Swiss Army Getting New Reconnaissance Solution

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The Swiss Army has ordered a fleet of Indago 3 small UAS from Lockheed Martin. The quadrotor Indago UAS provides aerial reconnaissance in environments unreachable by normal fixed-wing UAS. The Indago 3s that the Swiss Army is receiving will support tactical level reconnaissance and surveillance to support a variety of missions including information collection, search and rescue, disaster relief and battle damage assessment.

The company was contracted by the Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) — a federal agency of the Swiss Confederation. The contract includes options for spares, training and tech support and additional systems for the Swiss Army.

The first phase includes manufacturing development to optimize the Indago 3’s configuration to meet Swiss Army requirements, which will include the integration of a transponder for sense and avoid; installation of the Silvus Technologies’ radio; and implementation of Lockheed Martin CDL Systems’ VCSi Touch SUAS Ground Control System software that includes access to Swiss maps, including digital terrain elevation data (DTED), and Geofencing.

The first set of optimized systems will be delivered later this year. The remaining systems will be delivered several months following the first delivery.

“Indago 3 is uniquely qualified to support the Swiss Army’s mission needs,” says Steve Fortson, UAS Portfolio manager at Lockheed Martin.

“Indagos operate very quietly from relatively low altitude and provide high fidelity sensor imagery. They are simple to use and require minimal training so soldiers can quickly execute their mission. The Silvus Technologies radios also deliver best-in-class performance and efficiency in a miniature package. They’re ideal for use in portable and embedded applications where size, weight, power and cost are key.”

Lockheed Martin notes that depending on payloads and operating environment, Indago 3 has a flight time of up to 50 minutes, a range of 10 kilometers, a cruise speed of 25 knots.

The UAS is also capable of operating at temperatures as low as 30-degrees below zero and as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Cyber-secure with high fidelity color and infrared 3-axis stabilized sensors, the UAS, which weighs approximately five pounds, can be transported via a single backpack and deployed in less than three minutes, according to vision-systems.com.