Boeing and Teammates Test SWIR Camera on ScanEagle

(St. Louis, August 6, 2008) -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA], Goodrich Corporation and Insitu Inc. have successfully flight-tested a ScanEagle unmanned aircraft equipped for the first time with a short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera.

The camera, built by Goodrich's Sensors Unlimited Inc. unit, enables ScanEagle operators to see objects more clearly in fog, rain or when little or no heat is radiated. During recent tests at the Fort Leonard Wood test range in Missouri, the camera recorded clear, streaming video during daytime, twilight and nighttime operations. The Boeing-led team, which integrated the camera in less than 14 weeks, plans additional flight tests later this year.


"The idea for the SWIR camera arose to meet our customers' growing maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) needs," said Don Iverson, Boeing ScanEagle Naval Programs manager. "The SWIR camera is particularly useful when there is fog or rain and conventional electro-optical and long-wave infrared cameras are severely limited."

Source : Boeing