In the US FLIR has developed the Recon V, a cooled system working in the MWIR band. © FLIR
The uncooled offer by FLIR is the Recon V Ultra Light, UL in short, which thermal channel is based on the latest 12 µm pitch 640x480 focal plane array developed by the company. © FLIR
W
hile US Armed Forces are close to get the new JETS (Joint Effects Targeting System) developed by Leonardo DRS, and dedicated to specialised elements, numerous companies are producing hand held targeting systems. Recently the US Marine Corps assigned two contracts, respectively to Northrop Grumman and Elbit Systems of America for the development of prototypes of the Next Generation Handheld Targeting System. BAE Systems developed the HAMMER (Handheld Azimuth Measuring, Marking, Electro-optic imaging & Ranging) that includes also a Celestial compass for accurate location even in GPS-denied areas. FLIR latest developments are the Recon V and Recon V Ultra Lite, respectively cooled and uncooled. The thermal channel is fitted with a 10x zoom allowing a FoV ranging from 20°x15° to 2°x1.5°, an e-stabilisation system being
fitted to the Recon V. No performance data are provided, however the LRF range being of 10 km it is safe to say that this is at least the range for a vehicle-size object. The Recon V has a hot-swap mode allowing to change batteries without shutting down the system. An internal memory allows storing up to 1,000 images. The Recon V Ultra Lite exploits the latest 12 µm pitch 640x480 FPA from the company, hence the system compactness and low weight, while the day channel has a 5 MP resolution. A 12.2°x6.9° Super Wide FoV, a 6°x3.3° Wide FoV and a 4.5°x1.6° Narrow FoV are available on the thermal channel, a 6°x3.3° and a 3°x1.7° FoVs being those of the day channel. The LRF range is in excess of 10 km, a laser pointer working on 850 nm being also part of the system. A digital video output as well as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity are also embedded in the Recon V Ultra Lite.
EDR | March/April 2020
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