Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) such as the Global Hawk rely on the accuracy and durability of electronic sensors for effective missions. In demonstrating the capabilities of UAS flights equipped with high-performance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors, the U.S. Air Force recently completed its first RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 30 UAS mission armed with a long-range MS-177 multi-spectral imaging (MSI) sensor from Collins Aerospace, a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp., for much wider-area coverage than other airborne ISR sensors.
The Global Hawk developed by Northrop Grumman is a long-range, high-altitude UAS with generous payload capability (see the figure). When equipped with long-range sensors such as the MS-177, the autonomous aircraft can collect long-range situational-awareness and targeting information over land and at sea, day or night.
“Sensors will play a key role in helping the Global Hawk support the Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) battlespace as it provides near-real-time visual intelligence to the USAF, thereby increasing situational awareness for the joint force,” said Dave McClure, vice-president and general manager, ISR & Space Solutions for Collins Aerospace. “For decades, Collins has been a leader in making MSI sensors for high-altitude ISR both fieldable and operational for military missions.” The MS-177 is an evolution of sensors based on the Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS)-2C which has flown on different unmanned aircraft and has been in use for more than 20 years.