New Smaller Multi-Spectral Imaging System to Give Jitter-Free Images From Smaller Platforms

Engineers are packing more powerful sensors into smaller and smaller forms for use on lighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, giving the U.S. military unprecedented high-end multi-spectral capability from greater distances.

L-3 Sonoma EO has begun production on Sonoma 2511X, a multi-spectral imaging system that integrates the latest multi-spectral imaging technology through a shared, large optical aperture. With the aperture, focal lengths of the system’s imaging sensors are increased by 50 percent, providing greater range to deliver optical clarity and performance previously available only in large reconnaissance pods.

The 2511X is built on the patented X-MAST stabilization platform that aims to deliver jitter-free images. Superior focal lengths support range-to-target standoffs that demand equivalent performance in geolocation, and a high-performance Inertial Navigation System reduces pointing errors by 70 percent.

It is reported to be the highest performing sensor of its type, and the first to put that kind of high-end multi-spectral capability into a gimbaled turret instead of a large pod.