Chess Dynamics' Hawkeye to help protect borders of North African country
Above: The system, which consists of both radar and electro-optics can detect and track human size targets out to 7km.
Chess Dynamics will initially provide 14 fully integrated systems, which will be integrated onto all-terrain Toyota Land Cruisers. These will undergo extensive testing before deployment on border surveillance and intelligence gathering duties. Further batches will be delivered over the coming months following the initial training and deployment.
The recently developed extended range Hawkeye VS combines electro-optical sensors, including a thermal imaging and high resolution colour TV cameras, with a laser range finder and a Blighter Revolution 360 radar all mounted on a pneumatic mast. The mast can raise the sensors 3m above the vehicle.
“We have developed the Hawkeye VS to provide defence and security forces with a highly mobile system which can quickly provide surveillance once it arrives in the operational area, plugging the gap on porous, ill-defined borders and giving a strong deterrent to illegal cross border activity,” said Graham Beall, Managing Director of Chess Dynamics.
“We see a tremendous potential for Hawkeye VS across not only Africa but in many parts of the world where borders are ill-defined or mobile surveillance systems are required”, he added.
Above: The Hawkeye integrated, compact, 15” flat panel, colour displays provide mapping, radar and EO information.
An example of the sight will be on display on the Chess Dynamics stand during DSEI 2015.
The system starts operating when the FMCW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) Doppler fastscan radar detects a target, which could be as small as a single walking person 7km away, over a full 360 degree sector using the unique rotary positioner. Information from the radar is then passed by built-in tracker software to the cameras.
The cameras, which work in day or night conditions, slew-to-cue. The Thermal Imager recognises a person at a distance of over 2km and the high resolution TV camera providing greater than 5km recognition range in daytime. The operator is then able to monitor the selected target and direct further assets to intercept and manage the situation.
The system operator sits in the rear seat of the vehicle with two rugged, compact, 15” flat panel colour displays providing mapping, radar and EO displays. The system can be controlled either by the built-in automatic software video tracker, which reduces operator workload, or via joystick, tracker ball and touch screen according to the user’s preference. In both cases the system locks onto the selected objects to control the head and follow objects. Images can be recorded for evidence and later analysis.
For the North African customer Hawkeye VS is being fitted to the Toyota Land Cruisers by Polish system integrators Germaz.
Hawkeye VS can be mounted on a wide variety of rugged commercial and armoured vehicles. Chess Dynamics has supplied several hundred of the core Cobra directors to the British Army for route survey and reconnaissance armoured vehicles during the past six years where the ruggedness and reliability of the Hawkeye system was well proven and minimal maintenance required.
