Engaging Maritime Threats, Increasing Situational Awareness with EO/IR Solutions

Ensuring situational awareness across shore-based critical infrastructure including ports, harbors and other maritime entry points continues to be driven by recent events arising out of the contemporary operating environment.

Emerging concepts of new operations, tactics, techniques and procedures of maritime security are requiring agencies to look at modern threats through a new lens. This includes the use of fixed and mobile situational awareness solutions comprising intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems networked to a command and control capability. Properly deployed, this kind of cross-functional approach allows for the rapid collection, collation and dissemination of information about emerging threats and ultimately for effective and dynamic action to be engaged.

Designed and engineered for the maritime environment, L3Harris' WESCAM MX-10 MS and WESCAM MX-15 MS maritime sensor systems' unique capabilities make each ideally suited for the protection of surface vessels and critical infrastructure ashore, including ports, harbors and maritime entry points.

The payloads of both systems comprise a fully-digital and high definition solution featuring a compact, multi-sensor and multi-spectral imaging system designed to conduct wide field-of-view coastal surveillance and threat detection missions from towers, rooftops and mobile platforms including autonomous surface vessels.

Whether operating in a standalone capacity or as part of a networked system-of-systems approach, the WESCAM MX-10 MS and WESCAM MX-15 MS provide operators with a rugged solution, protected against wind, saltwater, high humidity levels and the general maritime environment.

Having proven their ability to support the maritime security requirements of surface vessels, customers are now requiring sensors like the WESCAM MX-10 MS to integrate on fixed installations ashore to protect the CNI as well as docked surface vessels within the port or harbor itself. This application beyond traditional vessel integration highlights how maritime WESCAM MX™-Series sensors can assist commercial shipping agencies and port authorities in reducing security liabilities and insurance costs, in addition to mitigating new maritime threats such as piracy.

Premium Maritime Capabilities

L3Harris' next-generation WESCAM MX-10 MS features a multi-spectral, multi-sensor payload suite that provides superior imaging under a wide range of illumination and atmospheric maritime conditions. A high-definition (HD) thermal image provides the ability to see targets and threats under low and no-light conditions and provides high-target contrast in the day. A wide-angle HD color day camera provides surveillance, situational awareness and target detection capability while a narrow-angle camera provides long-range target recognition and identification capability. The imagers are supported by a gimbal that provides a full 360-degree field-of-regard and automatic scanning functions, reducing operator workload.

Stabilization performance is essential to optical range performance. The 4-axis architecture separates the inner axis, which performs the fast and fine motion required for superior range performance, from the outer axis, which provides sealing from the outside environment. The internal passive isolator protects the optical bench from shock, enabling increased reliability and maximizing operational availability.

Further, the WESCAM MX-10 MS and WESCAM MX-15 MS leverage L3Harris' investment in high-end imaging systems by providing state-of-the-art features that significantly reduce operator workload, allowing operators to focus on the target and mission, versus the equipment. An internal inertial navigation system, consisting of an embedded GPS and inertial measurement unit couple with an internal laser rangefinder, provide accurate and stable target geo-location. Both marinized EO/IR systems also feature advanced image processing algorithms, a robust automatic video tracker and multi-target tracker as well as high-performance image blending.