Friday, June 19, 2015

Thales I-Master Ku-band SAR/GMTI Radar Sells in Paris


I-Master radar is integrated into Scorpion jet - Military Embedded Systems
PARIS. At the 2015 Paris Air show, Thales and Textron AirLand announced the integration of Thales’ I-Master radar into the Textron AirLand’s Scorpion Jet. The addition of the I-Master radar compliments the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor suite that includes an EO/IR capability. The I-Master is a multi-mode radar and combined with an EO/IR camera adds target and long range, wide area surveillance capability. These two payloads can be simultaneously operated.

Thales to deliver more I-Master SAR/GMTI radars for Jordanian Air Force - Airforce Technology
Thales has secured an order from the Jordanian Armed Forces to deliver more I-Master synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radars for the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
In April, Thales received contracts for the supply of air defence systems and services to the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Under the contracts, the company will supply SMART-L early warning capability (EWC) ground-based (GB) systems to the Royal Netherlands Air Force and maintenance services for the Navy's four SMART-L EWC radars.

I-Master - Light-weight ground-surveillance radar



I-Master ground surveillance radar | Thales Group
I-MASTER is Thales' new lightweight high performance combined Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI). I-MASTER weighs only 30kg for use onboard a wide range of unmanned air vehicles (UAV), helicopters, small fixed wing aircraft and tilt rotor platforms.
The low weight of I-MASTER means that a combined SAR/GMTI capability can be added to tactical UAVs either in addition to or instead of electro-optic (E/O) sensors. I-MASTER is also designed to fit existing E/O payload mountings. On smaller air vehicles, which are able to carry just one payload, this unique feature enables the sensor to be exchanged within a few minutes. This capability will allow the platform's role to be quickly adapted as the mission tempo and the environment changes. For larger air vehicles, able to carry more than one payload, collaborative targeting using both SAR/GMTI and EO packages greatly increases the options available to the field commander.

With 360-degree coverage and an innovative stabilized antenna, I-MASTER provides high quality images over a wide area from small air vehicles in a wide range of flight conditions.
Key features
  • High-fidelity, 360° all-weather, day/night surveillance
  • Ground moving target indication (GMTI) & synthetic aperture radar (SAR) modes
  • Compact, single line replacement unit – interchangeable with electro optic/infrared turret sensors
  • Ideal for rotary, fixed-wing, manned and unmanned platforms

Watchkeeper Then and Now - Think Defence

Thales iMaster SAR GMTI
Thales iMaster SAR GMTI
It can rotate through 360 degrees, operate up to 20km in strip mode, 15km in spot mode, and is able to detect slow moving targets such as vehicles or people out to 20km. During the initial bid phase the US Government gave permission for the APY-8 Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to be used on either the WK450 or Fire Scout. [Watchkeeper Then and Now - Think Defence]

The 32Kg 620W Thales I-Master (Ku-band 12.5 to 18 GHz) synthetic aperture radar / ground moving target indicator (SAR/GMTI).was eventually selected for Watchkeeper. I-Master was developed from the Racal POD SAR and includes technology from the Searchwater radar.

Watchkeeper Imagery composite
Watchkeeper Imagery composite

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