New laser eye protection lenses in patented headset-compatible frames debut at ALPA's 70th Air Safety Forum in Washington, D.C.

BUDA, Texas, Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Flying Eyes Optics, maker of patented eyewear designed for pilots, and Cambium, which develops advanced materials for defense and high-performance applications, today announced a collaboration to bring purpose-built laser eye protection to the cockpit. The companies will debut the lenses at ALPA's 70th Air Safety Forum, September 14–17, 2026, in Washington, D.C., where attendees can try on Cambium's SentinelOps™ laser blocking lenses in Flying Eyes frames.

Laser strikes remain one of the most persistent threats to flight safety. Pilots reported 10,994 laser strikes to the FAA in 2025, and the agency has tracked more than 330 pilot injuries since 2010. Because many strikes go unreported, the true number is likely far higher.

Cambium's lens technology, built on its SentinelOps platform, uses a precision notch filter that attenuates 532nm green laser light (the wavelength most commonly aimed at aircraft) at an optical density of 2.5+, reducing exposure below the eye injury threshold while preserving the rest of the visible spectrum. The lenses maintain high color acuity, so avionics, instruments, and navigation displays remain fully readable. Lens scratches do not degrade protective performance, and pilots can wear the eyewear situationally during the most vulnerable phases of flight: departure and arrival.

Flying Eyes frames are engineered specifically for pilots. The company's patented Resilamide™ temples are just 1mm thick and flexible, allowing the eyewear to be worn comfortably under headsets and helmets without breaking the ear seal or creating pressure points. Pairing these frames with Cambium's lens technology creates the first laser protection eyewear designed from the ground up for how pilots actually fly.

"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," said Dean Siracusa, President/CEO of Flying Eyes Optics. "Cambium solved the lens problem and we solved the frame problem. Together, this is protection pilots will actually use."

"A few seconds of flash blindness or glare during approach or departure is enough to compromise a pilot's situational awareness at exactly the wrong moment," said Kevin Nottage, Senior Optics Products Manager at Cambium. "We built this lens so pilots don't have to choose between protection and performance. They can see their instruments clearly, keep full color vision in the cockpit, and know they're covered during the flight phases where a strike is most likely to matter."

Air Safety Forum attendees can visit the SentinelOps table to try the lenses and speak with a Flying Eyes representative. The lenses will be offered across the Flying Eyes frame lineup, and interested pilots and organizations can sign up for availability updates at flyingeyesoptics.com/pages/laser-protection-lenses.

About Flying Eyes Optics

Flying Eyes Optics, the specialty eyewear brand of Summer Hawk Optics, Inc., designs and manufactures eyewear built for use under helmets and headsets, protected by five U.S. and international patents. Founded in 2013 and based in Buda, Texas, the company is known for its signature Resilamide™ temples: 1mm thin, extremely flexible, and virtually unbreakable, shaped to wrap around the head rather than down around the ears. Flying Eyes offers a full line of sunglasses and prescription eyewear designed for pilots, motorcyclists, and racers, and for anyone who regularly wears a helmet or headset. The company ships to customers in nearly every country in the world. Learn more at flyingeyesoptics.com or follow @flyingeyesworld.

About Cambium

Cambium is building the advanced materials base for those building the future. The company integrates AI-driven materials discovery, rapid product development, industrialized qualification, and flexible manufacturing into a single operating system, compressing the path from invention to qualified production from years to months. Cambium's advanced composites and specialty materials serve customers across defense, aerospace, space, high-performance automotive and other industries where performance and speed of supply are decisive. Headquartered in El Segundo, CA, Cambium operates four manufacturing, development, and testing facilities across the US, UK, and EU. Visit cambiumglobal.com.

Media Contact
Talon Reed
Flying Eyes Optics
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SOURCE Summer Hawk Optics Inc dba Flying Eyes Optics