Lighter REDKITE and Exportable KESTREL Block II
Logos Technologies is taking its range of wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) sensors to IDEX for the first time this month. Featured on the company’s stand in Abu Dhabi is an exportable version of the KESTREL Block II and an even lighter version of the already elfin REDKITE.
The original KESTREL has been in US service since 2011. On an aerostat, the sensor creates a 440Mpx mosaic image and can monitor an area the size of a city, 24/7, for weeks at a time, simultaneously tracking all significant movers in real time and recording images for subsequent forensic analysis. The Block II evolution has improved operational reliability and offers a weight reduction from 150lbs (68kg) to under 85lbs (40kg). “The KESTREL Block II is also widely exportable,” noted Alan Murdoch, the company’s vice president of International Programmes.
Also on display at IDEX is Logos Technologies’ lightweight, day-only REDKITE WAMI sensor. Housed in a platform-agnostic pod suitable for a variety of helicopters, planes and UAS, it will store up to eight hours of tagged and geo-registered imagery while in flight. In its pod form, the system weighs less than 35lbs (15 kg). However, attendees at IDEX will, for the first time ever, get to see a full-size model of an even lighter REDKITE sensor adapted for internal mounting in a small UAS. The camera (greater than 50Mpx) can image an area up to 4km in diameter. Operators can retrieve up to 10 selected video feeds, and stream them down to multiple receivers in real time.
