Raytheon Company has developed, manufactured and delivered its first 3rd GEN FLIR sensor system under a U.S. Army contract awarded in 2016. This latest Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) system to support soldiers four fields of view, the company announced on Wednesday.
“Making the leap from 2nd to 3rd Generation FLIR is like moving from a standard tube television to high-definition 8K,” said Sam Deneke, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. “This breakthrough technology enables U.S. and allied troops to own the night with more detail and precision than ever before.”
FLIR has the ability to see across long and mid-wave IR bands simultaneously with a stabilized line of sight. The system also has an advanced targeting system that uses heat, not light, to see through darkness, smoke, rain, snow or fog to perform targeting, reconnaissance and fire support. Second generation systems allow soldiers to see the battlefield with just two fields of view and far less clarity.
Raytheon’s new 3rd GEN FLIR systems will support all next-generation interfaces, offering a common thermal sighting system across all vehicle types. Raytheon has provided FLIR sensors to the U.S. and allied nations for over 50 years.
Raytheon has also integrated its infrared technology to develop and test a prototype system for the U.S. Air Force to process and manage huge amounts of satellite data as part of a $197 million missile warning architecture modernization contract, awarded in Jan. 2020.
The data processing technology is designed to collect Overhead Persistent Infrared satellite data from the Air Force’s Space-Based IR constellation and future OPIR satellites, as well as other environmental and civilian sensors.
The service branch will primarily use the prototype, called Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Mission Data Processing Application Framework Mission Data Processing Application Framework, to transmit missile alerts to the National Command Authority and the Department of Defense.
Karen Casey, an engineering fellow and FORGE lead at Raytheon, said the system will include applications for detecting agricultural changes, electric power consumption, volcanic activity and fire incidents.
Jabari Loving, a FORGE systems engineer, noted the tool will also contain heat-signature detection features suitable for first responder missions. DoD will own FORGE and conduct subsequent cybersecurity vetting procedures, he added.
Raytheon has used DevOps methodology in the project and finished testing the technology with SBIRS data.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
