BAE Systems has demonstrated an upgraded airborne reconnaissance system capable of transmitting and receiving data over long distances. The new technology allows real-time analysis of image data by U.S. Air Force image analysts.
BAE Systems, working under an $11.5 million Air Force contract with industry partners and the Air National Guard, incorporated and demonstrated the long-range data link capability to its Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System (TARS), a high-resolution, medium-altitude surveillance system. The data link capability provides real- and near-real-time transmission of images from TARS to a surface terminal, or to any other compatible ground-based receiving equipment.
"The new data link capability provides a significant operational enhancement, as image specialists can review these images while the reconnaissance mission unfolds," said Mario Vega, TARS program manager for BAE Systems in Greenlawn, New York. "Based on the received imagery, missions can be altered within a given sortie based on information about prospective new targets of interest."
