Insitu Pacific Working With SELEX Galileo to Introduce High Resolution SAR Imagery to Integrator Unmanned Aircraft System

BINGEN, Wash., March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Insitu Pacific and SELEX Galileo announced today that they are collaborating on rapidly integrating SELEX Galileo's best-in-class high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar(SAR) PicoSAR into the Integrator Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

Equipped with PicoSAR's active electronically scanned array (AESA)and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) technology, Integrator will deliver the highest-resolution SAR imagery available on any tactical UAS in service today.

"This will give deployed forces unprecedented operational flexibility," said Insitu Pacific Managing Director Andrew Duggan. "Today's persistent, high-quality SAR platforms, which fly at much higher altitudes, are expensive to operate, so they're scarce. On Integrator, the warfighter will be able to rapidly apply this advanced SAR technology at close range to targets for high-quality, all-weather change detection."

Integrator is a tactical asset that doesn't require runways to launch or recover. It was designed for rapid payload integration.

"SELEX Galileo is delighted to work with Insitu Pacific to address the needs of the Australian Defence Force and support the troops on the ground," said SELEX Galileo Vice President of Marketing and Sales Bob Mason. "PicoSAR brings a unique SAR/GMTI capability to the battle space that will considerably enhance the sensor capabilities available to tactical commanders."

Weighing in at 10 kilograms, PicoSAR is a compact, light-weight, low-power payload that uses advanced signal processing to develop high-quality SAR imagery previously only seen in much larger SAR payloads.

Insitu Pacific, located in Queensland, Australia, has provided unmanned aircraft system (UAS) services to defence, civil and commercial interests in the Asia-Pacific region since June 2009. It is a subsidiary of U.S.-based Insitu Inc.

Insitu Inc., located in Bingen, Wash., is a wholly owned independent subsidiary of The Boeing Company. Insitu designs, develops and manufactures UAS and provides associated services for commercial and military applications. With a small footprint and expeditionary focus for both land and sea operations, the company's family of UAS solutions serves the needs of the global defence community. To date, these systems have accumulated nearly 440,000 combat flight hours and 53,000 sorties. For more information, visit www.insitu.com.

SELEX Galileo, a Finmeccanica company, is a leading player in defence electronics. The Company employs more than 7,000 people and operates mainly in three domestic markets: UK, Italy and the US through dedicated legal entities. With a distinctive strength in airborne mission critical systems, and a wide range of capabilities for the battlefield and for homeland security applications, SELEX Galileo is always offering the best solution to its customers.

SOURCE Insitu Pacific