With the second Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) having recently arrived in Australia, Sentient announced today that it has expanded its engagement with the Australian Army, providing additional Kestrel Land MTI licenses in support of the Shadow’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations.
Kestrel Land MTI is a software solution that automatically detects and tracks movement in electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) airborne full motion video. Actively deployed alongside the first Shadow 200 system in Afghanistan, the software processes the video imagery captured by the TUAS and automatically alerts ISTAR operators to small, moving targets such as dismounts and vehicles on the ground.
Kestrel increases operators’ overall situational awareness. By visually detecting and tracking any movement, the software allows them to rapidly uncover targets of interest. Especially over long missions, when operator fatigue becomes a challenge, Kestrel assists operators by drawing their attention to targets outside their actual field of view.
The ability to assess the Shadow’s ISTAR imagery in real time, thus having a direct understanding of the situation on the ground and therefore being able to respond to potential threats immediately is key.
Kestrel Land MTI is operated by the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Regiment. The additional software licenses are initially used for training purposes.
“Kestrel automated target detection is now an integral part of the ISTAR process and an important part of extracting additional capability from the Shadow system, said Simon Olsen of Sentient.
“Following extensive in-theatre operations, image analysts and operators find that the target cues they receive from Kestrel help to extend the capabilities of the deployed systems – enabling them do much more with each surveillance asset. Multiplying coverage without the need to multiply assets.”
Asian Defence News
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