Diamond DA42MPP GUARDIAN I-Master radar system has successfully completed flight trials onboard a Diamond DA42MPP GUARDIAN turbopr...
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| Diamond DA42MPP GUARDIAN |
Conducted in partnership with Diamond Aircraft Industries and Diamond Airborne Sensing at its facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the week-long trial covered different radar modes at a range of altitudes and speeds.
The demonstration included using the onboard payload to transmit full-resolution radar images and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) footage via a high-bandwidth line-of-sight data link to controllers at the ground station.
The DA42MPP NG, with its de-icing TKS protection, is all-weather capable, enabling flight operations to use the Thales I-Master radar to detect targets; these can then be identified by the EO/IR turret, which is also mounted on the platform, before the footage is sent back to headquarters via line-of-sight datalink.
I-Master is an all-weather, lightweight payload that is easily installed in a standard 15-inch gimbal outline. Its high-performance radar offers two modes: Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery.
GMTI is used to detect moving targets – from high-speed vehicles to targets moving at a walking pace.
Its 360-degree capability can scan a wide area, such as deserts, savannah, borders and road networks, and its use over time can help to build a ‘pattern of life’ situation awareness.
SAR is used for long-range stand-off image collection – both high-resolution spotlight pictures and extended ‘strip maps’. It is deployed as an alternative to gathering images by camera; its long range enables aircraft to avoid dangerous situations, and it is unaffected by severe weather conditions or lack of light.
I-MASTER weighs only 30kg, and provides the perfect balance of capability, cost, weight and power consumption for use onboard a wide range of unmanned air vehicles (UAV), helicopters, small fixed wing aircraft and tilt rotor platforms.
The Diamond DA42MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform) GUARDIAN is an innovative twin-engine aircraft specially designed for carrying interchangeable multi-function sensor equipment. The aircraft used during the I-Master trial was configured for an airborne mission capability of 7-9 hours with a two-man crew.
