Border Protector Michael J. Fisher - KMI Media Group

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WAASS must fit within the size, weight and power capabilities of an Orion P-3 or Predator B unmanned aerial system (UAS). “We named these two platforms to suggest we can’t use huge Global Hawks because they are too expensive and big,” Appleby said. “We would like to use WAASS on many small to medium aircraft but not on huge UASs. It could also be used on fixed and aerostat platforms. We would like flexibility so we can use it on many platforms.” DHS wants WAASS to be already integrated, or easily integrated, on necessary platforms. WAASS will need electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors for day and night surveillance. “We need to look at radar too,” Appleby noted. “It needs to be all-weather.” Integration of WAASS with CPB and USCG systems could be expensive. “They might take it as a service for a while, and then integrate it later on their own,” Appleby said. Wide area surveillance systems now used by the military tend to be heavy, 500 to 1,000 pounds, and mostly used for forensic surveillance, explained Chuck Willoughby, senior program manager at L-3 Integrated Optical Systems. L-3 IOS has concentrated on tactical wide-area surveillance, for which coverage is generally limited to the area of battalion operations. “We wanted a system that was affordable, provided coverage in real time and could ‘chip’ out a video stream for ROVER [Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver], One System Remote Video Terminal and VideoScout handheld devices,” Willoughby explained. The Office of Naval Research sought a surveillance system for the RQ-7 Shadow 200 UAS with Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL). L-3 IOS and another company were selected for the project two years ago and L-3 was down-selected to continue with the program, UltraWide, in December 2011. The key technology is mid-wave infrared (MWIR) focal plane array with a very large format, 4,096 by 4,096 pixels, or 16 megapixels. A single camera weighs just 50 to 60 pounds and is stabilized with a trunnion so it can keep focus as the UAS continues flight. L-3’s Instant Situational Awareness Wide Field of View (ISAW) device did test flights in July 2011 on a Cessna 208 Caravan. It can send video streams to ROVERs or VideoScouts. “We are looking to apply it to other aircraft,” Willoughby said. “We hope we can put it on Wescam turrets, MX-15 size and above.” ISAW could be combined with other cameras in turrets and put on the RQ-1 Predator, the MQ-1C Grey Eagle, manned aircraft or aerostats. ISAW can do border security on land and broad area maritime surveillance on P-8 Poseidons or UASs like MQ-8 Fire Scout. Willoughby argued that border security requires a mix of devices and platforms including aerial and aerostat. MWIR cameras see in day and night but are not all-weather sensors like radar. “ISAW can see through haze, but for all weather you would want to augment with radar,” Willoughby explained. ISAW typically covers a square kilometer on 16 megapixels, yielding resolution of a quarter meter, “good for detection and tracking personnel,” Willoughby said. ISAW usually flies at 7,500 feet. Coverage can be expanded with altitude, but resolution declines. Other systems use multiple cameras for wider fields, but this increases weight and requires stitching images together, unlike UltraWide’s single camera. L-3 IOS is developing UltraWide for the Shadow by 2015 or 2016. It plans to increase the array to 64 megapixels. 26 | BCD 1.1 “It’s the most economic technology, the most compact and has the least data burdens,” Willoughby summarized. Since data transmission is a challenge, ISAW can chip out a section of the image, 640 by 640 pixels selected by the user, for streaming to the ground. Automating selection may be practical for maritime surveillance with little clutter, but would be tough for land images with many moving objects. L-3 wants to develop zoom capabilities. L-3 IOS is developing ISAW variants for pods and insertion in MX-15 turrets. Variants would typically operate between 15,000 and 20,000 feet and could be cued by other sensors—for example, signals intelligence that can locate but not view surveillance targets. ISAW itself could cue ‘soda straw’ sensors for a closer look at targets to determine intent. Other L-3 divisions have developed ISR platforms for lease by customers as ‘surveillance by the hour.’ Persistent Surveillance Systems (PSS) has a teaming agreement with Goodrich and has produced a new generation of both airborne and ground-based wide-area surveillance sensors, designed to be affordable, turn-key solutions. PSS provides both EO and IR systems to track vehicles and people over areas up to 25 square miles. Its surveillance technologies can monitor entire cities and borders at resolutions allowing tracking of vehicles and people, according to Lisa Beam, director of external relations. PSS’s systems can integrate with existing cameras to enhance image analysis of forensic data for many uses, including border security. Beam said nearly all full motion video-based surveillance has so far been limited by low resolution and narrow field-of-view. “Traditional surveillance sensors, such as camera balls and video cameras, are not very effective because they depend on looking in the right spot to capture an event,” Beam said. But PSS uses wide area survey mode or persistent stare mode to allow wider fields of view. “All data is archived so events can be analyzed in real time or forensically to recreate the sequence of events.” According to Beam, PSS has developed systems that provide a field of view equivalent to nearly 300 full motion video cameras normally found on surveillance aircraft. PSS’s Hawkeye, Hawkeye II and Nighthawk deliver real-time, high-resolution imagery for tracking individuals and vehicles in very large areas. An intuitive tracking system, I-View, allows multiple users to monitor several events simultaneously. The first-generation Hawkeye offers 88 megapixels resolution in black and white, typically covering four miles by four miles. Hawkeye II offers 192 megapixels of three-color images over an area up to five by five miles. The Nighthawk is an EO and MWIR sensor for day and night. Inherent EO resolution is 22 megapixels, with four megapixels for MWIR. Step-stare quadruples MWIR resolution to 88 and 16 megapixels. All PSS systems have easy-to-use interfaces, can store hours of imagery and support up to 10 remote user stations. PSS also offers full-service solutions, including PSS aircraft, pilots, on-air image processors, real-time downlinks, command centers and user stations, secure data server and storage, on-site technical support, training and analysis. O For more information, contact BCD Editor Brian O’Shea at briano@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.BCD-kmi.com. www.BCD-kmi.com
The advertisers index is provided as a service to our readers. KMI cannot be held responsible for discrepancies due to last-minute changes or alterations. BCD RESOURCE CENTER aDVertIsers InDex CalenDar Ashford University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 www.military.ashford.edu/cbrne Border Management Conference & Technology Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 www.bordertechexpo.com Elbit Systems of America, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C4 www.elbitsystems-us.com Empire State College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 www.esc.edu/military G4S International Training Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 www.g4siti.com Idaho Technology Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 www.bio-surveillance.com Raytheon Company (NCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 www.raytheon.com Skedco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 www.skedco.com June 26-27, 2012 2012 CCRA Exhibition Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. www.chemical-corps.org/cms/blog-layout/37-frontpage-news/181-2012-ccra-conf.html July 23-25, 2012 Border Management Summit North Seattle, Wash. www.bordermanagementsummit.com/event. aspx?id=724988 August 1-3, 2012 Department of Defense Fire & Emergency Services Conference Denver, Colo. http://s36.a2zinc.net/clients/iafc/dod12/public/ mainhall.aspx?id=3447 www.BCD-kmi.com BCD 1.1 | 27
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