Thermal Imager Provides Tactical Superiority Day and Night
At Eurosatory in Paris on 11 June Thales launched SOPHIE ULTIMA, a lightweight, very high performance 4-in-1 thermal imager, takin the SOPHIE family to the next level. The new product is ready for connected combat and augmented reality and will help to guarantee tactical superiority both night and day.
The device combines tactical binoculars, an infrared target locator, a daytime laser range finder and a teleconverter into a single piece of equipment, significantly reducing size and weight while delivering even higher performance. At 2.5kg, SOPHIE ULTIMA meets the need to progressively reduce the weight of equipment deployed by armed forces. Providing significant tactical advantages at night, it makes target identification possible over distances at which competing equipment can only recognise the target type. Most importantly, the device also provides tactical advantages in daytime operations by combining a high-performance glass day channel with the detection capabilities of infrared imaging. Detecting body heat at ranges over 1km, this technology will allow soldiers to unmask potential enemy troops, who would previously have been invisible to the naked eye.
With SOPHIE ULTIMA, Thales is offering a thermal imager with expanded functionality and augmented performance. This enables it to deliver the benefits of collaborative combat, such as augmented reality, in a digitalised theatre of operations. Soldiers are able to detect sooner and engage faster, and as a result, strike faster, safer with greater precision.
The product architecture is fully modular to accommodate future operational requirements and technologies, and includes the new ‘eXtension’ concept, a family of plug & play accessories for future capability upgrades. SOPHIE ULTIMA offers a significantly reduced instruction, training and support footprint thanks to common user interfaces and shared maintenance solutions, while still ensuring mission-specific equipment availability. The new SOPHIE family will cover the needs of operational units from squadron leaders to Special Forces. In recent years, Thales has sold 15,000 SOPHIE thermal imagers in 55 countries. “The armed forces rely on Thales for its expertise in the connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity technologies that are key to their digital transformation. With SOPHIE ULTIMA, the soldier of the future will master the art of collaborative combat day and night,” commented the company’s Vice President, Optronics, Jean-Pascal Arrou-Vignod.
