens uses a precision notch filter that attenuates 532nm green laser light — described as the wavelength most commonly directed at aircraft — at an optical density of 2.5 or greater, reducing exposure below the eye injury threshold while preserving full color vision and instrument readability; lens scratches do not degrade the protective performance. The frames feature patented Resilamide™ temples, just 1mm thick and flexible, designed to be worn under headsets and helmets without breaking the ear seal or causing pressure points. The companies describe the combination as the first laser protection eyewear designed specifically for cockpit use.
Pilots reported 10,994 laser strikes to the FAA in 2025, and the agency has tracked more than 330 pilot injuries since 2010. Dean Siracusa, President and CEO of Flying Eyes Optics, said, "Laser strikes are something professional pilots deal with on a regular basis, and until now there has been no practical protection they could actually wear in the cockpit... Cambium solved the lens problem and we solved the frame problem. Together, this is protection pilots will actually use." Kevin Nottage, Senior Optics Products Manager at Cambium, said flash blindness or glare during approach or departure can compromise situational awareness at critical moments, adding, "We built this lens so pilots don't have to choose between protection and performance."
Flying Eyes Optics, the specialty eyewear brand of Summer Hawk Optics, Inc., was founded in 2013 and is based in Buda, Texas. Cambium is headquartered in El Segundo, California, and operates manufacturing, development, and testing facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union.
Industry impact & what to watch
Laser strikes sit in a category of aviation hazards that regulation alone has not resolved: reporting figures climb even as enforcement and public-awareness campaigns continue, which is why equipment makers are now approaching the problem from the cockpit outward rather than waiting on ground-based deterrence. Authorities note the reported count likely understates the true frequency, since strikes that do not cause visible harm often go unrecorded.
Protective eyewear for pilots has historically faced a practical barrier: any lens or frame that interferes with headset fit, ear seal, or instrument color perception simply will not be worn during actual operations, no matter how effective its filtering. Pairing a materials-science lens supplier with a frame maker whose product is already built for headset compatibility addresses that adoption problem directly rather than treating optical performance and wearability as separate design questions.
What happens next depends on uptake at the operational level — whether individual pilots and airline safety departments adopt the eyewear as standard cockpit gear following its introduction at the Air Safety Forum, and whether reported strike or injury figures shift in the years following wider availability.
