FLIR Systems Inc. has introduced the FLIR StormCaster family of UAS payloads for the company’s SkyRanger R70 and R80D SkyRaider UAS.

According to FLIR, the new line launches with two multi-sensor products, the StormCaster-T and StormCaster-L. The StormCaster-T delivers continuous zoom and longwave infrared (LWIR) imaging, while the StormCaster-L provides ultra-low-light imaging, tracking, and mapping.

“StormCaster-L and –T are just the beginning of this new line of advanced, high-performance payloads for our small, tactical UAS platforms,” says David Ray, president of the Government and Defense Business Unit at FLIR.

“For mission needs ranging from force protection and border security to clandestine operations, FLIR StormCaster will provide heightened situational awareness, bolstered by our aircraft’s onboard, real-time artificial intelligence.”

Representing FLIR’s next generation payload family for the company’s own UAS that were gained through the acquisition of Aeryon Labs earlier this year, StormCaster offers seven times the improvement in line-of-sight stabilization, enhanced range of motion, and greater geolocation accuracy in a package that FLIR describes as rugged. 

Users can quickly and easily change modules on the SkyRanger and SkyRaider UAS thanks to interoperability across the StormCaster family. Leveraging continuing improvements in aircraft performance, the StormCaster line is expected to provide small units with the “organic capability” to conduct increasingly difficult missions such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

The StormCaster-T is equipped with a FLIR Boson thermal camera, which helps support detection, recognition, identification, and target acquisition during the day or at night, with maximum range and time-on-station. Long distance ISR can be conducted while providing clear, actionable imagery thanks to its continuous zoom lens, with a 75-millimeter maximum focal length.

Featuring 4K recorded video and full-color night vision in low-light conditions, the StormCaster-L ultra-low-light imaging camera offers “superior” ISR and mapping performance during both twilight and nighttime operations, FLIR says.