Eurosatory | Show report different low-Earth orbit [LEO] satellite constellations for position, and to have those several different services incorporated into our INS’s extended Kalman filter as part of the standard package,” Jamie Marraccini said. Also being incorporated is the ability to use map matching and map management to aid the company’s INS. This utilises many different collections of satellite maps and manages them based on various environmental factors. Map matching acts as an extremely accurate aiding data source for visual positioning solutions as the system will be able to cross-reference features identified in the live data with the database of mapping data in real-time. “Additionally, following on from our previous release of a downward-facing camera for visual odometry, we’ve also begun deploying a stereo vision solution for low-flying and ground vehicle deployments, and we’re also enabling the prospect of additional computer vision suppliers,” Marraccini noted. KrattWorks showcased its fixed- wing, aerial target uncrewed vessel, DART, a blended wing-body aircraft designed as an aerial target UAV for air-defence units, as well as practising C-UAS drills. “We’ve engineered it to fly as a target for heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft cannons and heat-seeking missiles. For missile-shooting practice, we add IR flares to the aeroplane to generate sufficient heat signature,” said Martin Karmin at KrattWorks. While most target UAVs are designed as sleek, narrow aircraft, KrattWorks created the DART with a wide, blended wing-body for greater visibility, improved aerodynamics and faster cruise speeds, thus increasing its utility to the end-user. The 7 kg UAV has a wingspan of 2.2 m and length of 0.95 m. It flies at up to 50 m/s (180 kph) with a cruising speed of 30 m/s (108 kph), endurance of up to 40 minutes and an operating altitude ceiling of 4 km. Propulsion comes from a frontmounted, two-cylinder, two-stroke engine, selected for cost-effectiveness and a high power-to-weight ratio compared with four-strokes. DART aerial target can also be mounted with various radar reflectors, and used for testing and exercises by air-surveillance radar units. KrattWorks also discussed its reconnaissance multirotor uncrewed vehicle, ISR Ghost Dragon, which has been developed to resist electronic warfare jamming or GNSS spoofing. It uses a wide-frequency, range-hopping radio for jamming resistant video and telemetry links, and it also has GNSS-free navigation capabilities. Hood Tech Vision exhibited a range of its payload solutions, including one of its latest gimbals, the 06 series EO/IR product. “It’s a 6 in-diameter gimbal with four layers of stabilisation,” said Nolan Ohmart at Hood Tech Vision. “Gimbals of this size are challenging to stabilise with multiple layers, and two or three is common, but we’ve integrated four electric motors, two for pitch and two for yaw, to achieve optimal and closed-loop motion performance. We can also integrate a fifth layer for roll stabilisation depending on customer requirements.” The 06 integrates a set of optics custom-designed by the company for the gimbal’s MWIR sensor, which optimises the packaging of the components surrounding the lens, and thus the product’s measurement and motion performance. A laser target designator can also be installed, with fine target tracking aided by the gimbal’s aforementioned stabilisation architecture. Hood Tech also showcased its ALTICAM 14 (AC-14), originally developed for the Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack (since restyled and developed as the Integrator, detailed in Issue 57). Like the 06 series, the AC-14 integrates a MWIR sensor, along with an EO camera; the latter being capable of 280X zoom and the former 33X zoom. It can additionally output three simultaneous, H.264-compressed video streams with embedded video-processing and AI, along with automated target tracking, video motion target indicators and automatic target recognition. “One of the features that’s been key to the AC-14’s high performance, relative to its SWaP profile, is its lens, which we custom-designed into a form factor that other companies haven’t been able to achieve,” Ohmart added. 61 Uncrewed Systems Technology | October/November 2024 KrattWorks’ DART target drone
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4