Program Description and Objective

The envisioned ARGUS-IR program is an advanced technology development and demonstration program that is seeking solutions to provide a wide field of view (WFOV) infrared system with frame rates and resolution that will enable the tracking of dismounts. The objective of the ARGUS-IR is to develop a WFOV infrared system that provides a real-time, high-resolution, wide area video persistent surveillance capability that provides an expanded range of persistent surveillance capabilities and transition that capability to the military.

ARGUS-IR is intended to be composed of two major technology components/subsystems. The first will be a WFOV high resolution infrared sensor subsystem whose characteristics are compatible with the overall goals of the program. The second major technology will be a real-time airborne processing subsystem (APS). The ARGUS-IR airborne subsystem will then be formed by integrating the sensor and APS together. The packaging of the airborne subsystems should be compatible with a variety of unmanned aerial systems including MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-1C Warrior, Aerostat, and A-160 (Hummingbird).

There are two principal infrared bands that could be considered for the ARGUS-IR sensor; long wave infrared (LWIR) and mid wave infrared (MWIR). For the purpose of this discussion, the wavelengths associated with LWIR will be 8-12µ and the wavelengths associated with MWIR will be 3-5µ. Both of these IR bands are “emissive” bands, i.e., they are bands where objects produce light in the above mentioned band based on their material composition and temperature. The goal is to develop a minimum 200,000,000 or greater pixel infrared sensor that is upgradable to 400,000,000 pixels. The pixel count is referring to the number of pixels on the infrared focal planes. Either LWIR or MWIR are acceptable bands for the sensor. Other details associated with the sensor and processing will be discussed at Industry Day.