Maritime Search and Rescue Sensor Pod Tested for Patrol Duties

Diamond Special Mission Aircraft Division (SMAD), where the distinctive Austrian manufacturer creates its special-sauce versions of ordinary GA airplanes, underwent live demonstration of a new sensor system equipped on their twin engine DA42 MPP.

Working alongside Australian company Sentient Vision Systems, Diamond has installed a prototype Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) pod, a Trakka Electro-Optic/Infrared (EO/IR) gimbal, and an AIS receiver. The total package is hoped to become a high endurance, affordable, maritime patrol aircraft. 

Diamond notes that their platform is the first time a VMS-5 ViDar surveillance day/night optical radar pod has been used in a fixed wing aircraft. The ViDar the MPP aircraft employs artificial intelligence and machine learning to help discriminate targets of interest in the sea, avoiding error-prone and fatiguing human analysis for outliers in imaging. Trusting software to distinguish between variances in objects, along with infrared heat imaging, allows human focus elsewhere and allows for finer detail in object resolution. With the AI system active, the MPP can cover a designated search area 100 times faster than an aircraft without ViDar. 

It may seem almost anachronistic to continue development of aerial survey craft in the era of do-all UAS offerings, but Diamond knows the market for long-legged, affordable surveillance craft won’t be taken by drones for a while. A small number of general aviation, light aircraft with mounting points and sensor arrays have come to market courting cash-strapped guard budgets and law enforcement agencies. The DA42 MPP seats 4, with enough room for special personnel to ride along or assist close to the scene. The plane feeds on regular jet fuel in its twin 170 hp Austro AE300 engines, with top-routed engine exhaust to minimize its thermal signature from below. Best of all for operators waiting for missions to develop, the MPP can cruise at 18,000 feet, cruise while burning 10.4 gallons an hour, or run flat-out at almost 200 knots. With various sensor options, accessory packages, or custom layouts available, Diamond can help create the perfect surveillance aircraft for any mission. 

Stefan Haim, Technical Manager Diamond Special Mission Aircraft, said, “The new VMS-5 pod showed good performance in detecting vessels on the ocean. It fits naturally in AIMS and the workflow can be easily learned. The intuitive pre-planning tool helps determine the optimal flight profile for the VMS 5 pod to cover as much area as possible.”

Dr Paul Boxer, Managing Director of Sentient Vision Systems, said, "Sentient is very pleased to be working with Diamond´s SMAD to demonstrate the market-leading capabilities of the VMS-5 ViDAR pod on the DA42 MPP. It's inspiring when two innovative and highly capable companies collaborate to build a market leading offering that will reshape the future of maritime search and rescue operations.”

FMI: www.diamondaircraft.com