Bill Carey

Boeing has added to its portfolio of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft a “multi-int” platform based on the Beechcraft King Air 350ER. The company’s Reconfigurable Airborne Multi-Intelligence System (Ramis) was originally developed as a demonstrator for the U.S. Army and is now being offered to customers.


Ramis combines imagery intelligence (Imint), electronic intelligence (Elint), signals intelligence (Sigint) and communications intelligence (Comint) sensors on the King Air twin turboprop, which has seven hours’ mission endurance. The system is modular, allowing for different sensors and combinations of sensors.


According to Boeing, Ramis fills a gap in the ISR platforms it now offers between the Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system at the low end and the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2014-03-05/boeing-maritime-patrol-demonstrator-makes-first-flight">Maritime Surveillance Aircraft</a>, based on the Bombardier Challenger 605 business jet. At the high end is the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800.


At its St. Louis headquarters this week, Boeing Defense displayed for reporters the Ramis demonstrator it developed for the U.S. Army under a secretive program known as Yellow Jacket. When the Army discontinued the effort, Boeing returned government-furnished equipment and continued the development. It obtained supplemental type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for the King Air modification. Mike Ferguson, Boeing’s Ramis business development lead, said the company has customers for the aircraft, but he declined to identify them.


A typical configuration would have an electro-optical/infrared sensor with full-motion video, wide-area imagery, surveillance radar and Comint/Sigint package. Among the sensors Ramis can carry is the CRI LodeStar wide area motion imagery (WAMI) system, which Ferguson described as a “city-sized” large-format camera. It “takes a very detailed picture with a frame rate, so I can watch every car in a city moving and I can zoom in on little specific areas and watch one car driving while I still record the bigger image,” he explained. “What it allows you to do then is collect [imagery] over a large area and track multiple individual objects within that scene while recording the entire scene, so I can use it for forensic analysis afterward.”


The demonstrator was configured with a Lighthouse 3 Comint/Sigint suite from Argon ST, a Boeing subsidiary. Broadband Ka/Ku-band satellite connectivity and flare/chaffe dispensers are offered as options.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Boeing Touts King Air-based 'Ramis' Surveillance Aircraft

Ramis combines imagery intelligence, electronic intelligence, signals intelligence and communications intelligence.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Chad Trautvetter

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Four-week strike will affect aircraft deliveries in the fourth quarter

Textron Aviation Ships 41 Bizjets in 3Q Despite Strike

New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

Flight testing on the first of three Bombardier jets is being conducted in Wichita

Global Starts Flight Tests for German Army Surveillance Role

Sarah Rose

Upgrade aims to enhance performance and reliability

Blackhawk's Upgrade To Increase Power of King Air 360

Jessica Reed

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

The 850 Series SKYscapes Effect Finishes offer a high-performance polyurethane base coat 

Sherwin-Williams Paints the Sky with Coating Upgrades

Curt Epstein

Experts say the market is reaching equlibrium after Covid boost

Aircraft Brokers Enjoying Healthy, Stable Market

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Aircraft

Textron Aviation Ships 41 Bizjets in 3Q Despite Strike

Four-week strike will affect aircraft deliveries in the fourth quarter

Global Starts Flight Tests for German Army Surveillance Role

Flight testing on the first of three Bombardier jets is being conducted in Wichita

Blackhawk's Upgrade To Increase Power of King Air 360

Upgrade aims to enhance performance and reliability

Sherwin-Williams Paints the Sky with Coating Upgrades

The 850 Series SKYscapes Effect Finishes offer a high-performance polyurethane base coat

Aircraft Brokers Enjoying Healthy, Stable Market

Experts say the market is reaching equlibrium after Covid boost

Industry Leaders Share Insights on Scaling AAM Operations

Executives from Lilium, Beta Technologies, Electra, Atlantic Aviation, and Signature Aviation participated in the discussion

Electra Aero's Nine-passenger eSTOL Set for Reveal

Hybrid-electric design works within existing infrastructure

Camp Systems Launches Pricing and Quoting Solutions

SalesEdge Quoting is a web-based module for Quantum and Corridor

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN