Contract win for BAE Systems

has been awarded a 30 month contract $18.5m to develop new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology for the

(DARPA).

BAE will lead the Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) program, which aims to develop advanced ISR systems and capabilities to the demonstration stage.

The program’s goal is to develop a compact system combining a multi-gigapixel high-resolution sensor; wide-field optics; an ultra-high-bandwidth real-time airborne processing system; and a ground station for interactive multi-target designation, tracking, and exploitation.

The systems will be used in Department of Defense unmanned and manned surveillance operations and will be capable of continuously detecting and tracking thousands of targets over tens of square miles.

‘Shortfalls in persistent surveillance continue to challenge US forces across many theatres of operation,’ said Dr John Antoniades, director of remote sensing technologies for BAE’s Advanced Technologies group. ‘The ARGUS program will provide a sorely needed, persistent, and robust surveillance capability for many existing ISR airborne platforms.’