US DoD receives LiDAR system for EOD teams
Military operator using the RTL-450. (Photo: RedTail LiDAR Systems)
RedTail LiDAR Systems deliver six RTL-450s to US DoD explosive ordinance disposal teams.
RedTail LiDAR Systems had delivered six LiDAR systems to the 707th Ordinance Company stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
These systems will provide Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians with an opportunity to assess how LiDAR can be used to enhance their operations.
The RedTail LiDAR Systems RTL-450 was integrated onto the Teledyne FLIR SkyRaider UAS to address a broad range of the EOD community’s 3D mapping needs.
The RTL-450 can be used for terrain mapping, calculating crater volumes from IED blasts, performing route planning for UGVs, aiding mission planning and conducting surveillance.
The 3D maps created are referred to as point clouds and allow operating areas to be viewed from any perspective.
The underlying LiDAR technology used in the RTL-450 was licenced from the Army Research Laboratory.
The MEMS mirror-based design provides enhanced 3D imagery through laser pulses which are steered to the ground in a very well defined and controlled scan pattern.
The technology is ideal for AI and machine learning algorithms to be used for target detection and classification due to the high point density of the point clouds.
The system can operate in either a raster scan mode for surveillance or a side-to-side scan mode for area mapping while the UAS is flying.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures]()
Why small guns have been critical to layered CUAS architectures
Multiple countries have been deploying small arms as the last line of drone defence due to their multiple operational and tactical advantages.
-
![Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family]()
Singapore Airshow 2026: ST Engineering hints at export success for AME assault rifle family
The Singapore-based technology company unveiled its new rifle family at this week’s airshow. Chen Chuanren spoke with the ST Engineering’s head of small arms to find out more about how the weapons have been refined.
-
![High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?]()
High tension in the High North – a wake-up call for NATO’s future Arctic defence efforts?
Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.
-
![Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack]()
Venezuela prepares personnel and equipment for a potential second US attack
Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López has declared that the Venezuelan armed forces “will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defence”.
-
![As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues]()
As the new year starts, the UK defence spending delay continues
The UK’s defence spending commitments remain uncertain as the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which had been due by the end of 2025, is yet to be published.
