The AIRTEC team has successfully completed an experimental research and development project with our 208B Caravan EX. The aircraft platform was modified to test a total of 4 sensors within a short timeframe, providing valuable data for Department of Defense customers including the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard as well as the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory missions.
Working with our partners Trinity Bend Solutions, Inc., Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) PMA offices, and several different sensor and communication companies, our agile team engineered and custom-built mount brackets for sensor integration and utilized a new strut mount for the Caravan. Avionics integration was also seamless, a testament to our in-house expertise and effective communication with existing and new partners. This is the latest example of AIRTEC’s state-of-the art facilities, extremely qualified team, advanced capabilities, and having a highly capable platform in place to provide custom, rapid, integrated solutions.
The sensors included a Hyperspectral Optical Radar (HSOR), an autonomous, real time, wide area, optical airborne search sensor capable of autonomously detecting and classifying all contacts and tracking all targets during day or night operations in degraded visual conditions in sea and land operations. This sensor has 30X the coverage over existing sensors. Other smart/AI sensors tested will also help increase situational awareness and reduce operator burden by automating the labor-intensive task of searching for small objects of interest in vast and challenging environments. Equipped with the latest in multispectral sensor technology and powered by sophisticated AI and on-board processing, these sensors scan search areas and alert operators or cue networked devices with image chips and geospatial intelligence.
Other equipment installed and tested included a camera with wide area surveillance capability, including onboard GPS/INS for accurate, real-time vehicle and target location, HD digital video, superior geolocation, embedded video processing, and onboard maritime AI for wide area boat detection. A multi-mode, multi-domain SAR/MTI radar was also tested. This system can be used in specialized ISR missions, wildland fire monitoring, coastal mapping, railroad monitoring, counter-narcotics, pipeline monitoring, sea ice detection and monitoring, search and rescue, illegal migrant operation, and more.
With AIRTEC facilities at the St. Mary’s Airport in Maryland as the base of operations, our Pilots completed more than 54 flight hours with 26 sorties flown to areas of operation within neighboring states for refueling and data downlinks. Considerable effort and coordination from our Mechanics, Sensor Operators, Flight Operations, Quality, and Logistics teams, along with corporate support from Finance and Contracts, all contributed to the outstanding success of this project. “I cannot thank the team enough for their extraordinary work throughout this project. Your dedication, resilience, and commitment to excellence have been instrumental in our success. We were able to overcome every obstacle that was thrown our way with grace and effectiveness.”, said CEO, Brian Wilkinson.
Collaboration with our partners and feedback from our customers has been outstanding and more projects are already underway, set to start in the coming weeks. This mission will prove to be critical to the security and defense missions of our U.S. forces, with data that will ultimately be used to improve their drone programs.
To learn more about our cutting-edge capabilities and solutions and how we can solve your challenge, contact our team at BD@flyAIRTEC.com!
