Thales' I-Master Radar Integrates With Textron AirLand's Scorpion jet

Thales announced today that its I-Master radar has been successfully integrated on to Textron AirLand’s Scorpion Jet(tm) mission systems.

The addition of radar compliments the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensor suite. The sensor suite already includes a high end EO/IR capability.

Having integrated the multi-mode radar into Scorpion within just two weeks, the first flight trials took place in late May. Combined with an EO/IR camera, I-Master adds long range, wide area surveillance and target tracking. Both payloads are operated simultaneously by a single operator.

The combination of I-Master and the Scorpion jet demonstrates a powerful ‘surveillance and strike’ capability.” he added.

AirLand’s Scorpion was introduced in 2013 and has completed more than 400 hours of flight testing with an exceptionally high mission availability score.

Scorpion is a highly affordable, multi-mission aircraft offering diverse capabilities including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, advanced training and precision strike.

Aircraft features include twin-engine power, two-seat operation, large internal payload capacity, high-definition ISR cameras, wing-mounted weapons stations, and modern avionics within an all-composite structure. With the ability to get to an escalating situation quickly – yet manoeuvring at much lower speeds, Scorpion brings the ability to see and exploit perishable intelligence and strike fleeting targets, bringing tactical advantage to demanding situations.

The Thales I-Master radar is compact, lightweight, all-weather tactical surveillance radar. It provides Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) performance and Maritime Moving Target Indication (MMTI) mode. Further, the radar provides high fidelity imagery for locating and classifying both moving and stationary targets at long stand-off ranges over land and sea.

The choice of modes in a single sensor, together with its small form factor and high-performance capability, makes I-Master suitable for a range of air surveillance missions such as maritime security, border protection, disaster/humanitarian relief and counter narcotics.

The Scorpion jet, fitted with I-Master, can be seen from June 15-18 at the International Paris Air Show.