Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced new features on the sensors available for the Predator/Reaper series. The company’s Lynx Block 20A multimode radar now has a “VideoSAR” software system and the ability to auto cross-cue to an EO/IR sensor.


VideoSAR provides imagery in high-definition 1080p format, “allowing users to see vehicles at rest, moving fast and everything in between,” according to Linden Blue, president of GA-ASI’s reconnaissance systems group. The new mode also enables GMTI (ground moving target indication) with low minimum detectable velocity and precise SAR geolocation accuracy, the company claims. The prototype system was installed on a Beechcraft King Air 200 and flown in late March. It is now being “ruggedized” for carriage on the company’s UAVs, including the jet-powered Predator-C.


The cross-cueing capability was demonstrated during a recent U.S. Navy exercise. The King Air 200 acted as a Predator B (Reaper) surrogate aircraft. It carried the Lynx radar to detect ground-based moving targets, and GA-ASI’s Claw payload software system automatically cross-cued them to a Flir Systems Star Safire 380HD EO/IR imaging system. According to GA-ASI, this next-generation data-dissemination capability allowed naval commanders to review data rapidly, modify follow-on mission flight planning and demonstrate ad-hoc mission retasking of the aircraft directly by commanders based in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC). Sensor imagery was also streamed to other U.S. government entities in real time.


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