BAE Systems to Provide Precise Threat ID to US Army

, WASHINGTON: BAE Systems has received a US Army contract for a new generation of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems that will provide precise detection and identification of known and potential threats. 
 
BAE Systems' AURORA Generation IV(TM) spectral ISR system combines hyperspectral imaging technology with high-resolution electro-optic and infrared sensors with an airborne processing system that exploits and fuses spectral and imagery data in real time. 
 
“The system represents the first transition of combined tactical hyperspectral and EO/IR technology for U.S. war fighters,” said Dr. Ramy Shanny, BAE Systems' general manager of Advanced Technologies in Washington, D.C. 
 
The AURORA Generation IV system has been developed for use on a wide range of low- and high-flying vehicles that can accommodate payloads as low as 15 pounds. BAE Systems initially will integrate five systems on U.S. Army Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles. 
 
The system combines imaging arrays and sensors with BAE Systems' Adaptive Spectral Processing and Identification System (ASPIS) to provide automated target recognition. ASPIS detects and identifies known or potential threats and then downlinks target imagery and other data to ground operators for rapid delivery into intelligence databases. 
 
“AURORA Generation IV represents more than a decade of development and provides U.S. war fighters with automated wide-area search and automated target detection and identification capability,” Shanny said. 
 
Work on the contract will be performed at BAE Systems' Advanced Technologies unit in Washington. Advanced Technologies is a research group that specializes in transitioning key technologies for urgent war fighter needs and in developing long-lead technologies for emerging requirements.  
 
BAE Systems is the premier trans-Atlantic defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. BAE Systems, with more than 100,000 employees worldwide, had 2005 sales that exceeded $28 billion.