GA-ASI Completes 1st Flights of Lynx Radar on Sky Warrior UAS

Lynx Block 30 SAR/GMTI Contracted to Fly on QRC-1 Sky Warrior Deployment

(San Diego, July 1, 2009) -- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), tactical reconnaissance radars, and surveillance systems, today announced that its Lynx(r) Block 30 Synthetic Aperture Radar/Ground Moving Target Indicator (SAR/GMTI) radar has completed two successful test flights on a Sky Warrior(r) Block 1 UAS in support of the planned Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) deployment of the first four Sky Warrior aircraft under the U.S. Army Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAS Program.

The flights were conducted in March. Numerous SAR (spot and stripmap) images were taken at various ranges and resolutions via GA-ASI's CLAW(r) sensor control and exploitation software in the Army's One System Ground Control Station (OSGCS); Change Detection products were calculated and displayed. In addition, the GMTI mode was used to detect and track moving objects in real-time.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue to support the Army in its efforts to deliver the latest RSTA [Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Target Acquisition] technology to the war fighter on an expedited basis," said Linden Blue, president, Reconnaissance Systems Group, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. "These test flights demonstrated that the ER/MP aircraft, outfitted with EO/IR [Electro-Optical/Infrared] and Lynx SAR/GMTI payloads and controlled by the OSGCS, will provide significant situational awareness capability to the war fighter."

Since completing the delivery of the original eight Lynx II radars to the Army in June 2008 on the radar System Design and Development (SDD) program, GA-ASI has implemented numerous improvements to the radar in its continuing commitment to enhance capabilities and boost performance. Contractor flights with the Block 30 radar configuration have demonstrated SAR and GMTI performance consistent with the threshold level requirements in the ER/MP Capabilities Production Document (CPD). A contract was awarded to GA-ASI on May 1 to update the eight Lynx II radars to the Block 30 configuration in support of Quick Reaction Capability 1 (QRC1).

The Lynx Block 30 radar provides the all-weather precision capability to detect time-sensitive targets and offers a long-range, wide-area surveillance capability that can provide high-resolution SAR imagery at slant ranges well beyond effective EO/IR range. It also incorporates a broad area GMTI scanning capability to detect moving vehicles, and can cross-cue to an EO/IR payload via the CLAW payload control software.

Source : General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. - click here for more information