Combating counterinsurgency,
conducting reconnaissance, collecting information vital to national security,
United States Special Forces conduct some of the most sensitive and critical
missions.
The people and infrastructure required for these missions also require constant protection through reliable intelligence and surveillance. That’s why Lockheed Martin expanded its Indago portfolio to include a tethered option, the Bethesda, MD-based company announced April 29.
Without the tether,
Indago 3 flies for 50-70 minutes and can be carried in a rucksack, leading the
group 1 small unmanned aerial system (UAS) industry in endurance and
transportability. For uninterrupted ISR, special forces can quickly configure
the tether, taking away the need for battery reliance.
“When it comes
to unmanned systems and capability, size does matter,” said Michael
Carlson, Business Development manager for Indago. “We want to make
something as important as force and facility protection as simple and effective
as possible – the tethered Indago can do that.”
Its payloads provide high resolution, daytime, electro-optical imagery capable of reading a license plate from a 1000-foot standoff distance. For nighttime, it provides detailed thermal infrared that can identify a person, weapon, and other intelligence, such as warmth of vehicle tracks on the surface. This includes imagery in black hot, white hot, and ironbow, an orange and purple heatmap color scheme.
Source: Lockheed Martin
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