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Self Contained Aerial Reconnaissance Pod
Self Contained Aerial Reconnaissance Pod
An increasing number of military airframes are being fitted with a self contained aerial reconnaissance pod that enables it to capture high resolution imagery and transmit it back to ground stations.self contained aerial reconnaissance pod This has been possible because of the miniaturisation of sensors and the development of Wi-Fi technology that means there is no need for data cabling connections to the aircraft.
The pod also imposes new constraints that were not present in the case of traditional sensor installations.self contained aerial reconnaissance pod Available space is often limited and the environmental conditions are likely to be more hostile. Moreover, it is often more difficult to access the equipment for maintenance and inspections than when the sensors are mounted in their usual position on the airframe.
In addition to these restrictions, a typical pod must be capable of being switched on and off quickly. It is also important that it can operate with a very light payload and do so without affecting the handling characteristics of the airframe.
Australia's Sentient Vision Systems and Austrian-based Airborne Technologies are working together to offer a self contained reconnaissance pod that addresses these issues. They have developed a day/night version of their AW-139 Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) pod that can be fitted to helicopters and multi-mission platforms like the Pilatus PC-6 and Tecnam Multi-Mission Aircraft.
The ViDAR pod has a number of features that are intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of search and rescue (SAR) missions. This includes the use of artificial intelligence to scan 180-degrees of electro optical and infra red imagery for potential targets that are invisible to a human operator. The pod can then automatically cross-cue the search turret to focus on the target area. This is supposed to reduce search time by 300 times compared with a normal fixed sensor installation.
Another feature is the ability of the ViDAR system to relay the images in near real time back to the aircraft and if required to ground stations via a secure UHF datalink from within the pod. The US Navy's AN/AAQ-14 targeting pod for carrier airborne reconnaissance (TARPS) is an example of this capability. It has been in service on F-15C Eagles and F-16C/D Falcons since 1980.
Originally the TARPS pod was a wet film targeting pod but it was later modified to allow the transmission of images in near real time. This allowed the pod to be used in a combat role to communicate radar tracking information back to the pilot of an F-15C during an air-to-air missile engagement.
The TARPS pod consisted of a forward bay carrying a Vinten F95 Mk 7 camera in the nose and a fan of four horizon to horizon Vinten F95 Mk 10 cameras two with 3 inch and two with 1.5 inch lenses in the middle. Optically accurate glass windows were fitted across the drum skins at each camera position. The front and middle cameras could be removed and replaced with a module mounting a vertical F126 survey camera for medium level reconnaissance when the pod was required to undertake this role.
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