Airborne Electro Optical Pod
Airborne Electro Optical Pod
Airborne electro optical pod is a multifunctional system that combines different types of advanced sensors to enable a wide range of military, security and law enforcement missions.airborne electro optical pod These systems can be mounted on a variety of aircraft including fixed-wing, rotary-wing and UAVs to perform surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting tasks in different environmental conditions. The pod consists of a modular sensor platform that integrates various sensors including visible light cameras, infrared thermal imagers and laser rangefinders to meet specific mission requirements.
Changing, integrating or upgrading sensors on a military aircraft can be expensive and time consuming.airborne electro optical pod A new system aims to simplify this process by providing a flexible platform for changing and adding sensors as needed. The OpenPod sensor system is designed to be compatible with various aircraft and will initially be available with targeting and infrared search and track (IRST) sensors at launch, followed by communications and light direction and ranging (LIDAR) sensors later on.
The movable EO/IR pod is a large structure that can be located under the wings or in the nose area of the aircraft. It is designed to provide a maximum forward-looking field of view for the operator and is surrounded by a Ferrofluidic seal that provides a high level of performance with minimal drag torque across a wide temperature range.
Airborne Optical Pods market is segmented by sensor type, platform type and range type. Among these, the Optical & Radar based reconnaissance segment dominates the market with significant share due to rising need of Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) systems globally. This segment is further subdivided into passive imaging sensors, radar based reconnaissance and others.
Passive imaging sensors capture visible and infrared spectra to provide spherical situational awareness and long-range precision targeting without emitting any detectable energy. Northrop Grumman’s LITENING pod, for example, combines visible and infrared capabilities to deliver a 360-degree view of the battlespace with a scalar-based threat representation.
The scalar-based threat representation is created using multiple layers of passive data to identify and isolate the target from clutter. This allows the pod to detect a target even when it is obscured by cloud cover or smoke. It also enables the pod to determine the location of the target, and then transmit this information to a pilot’s helmet display or mission control system. This allows the pilot to target the specific part of a vehicle, ship or building for destruction. The system also tracks targets and provides a live video feed for the pilot to use as a guide in directing a missile towards the target. This capability will eventually replace traditional radar guided weapons, which are less precise and are vulnerable to countermeasures. This would allow for a wider array of weapon types and more flexibility for the pilot to choose which target to attack. In addition, it could lead to the development of new missiles that use a combination of guidance methods (e.g. IR, optical and radar). This would confuse the enemy by having to defend against all methods of guidance at the same time.
Tags:electro optical infrared sensor | electro optical infrared sensor systems | electro optical infrared systems