The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is planning to test an airborne sensor designed to detect small boats this summer.
ONR envisions placing the Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) on the Northrop Grumman [NOC]-built Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, enabling it autonomously identify small boats, such as pirate skiffs.
ONR said the system will alleviate the workload of sailors aboard ships already consumed with having to pour through loads of data.
The MMSS uses a mix of high definition cameras, mid-wave sensors and laser radar technology (LADAR) and carries advanced target recognition software, ONR said.
“The automatic target recognition software gives Fire Scout the ability to distinguish target boats in congested coastal waters using LADAR, and it sends that information to human operators, who can then analyze those vessels in a 3-D picture,” said Ken Heeke, program officer in ONR’s Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department.
The flight test will take place against groups of seven small boats in a military sea range off the California coast later this summer, ONR said.