Kopin Achieves Major Milestone in Development of Next Generation F-35 Microdisplay

Kopin® Corporation (Nasdaq: KOPN), a leading provider of application specific optical systems for defense, enterprise, professional and consumer markets, today announced that it has achieved an important milestone in the production qualification of its high performance Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS).

The F-35, the world's most advanced jet fighter, is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, day and night, stealth combat aircraft. The F-35 aircraft is designed to perform both air superiority and strike missions while also providing electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Much of the functionality is enabled through an advanced augmented reality (AR) helmet, which provides the pilot with critical flight, tactical, and sensor information for advanced situational awareness, precision and safety. The extensive functionality and extreme conditions require unique display technology.

While Kopin continues as the sole-source supplier of its high-brightness AMLCDs for the F-35 HMDS under a multi-year procurement agreement that is expected to continue over several more years, it is also engaged in a development program to production qualify the next generation OLED displays for the HMDS. Recently Kopin completed its full performance validation of the OLED display in preparation for customer qualification and flight testing.

"Performance validation for the new OLED display is an important milestone in the production qualification of our display and confirms the exceptional performance of our OLED technology," stated Bill Maffucci, the Company's Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. "We believe our display is the only one that meets the higher performance requirements for this program because of it high dynamic range, and as a result the Kopin OLED is the only version moving forward into final qualification and full rate production. We believe successful completion of customer testing will enable Kopin to continue as the sole provider of production displays for the F-35 HMDS through two generations of display technologies."

As the largest procurement program in the Department of Defense (DOD), the F-35 strike fighter aircraft is being procured in different configurations for multiple branches of the DOD, including the United States Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy (NVYAF).