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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

• Constant Hawk

• CorvusEye 1500

• Gorgon Stare

• Redkite

• Wide-area_motion_imagery

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Bacon, Lance. "System gives troops 360-degree eye in the sky". Army Times. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b Boland, Rita. "Day/Night ISR Floats Over Afghanistan". SIGNAL Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  3. ^ Buxbaum, Peter. "The Eyes Have It". Tactical ISR Technology. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  4. ^ Harrison, Jay. "Where did Constant Hawk come from?". Edgefighter. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Walking Back the Cat: The US Army's Constant Hawk". Defense Industry Daily. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d Sternstein, Aliya. "DHS Eyes Military Blimp to Stop Illegal Border Traffic". Nextgov. 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. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  13. ^ a b Doan, Claire (6 March 2012). "Cutting-edge surveillance system strapped to Nogales blimp". KGUN-9 TV. Archived from the original on 11 June 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  14. ^ "The All-Seeing Eye That Watches an Entire City at Once". Popular Mechanics. 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  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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