I Am the Eye In the Sky … 

Diamond Aircraft’s special mission, fixed-wing, twin-reciprocating-engine aircraft—the DA62 MPP—is set to undertake a demo tour that will mark the model’s North America debut. 

The airplane—which resembles a DA62 grown up and joined the Air Force by way of DARPA—is designed for military and police missions the likes of surveillance; coastline, maritime, and border patrol; search and rescue; and airport landing-systems calibration.

The complex and disparate purposes to which the DA62 MPP platform is suited presuppose a vast and dazzling array of high-tech camera, radar, satellite, and recording gadgets.

Among the more interesting of the DA62 MPP‘s technical accoutrements is Haivision Systems Inc.’s Makito X4 Rugged video encoder, which streams reliable, high-quality video from the DA62 MPP using the Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) protocol—an open source video transport methodology developed by Haivision. SRT minimizes the effects of jitter and bandwidth changes, while error-correction mechanisms help minimize packet loss. 

The Makito X4 Rugged video encoder supports situational awareness and airborne surveillance—even over constrained networks commonly seen in Intelligence/Surveillance/Reconnaissance (ISR) workflows.

Diamond’s DA62 MPP offers operators features and capabilities seldom seen in aircraft of its size and class. Of particular note are the model’s standard Garmin G1000 NXi glass cockpit and fully integrated GFC700 autopilot; jet-fuel burning, 180HP Austro Engine AE330 powerplant; composite fuselage and wing construction; dorsal exhaust system which facilitates both low-noise & low-infra-red signatures, and exceptional range and endurance—up to ten-hours on non-stop missions.

The DA62 MPP’s demo tour will continue throughout August 2022. Among the many stops the aircraft will make is a July 25th–30th engagement at the annual Airborne Public Safety Association Convention (APSCON) conference and exhibition in Reno, Nevada.

FMI: www.haivision.com/products/makito-x4-series/, www.diamondaircraft.com/en/special-mission/aircraft/da62-mpp/overview/