IAI unveils groundbreaking aerial surveillance system - watch

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) unveiled its new WASP surveillance system on Monday.

The new system provides a high-resolution situational awareness picture of moving targets day and night and within a wide area of interest.

WASP system on Heron UAV (IAI)

“Utilizing state-of-the-art EO [Earth observation] and [infrared] IR sensors, AI [artificial intelligence] algorithms and adaptive rule engines, the system captures large areas in high revisit rate, to track, identify and alert the system operator of moving targets that correlate with mission requirements and objectives," the IAI said in a statement. "Compact, light-weight and requiring low power consumption, WASP complies with a wide range of aerial platforms such as tactical UAVs, drones, fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, or tethered surveillance balloons.”

WASP’s coverage area and resolution changes according to its platform and operating altitude.

Mounted on a tactical UAV, such as the BirdEye 650D, WASP covers two square kilometers in optimal resolution to detect all types of moving targets. When mounted on a male UAV such as the Heron 1, the coverage area expands over 15 square kilometers to detect mostly vehicle size objects and the like, the company said.

WASP system on Heron UAV (IAI)

“The development of WASP exemplifies IAI’s novel strategy of ISR systems development, intelligence and information fusion capabilities," said Moshe Levy, IAI executive vice president and general manager of the Military Aircraft Group.

"By providing a highly detailed intelligence picture in a wide area, WASP provides excellent two-layer situational awareness that comprises both visual and intelligence information," he said. "As a compact and light system, it can be mounted on a range of platforms to provide strong intelligence capabilities already on the tactical level.”