UV Online
RAAF upgrades Heron UAS for Afghanistan operations
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has begun operational use of its Kestrel Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) in Afghanistan, according to payload manufacturer Sentient.
According to the company, the GMTI sensor is now ‘actively’ deployed on Heron UASs under the guise of ‘Project Nankeen’. Designed to provide commanders with ISR imagery, GMTI processes imagery in real-time before automatically detecting and tracking small, moving targets such as dismounted combatants and vehicles.
According to Wg Cdr David Riddel, RAAF Deputy Director Air Combat Capability and Project Lead for Project Nankeen, GMTI provides a ‘significant’ ISR capability enhancement.
‘Kestrel detects any small movements in the field-of-view and alerts our operators to targets that are easily missed - camouflaged vehicles in tough terrains, dismounts or “squirters” leaving houses.
‘This gives our commanders a complete understanding of the situation on the ground,’ he added while describing the benefits of GMTI for ‘long ISR missions’, allowing for ‘increased productivity through consistent, reliable detections’.
‘Especially over long periods of observations, Kestrel has been proven to be very valuable. It helps fatigued observers by drawing their attention to targets outside their actual field of vision,’ he continued.
The RAAF operates the Heron and GMTI from Kandahar Air Field, conducting ISR taskings which include counter-IED operations, mission overwatch and battle damage assessment.
The news follows the grounding of Heron UASs around the world for some 24 hours on 1 November. According to the Australian Department of Defence, Heron missions were suspended as a ‘precautionary measure’ following advice from manufacturer Israeli Aerospace Industries.
However, the DoD said ‘a series of landing gear malfunctions’ had ‘minimal impact’ on Australian operations in Afghanistan. On 28 September, a RAAF Heron was damaged after landing gear located in its nose failed to deploy.
By Andrew White, London
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