Australian Navy Licenses Sentient’s ViDAR Software for Maritime Searches
Australia’s Sentient says the Royal Australian Navy has licensed its ViDAR wide area maritime detection software for use on the navy’s ScanEagle unmanned aircraft.
The ViDAR, which stands for visual detection and ranging, can be incorporated into a custom ViDAR payload that can be carried by the Australian navy’s existing Block D ScanEagle.
“Kestrel Maritime ViDAR has the potential to be game changing for naval UAS operations,” says Simon Olsen, Sentient’s director of business development, strategy and partnerships. “Small payload capacity and limited bandwidth restrict tactical UAS to primarily provide surveillance over objects of interest that have already been detected.”
Olsen says the Kestrel maritime ViDAR can do detection work that typically requires manned aircraft, which can be expensive to operate and deploy.
Insitu Pacific Ltd. will be trialing the Kestrel Maritime ViDAR payload for the Australian navy as a part of their support to ongoing navy UAS experimentation activity.
“ViDAR provides a critical point of difference for the ScanEagle UAS, enabling it to now scan significant areas autonomously in both blue water and littoral environments,” says Andrew Duggan, Insitu Pacific’s managing director.
