Types of Aerial Reconnaissance Pod

Types of Aerial Reconnaissance Pod

When an aircraft is flying reconnaissance missions a pod is often used to carry the necessary cameras and other equipment for the task.aerial reconnaissance pod The resulting images are then sent to intelligence analysts on the ground so they can be examined for military information. A number of different types of aerial reconnaissance pods have been developed over the years, each offering a unique set of capabilities to suit various military needs and mission requirements.

Unlike the old wet film systems of the past the newer digital pods can relay imagery in near real time back to a carrier or ground station over their secure UHF datalink.aerial reconnaissance pod This allows a Tomcat crew to immediately determine if an enemy ship has been damaged by battle damage assessment or to track the location of a target for targeting with other weapons.

The AN/ASQ-236 Radar Pod from Northrop Grumman fits on the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft and uses synthetic aperture radar to detect targets during day or night operations.aerial reconnaissance pod It provides highly detailed maps for surveillance, target coordination and bomb impact assessment purposes.

This radar system has been extensively tested on an F-15E testbed aircraft to ensure it meets the stringent performance requirements of the US Air Force. The system has also been installed on a Bell 407GXi aircraft for use by a government customer in Poland.

The pod can be equipped with a variety of sensors including optical and infrared cameras, and even a laser designator. It can also be fitted with a full ViDAR sensor suite providing SAR, ISAR, GMTI and IFF capability.

A recent development is the Goodrich DB-110 multispectral Airborne Reconnaissance System (MRS) that can be fitted to the newer F/A-18E and F/A-18F jets. It can be used in either day or night and can capture a wide range of image types. This includes a wide-angle lens for all-round vision and narrow-focus lenses that can focus on small targets. It can also transmit images over its data link to ground stations for live processing.

The DB-110 MRS is produced by Goodrich's Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems group in Chelmsford, Mass., and is designed to be paired with Goodrich data link ground stations. This will allow the system to be used on an entire fleet of newer F/A-18E and F/A-18F aircraft as well as older TARPS-equipped aircraft.

A large part of the MR-S design is to minimize its size and weight, so that it can be carried on an existing aircraft without major modifications. It can be attached to the aircraft via a NATO standard pylon lug and doesn't require any additional power or data communication cabling on the aircraft. It operates off a lithium-ion battery pack and sends downlink and uplink data to the aircraft's cockpit over a datalink interface in the pod itself.