During the last week of August, Logos Technologies’ Redkite-I wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system, which is designed for the Insitu Integrator UAS, successfully completed its final flight test at the Insitu flight test facilities in Boardman, Oregon.

According to Logos, the lightweight WAMI sensor successfully demonstrated “complete end-to-end functionality,” including highly stable imagery, live WAMI streaming, vehicle tracking, and real-time forensics.

With this validation, Redkite-I will now be added to the Insitu Inc. catalogue of sensors available for the company’s tactical UAS.

“This is a major milestone, both for us and for Insitu,” says John Marion, President of Logos Technologies. “For the first time ever, customers of the Integrator UAS will be able to have a lightweight WAMI capability with their tactical, unmanned aircraft.”

Described as “very powerful real-time imaging sensors,” WAMI systems have usually been flown on larger aircraft or aerostats, but Redkite-I weighs less than 25 pounds, and is compact enough to be integrated into the payload bay of the Integrator UAS.

​When flying at 12,000 feet above ground level (AGL), the Redkite-I WAMI system “continuously images a city-sized area in real time, with medium resolution; automatically processes imagery for easy cross-referencing and cueing of other sensors; records and stores up to eight hours of WAMI data aboard the UAS; and provides immediate access to multiple areas of recorded imagery for real-time forensic analysis.”

Logos says that several countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada and Poland either currently operate or have ordered the Insitu Integrator, or the RQ-21A Blackjack, which is described as the Integrator's “U.S. government cousin.” These customers will now have the option of adding a “world-class WAMI capability” to their UAS operations in support of important missions.

“Insitu is proud to work with Logos to solve the ‘soda straw’ problem that has challenged the FMV industry since its inception,” says Don Williamson, Vice President and General Manager Insitu Defense.

“Our engineering teams did an outstanding job collaborating to bring new technology that will deliver better results for both our defense and commercial customers.”