12 December 2019 – Viking and Ideas at Sea come together for a wide Optical Radar Payload as an Optional Equipment for Twin Otter Guardian 400. They will start off sensor integration with a view to presenting their optical radar options to customers in early 2020.
Airborne Technologies of Austria, Viking's integrator and principal tour partner and Ideas at Sea will house the Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) payload and create day/night 180-degree wide area surveillance options for operators of Viking's Guardian 400.
The workings of ViDAR -
1. The ViDAR software system can map vast swaths of ocean in real time and dramatically extend aircraft coverage during Search & Rescue missions. It has a wide area optical search system consisting of high-resolution sensors coupled with on-board automation software capable of detecting small objects over significant areas.
2. It works autonomously to find objects on the water's surface and send a thumbnail image and location coordinates back to the Guardian's CarteNav AIMS mission system.
3. The AIMS mission system software then processes the imagery and data from the sensors to enhance situational awareness and provide geo-referenced local operating pictures that enable the operator to initiate a slew to the object with the Hensoldt Argos EO/IR imaging turret.
Customers can select from a range of tailor made specific configurable integrated optical radar solutions. They come without any additional cost of customisation, thus providing economical semi-custom mission options while also significantly reducing on-going sustainment and maintenance costs.
"Viking's Guardian 400 is the perfect platform for our Optical Radar solutions, and we are committed to providing cost-effective, best-in-class capability to the aircraft's operators," said David Willems, Founder and Chairman of Ideas at Sea. "We are looking forward to extending the capability of the ViDAR system already installed on the Guardian 400 demonstrator aircraft to include a more modular payload to better meet the wide-ranging needs of special mission operators."
"The Guardian 400 has a unique set of performance capabilities and provides incredible versatility to its customers," said Peter Walker, Viking's Global Sales Director for Special Mission Aircraft. "Ideas at Sea provides an additional complement to our existing partners through the modular configuration options their optical payload can provide, and we're excited to be able to offer these new, world-leading capabilities to our customers.'
A special mission variant of the Viking Series 400 Twin Otter, The Guardian 400, features robust design and exceptional performance capabilities perfectly suited for specialized operations in extreme environments, including ISR, maritime surveillance, SAR, parachute, medevac, and critical infrastructure support.
Its unique operational flexibility in multiple mission profiles combined with its low acquisition and operating costs offers true force-multiplying economy.