Engineering:Kestrel (surveillance system)

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Kestrel is a wide-area motion imagery (or persistent surveillance) system used on aerostats at U.S. forward operating bases in Afghanistan to monitor the surrounding areas.[1] Developed by Logos Technologies, the system is equipped with electro-optical and infrared cameras, providing day/night force protection and overwatch to troops.[2]

Development

Kestrel has its roots in Constant Hawk, a wide-area sensor suite developed by Logos Technologies as well, [3] in 2006, for use on crewed U.S. Army aircraft.[4][5]

In late 2010, the ISR Task Force and Army requested a version of Constant Hawk for aerostats. Contracted through the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, the Kestrel program delivered four units[6] the following year.[1] However, these first four Kestrels lacked an infrared capability,[1] and by June 2012, were replaced by 10 day/night systems and six spares.[6]

In 2017, Logos Technologies unveiled its even lighter Kestrel Block II wide-area motion imagery system at the International Defence Exhibition & Conference, in Abu Dhabi. This new sensor saw its first sale to a military customer the following year.[7] [8]

Capabilities

Kestrel employs six cameras housed in a gimbal, providing a 360-degree panoramic view of “a city-sized” area” [6] in medium resolution.[9] The system allows operators to track multiple suspects at once[2] and can automatically monitor user-designated zones.[1] Kestrel transmits imagery to the user in real time and can also record up to 30 days of events.[9]

The next-generation Kestrel Block II shares those same capabilities, but in a smaller and lighter form factor (less than 85 pounds, or 40 kg, versus 150 pounds, or 68 kg).[10][11]

Civilian Use

The Kestrel system also has applications for border security. In March 2012, the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security conducted a seven-day demonstration of Kestrel in Nogales, Ariz.[9][12][13] Kestrel was mounted on an aerostat and worked in coordination with a high-resolution full motion video camera.[13] The purpose of the test was to see how well Kestrel could detect and track illegal entrants, drug smugglers and gunrunners crossing the U.S.-Mexican border.[9]

Since its deployment in Afghanistan and testing along the U.S.-Mexico border, Kestrel has led to the development of other wide-area sensors, such as Simera. Also an aerostat-mounted system, Simera is composed of 13 electro-optical cameras and weighs only 40lbs. However, unlike the original Kestrel system, Simera is exportable to non-U.S. countries. Four units were used by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice at the 2016 Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro.[14][15]

See also

• Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS-IS)

• Constant Hawk

• CorvusEye 1500

• Gorgon Stare

• Redkite

• Wide-area motion imagery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bacon, Lance. "System gives troops 360-degree eye in the sky". Army Times. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/04/army-blimp-system-360-degree-surveillance-041612w/. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Boland, Rita. "Day/Night ISR Floats Over Afghanistan". SIGNAL Magazine. http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/Signal_Article_Template.asp?articleid=2935&zoneid=342. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
  3. ↑ Buxbaum, Peter. "The Eyes Have It". Tactical ISR Technology. http://www.tactical-isr-technology.com/tisr-home/372-tisr-2011-volume-1-issue-5-december/5063-the-eyes-have-it.html. Retrieved 8 June 2012. 
  4. ↑ Harrison, Jay. "Where did Constant Hawk come from?". Edgefighter. http://edgefighter.com/2010/08/27/where-did-constant-hawk-come-from/. Retrieved 8 June 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Walking Back the Cat: The US Army's Constant Hawk". Defense Industry Daily. http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Walking-Back-the-Cat-The-US-Armys-Constant-Hawk-06832/. Retrieved 16 May 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Iannotta, Ben (1 April 2012). "Aerostats to get wide-area night vision". C4ISR Journal: 12. 
  7. ↑ "Logos Technologies Wide-Area Sensors Make First-Time Showing at IDEX" Logos Technologies. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  8. ↑ Fein, Geoff. "AUSA 2018: US Army to begin testing of upgraded Kestrel sensor" Jane's International Defence Review. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Sternstein, Aliya. "DHS Eyes Military Blimp to Stop Illegal Border Traffic". Nextgov. http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/04/dhs-eyes-military-blimp-to-stop-illegal-border-traffic/50980/. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
  10. ↑ Fein, Geoff. "AUSA 2018: US Army to begin testing of upgraded Kestrel sensor" Jane's International Defence Review. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  11. ↑ "Logos Technologies Wide-Area Sensors Make First-Time Showing at IDEX" Logos Technologies. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  12. ↑ Ackerman, Spencer. "DHS Uses Wartime Mega-Camera to Watch Border". Wired. https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/homeland-border-camera/. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Doan, Claire (6 March 2012). "Cutting-edge surveillance system strapped to Nogales blimp". KGUN-9 TV. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120611031009/http://www.kgun9.com/news/local/141678963.html. Retrieved 8 June 2012. 
  14. ↑ "The All-Seeing Eye That Watches an Entire City at Once". 2016-01-12. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a18915/simera-logo-rio-olympics-surveillance/. 
  15. ↑ Dellinger, A.J. "The privacy issue at the Olympics no one is talking about" The Daily Dot. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2019.



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