FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIR SHOW – 15 July 2014 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions, today announced its successful participation in NATO's Unified Vision (UV14) Trial at Ørland Main Air Station in Brekstad, Norway, May 19-28.
Sponsored by the NATO Joint Capability Group on Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (JCGISR), the Joint ISR (JISR) trial focused on demonstrating the ability to deliver JISR effectively to the warfighter and decision-makers and to increase operational effectiveness of the Joint Forces. UV14 was attended by over 2,000 participants from NATO partner nations, as well as Australia, Finland, and Sweden.
GA-ASI participated in the trial for the second time, demonstrating a Predator® B/MQ-9 Reaper® surrogate (manned King Air 350) with a Lynx® Block 20A Multi-mode Radar, a FLIR Star SAFIRE 3800HD Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and L-3 Com Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL), along with GA-ASI's Claw® payload management software, System for Tactical Archival, Retrieval, and Exploitation (STARE) software, and Link 16 integration.
"Our sensor management system takes FMV [Full Motion Video] and radar feeds from the Reaper surrogate and other platforms and makes them available to the NATO ISR enterprise," said Linden P. Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. "With each successive Unified Vision exercise, we improve our ability to share ISR data with NATO partners."
GA-ASI's involvement was highlighted by the effectiveness of its STARE networking system, which filled critical gaps in collecting and disseminating Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, stationary and moving target information (both ground and maritime), and Standard and High-Definition (HD) video to NATO coalition shared databases during the various operational scenarios. The system can archive or rebroadcast feeds from multiple systems, including the Reaper surrogate, Norwegian and German P-3s, a Norwegian F-16, the U.S. Army's Persistent Threat Detection System (aerostat) and its associated Persistent Ground Surveillance System, and Italian Raven and Romanian Hirrus Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The Reaper surrogate successfully demonstrated all-weather capabilities with the Lynx radar and participated in all mission profiles, including flights during inclement weather. GA-ASI's Claw® sensor control and image analysis software provided coordinated command and control of the radar and FLIR sensor, while STARE provided Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) capabilities.
STARE also was utilized to rebroadcast and share Reaper and other NATO ISR data successfully across multiple levels of security to unclassified and classified NATO network partners and provide "Reaper" Link 16 position and targeting information to all NATO air assets participating in the trial.
Both raw ISR data and derived products can be disseminated with STARE, using open standard formats to DoD and NATO coalition systems such as Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) and NATO Coalition Shared Database (CSD).
A STARE data sheet and accompanying high-resolution photo are available upon request to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact listed below.
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., an affiliate of General Atomics, delivers situational awareness by providing remotely piloted aircraft systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions for military and commercial applications worldwide. The company's Aircraft Systems business unit is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable, RPA systems, including Predator A, Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, Gray Eagle®, the new Predator C Avenger®, and Predator XP. It also manufactures a variety of solid-state digital Ground Control Stations (GCS), including the next-generation Advanced Cockpit GCS, and provides pilot training and support services for RPA field operations. The Mission Systems business unit designs, manufactures, and integrates the Lynx Multi-mode Radar and sophisticated Claw sensor control and image analysis software into both manned and remotely piloted aircraft. It also focuses on providing integrated sensor payloads and software for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft platforms and develops high energy lasers, electro-optic sensors, and meta-material antennas. For more information, please visit www.ga-asi.com.
Predator, Reaper, Lynx, Claw, Gray Eagle, and Avenger are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
For more information contact:
Kimberly Kasitz
Public Relations Manager
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
+1.858.312.2294