Teledyne Flir has collaborated with AM General to display a Humvee military vehicle using the lightweight vehicle surveillance system made by Teledyne Flir during the Association of the U.S. Army annual conference this month.
The displayed vehicle is a technology demonstrator for future Army mobile command and control vehicles, integrating newly advanced radar, long-range cameras and other sensors to detect and defeat threats such as weaponized small drones, the company, a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. in Thousand Oaks, said in a release.
JihFen Lei, executive vice president and general manager of Teledyne Flir Defense in Wilsonville, Oregon, said that this first-time concept showcasing the lightweight vehicle surveillance system (LVSS) illustrates how the company can reduce the command post footprint while at the same time improving mobility and agility.
“LVSS brings a host of sophisticated sensing technologies onto one platform,” Lei said in a statement. “It provides mobile surveillance that can be quickly redeployed as threats change, a critical need on today’s battlefield as evidenced by events in Eastern Europe.”
With its air domain-awareness technology, LVSS fits in the back of the Humvee 2 cargo truck to provide counter unmanned aerial systems protection; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and force protection capabilities, according to the Teledyne Flir release.
The LVSS platform features a 16-foot fully retractable mast that leverages a combination of 3D radar, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera, plus RF detection and mitigation sensors to provide early warning alerts and recognition, the release said.
Ready to meet the requirements of several Army programs, including command post integrated infrastructure and ground-based operational surveillance system-expeditionary, the capability concept would aid commanders with multi-domain decision support in a mobile command and control vehicle, the release added.
The Humvee with the LVSS package attached to it was built by AM General, a South Bend, Indiana-based company that developed the vehicles until selling the business to General Motors Co. in 1999.
Also on display for the first time at the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) conference was StormCaster-DX, a multi-role laser designator payload built especially for use on Flir’s R80D SkyRaider Group 1 small drones, the release continued.
Teledyne FLIR Defense also is introducing StormCaster-E, the latest in its StormCaster payload series designed for the company’s small drone aircraft. The new long-range imaging sensor features a fully integrated (electro-optical) camera built for missions that require clear and precise imagery across daylight and low light conditions, the company’s release said.
“We’re also proud to launch our rugged new StormCaster-E payload, which marks a major leap forward in performance, line of sight stabilization, and range of motion for a low SWaP-C (size, weight, power and cost) package,” Lei added in her statement.
The AUSA, founded in 1950 and based in Arlington, Virginia, is a nonprofit educational and professional development association serving all of the U.S. Army – regular Army, National Guard, Reserve, civilians, and family members – and supporters of a strong national defense.
Its annual conference took place from Oct. 10 to 12 in Washington, D.C. and is designed to deliver the Army’s message by highlighting the capabilities of organizations and presenting a wide range of industry products and services, according to the AUSA website.