Flight sight

A system designed to give helicopter crews advance real-time images of the territory they are heading into has been tested successfully by the MoD.

At the heart of the advance reconnaissance system is a lightweight, high-performance experimental antenna that enables images to be received at what military chiefs call 'operationally useful ranges' directly from a Boeing ScanEagle UAV.

Developed by Qinetiq, the antenna was flight-trialled at the Hebrides range, which the technology group operates on behalf of the MoD. Mounted on the outside of the helicopter, it had to overcome the twin challenges of exposure to adverse weather and intense vibration from the aircraft.

The MoD described the trials as 'gruelling' but important to establishing that the new equipment was rugged enough to do its job.

The antenna, developed as part of the Joint UAV Extension Programme (JUEP), combines high gain and wide beamwidth — two attributes that are difficult to achieve in the same system.