Kestrel to provide MTI capability for Australian Army’s Shadow Operations

Melbourne, Australia – 19 December 2011 – Under the Defence Capability Plan Joint Project (JP) 129 Phase 2, the Australian Army is acquiring two complete Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) systems.
Sentient announced today that its automated target detection solution – Kestrel Land MTI – will actively support the TUAV systems in their surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition missions.

Operated by the 20 Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Regiment, Kestrel Land MTI will assist Australian forces in analysing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) imagery from the AAI Shadow 200. The software processes the imagery in real time, automatically detecting small, moving
targets such as dismounts and vehicles within the TUAV sensors’ field of view.

The Army TUAV Capability Implementation Team, which is bringing the Shadow 200 into service, sees in Kestrel Land MTI a significant ISR capability enhancement.

The Shadow will be the Army’s “eyes in the sky”. Equipped with cutting-edge payload technology including advanced electro-optical and infrared sensors the Shadow will transmit real-time, full motion video (FMV) to the Ground Control Station (GCS) and remote video viewing devices. Kestrel will analyse the video footage and provide a real-time cue to operators on moving objects within the field of view.

This capability will enable the Army to effectively detect and respond to enemy targets, and thus protect Australian forces.

The Army has purchased three Kestrel Land MTI licenses for 20 STA Regiment, which will be deployed with the Shadow in Afghanistan early next year.
Sentient has been working closely with 20 STA Regiment and AAI over the past years and has successfully demonstrated Kestrel’s automated target detection capability with the Shadow.

“Sentient’s Kestrel Land MTI software has been in operation with Australian forces in Afghanistan now for over two years. It is that in-theatre experience in a variety of operational conditions that proved critical for the Australian Army.” said Simon Olsen, Sales and Marketing Manager at Sentient.

Kestrel is currently supporting the Australian Army on board the ScanEagle which will remain in service in Afghanistan during the transition-in of the Shadow.