Tactical UAVs EO/IR Solutions

Tactical UAVs are increasingly being used for Search And Rescue (SAR) missions, owing to their relative low cost and excellent performance compared with legacy manned assets. Organizations – both government and commercial – are experimenting with UAVs to supplement manned platforms such as helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft, improving response times, providing safety overwatch and ultimately helping to save even more lives on land and at sea. Advanced electro-optics are a key capability for any UAV involved in SARoperations, providing detailed day and night imagery for operators to make better decisions and conduct successful operations. This can determine whether a manned aviation asset needs to be deployed or not, increasing efficiencies and reducing the risk for personnel. Integrated onto Group 1 or Group 2 UAVs, CONTROP’s STAMP payloads provide unprecedented capability for SAR operations and can address both wide-area surveillance and detailed imagery requirements.

Tactical UAVs can be used to provide persistent surveillance, monitoring and observing large areas so that possible threats can be automatically detected and the appropriate response taken. UAVs equipped with CONTROP wide-area surveillance payload (WASP)  allow operators to see live high-resolution imagery supported by on board AI algorithm that highlight moving targets and can capture multiple threats simultaneously over wide areas. CONTROP’s 1.3kg STAMP-VMD provides visual coverage of a 1 sq. km area in real time and at high resolution. Owing to its low SWaP design, this payload can be integrated onto Group 1 UAVs. The STAMP-VMD is fitted with a unique integrated sensor processor that carries out onboard image processin. Onboard detection algorithms enable the use of standard datalink and minimal bandwidth to send only the relevant data to the operator at the ground station. Once combined with a targeting payload, the STAMP-VMD will provide wide-area surveillance and target detection capability.  While the second payload will investigate the targets and enable targeting operation.

As recent conflicts have shown, the use of tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions is increasing rapidly around the globe. Tactical UAVs enhance situational awareness, providing lower-level military formations with the capability to look over terrain or around buildings in urban settings for potential threats. Detailed imagery supplied by the UAV can be used by battalion or brigade commanders for intelligence gathering and enhanced battle management, including where to allocate forces and pre-empt actions by the enemy, and employ weapon systems. This data can also help create more detailed post-mission assessments. CONTROP’s STAMP family is integrated onto a variety of Group 1 and Group 2 UAVs, as well as aerostats, and is trusted by customers around the world. For Group 1 UAVs (1kg payload), CONTROP has developed the lightweight and low power multi-sensor MD-STAMP – with daylight camera and uncooled thermal sensor – that can be mounted on the nose or on the belly and also incorporate a laser designator. For Group 2 UAVs (3-6kg payload), the T-STAMP family can incorporate a laser designator (T-STAMP-XD) for precision-guided weapon guidance and a cooled thermal sensor for even greater image quality and longer distance surveillance.