The next generation of forward-looking infrared technology, or FLIR, is nowhere near ready for prime time. A full-production run isn't expected until 2024. But military planners say a trio of recent contract awards point the way toward a powerful, emerging capability.
This spring, the Army awarded two Raytheon divisions a pair of contracts totaling more than $83 million for work on FLIR. A third contract, for $26.1 million, went to DRS Network & Imaging Systems.
Third-generation "FLIR will increase the soldier's level of situational awareness and will increase the soldier's ability to identify and ultimately engage targets at greater range," Col. Anthony Sanchez, project manager for terrestrial sensors, said in a release announcing the awards.
When present development efforts come to fruition, FLIR will be able to see more clearly, even under poor visibility conditions, said Lt. Col. Scott Madore, the Army product manager for ground sensors.
Designers are looking in particular at the possibility of combining imagery captured in the longwave and midwave infrared spectra. "Longwave doesn't see as far under perfect conditions, but it sees much better under obscured or challenged conditions," Madore said. By combining the two, developers "have proven that increased range and clarity is well within the realm of the possible."
Some details remain unclear. For examples, planners don't know yet whether soldiers would benefit more by having the ability to toggle between midwave and longwave views, or by having these views superimposed on one another. In either case, third-generation (3GEN) FLIR is slated to incorporate both wavelengths.
The 3GEN FLIR will replace components of the decades-old second-generation FLIR, starting with those in the Abrams tank and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Planners say the program could be expanded to include a 3GEN FLIR upgrade to the Long-Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System and other current or future ground or aviation sensor systems.
While size, weight and power (SWAP) considerations do play a part in the ongoing FLIR development effort, Madore indicated there is no specific agenda to pare these back. Rather, designers have been instructed only to do "no worse" than the current SWAP load, keeping in mind that a FLIR unit's few pounds ultimately will not add much of a burden to the scale of an Abrams or a Bradley.
While much of the technology that will make up 3GEN FLIR is already well understood, the greater design hurdle may lie in making those pieces fit together.
"Integration is always one of the most challenging things that a program goes through," Madore said. The FLIR will need to be mounted into multiple vehicle types, "and all of them have different components and different ways in which they operate."
Specifically, each vehicle is fitted with an A-Kit comprising housings, harnesses, head mirrors, mounting points, switch panels and other elements. The B-Kit, now under development, will need to integrate into multiple sight assemblies: the Gunner's Primary Sight and the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer for the Abrams, and the Commander's Independent Viewer and Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem for the Bradley.
As envisioned, the B-Kit will be a horizontal integration product: A solution that can be configured and inserted as needed into each of these various platforms. Once that is achieved, Madore suggested, war fighters will gain a marked edge.
"You're going to see a drastic increase in range, potentially up to twice what we can currently see out to," he said. "You will be able to distinguish specific activities that dismounted personnel are using, whether an individual has a shovel in his hand or if it's a weapon."
Limited production could begin as early as fiscal 2022, with full production expected two years later.
Featured Video
