Small UAV Shatters Line-of-Sight Barrier

Small UAV Shatters Line-of-Sight Barrier

line-of-sight

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

A new configuration of proven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) shatters the line-of-sight barrier for small unmanned aircraft. A beyond line of sight, SATCOM-enabled small-UAV capable of ranging modern combat theaters has been recently exposed.

The Integrator Extended Range developed by Insitu delivers Group 4 and 5 capabilities in a Group 3 aircraft including:

  • Extended range operations of 10 hours time on station at 200 nm and six hours at 300 nm.
  • High quality, full motion video on par with current ISR systems while flying at acoustically and visually undetectable altitudes.
  • Significantly reduced cost compared with contracted medium-altitude unmanned systems in operation today.
  • Bandwidth throughput up to 10 megabits per second.
  • Modularity for easy integration of multiple payloads, including EW and SIGINT.
  • Significantly reduced manpower footprint for operations; the system can be operated by a team of 12 operators, maintainers and mission commanders.
  • More secure, jam-resistant networks than traditional unmanned systems in use today due to improvements in commercial communication satellite technology

The new system augments higher cost systems with a small UAV, freeing up the larger strike-capable unmanned assets to conduct more of the kinetic missions for which they were designed, according to the company’s announcement on its website.

In addition, Integrator ER will put more eyes and ears in dangerous environments around the world to give US troops on the ground a common operating picture that heightens their awareness and brings them home safely.

The company specializes in unmanned systems and software technology that deliver end-to-end solutions for collecting, processing and understanding sensor data.

Esina Alic, president and CEO, said: “High quality, long-endurance ISR – to include FMV (full motion video) and SIGINT- remains one of, if not the most requested and unmet need for the US Department of Defense.” With Insitu’s technology, “all warfighting units and coalition partners can have access to what was once a limited resource, getting this much-needed capability in the hands of the warfighter at a fraction of the cost of any current system available today.”