Specially-Equipped LSA A Lower-Cost Solution For Law Enforcement

The "Defender" LSA law enforcement aircraft which rolled out in March will make its public debut at the National Sheriff's Association Conference next month in Fort Worth, TX.

The aircraft is a derivative of I.C.P. Aviation’s Savannah S equipped for law enforcement missions by North Carolina-based ConciAir. The company says the Defender is a turnkey law enforcement solution offering a variety of sensor options, including daylight (EO), thermal (LWIR/MWIR) and low-light (SWIR) cameras. An integrated GPS/IN provides accurate target coordinates and aircraft location, and the panel includes scene-steering and object tracking; integrated street-level moving map; aviation specific law enforcement radios; and panel mounted Tactical Flight Officer (TFO) mission monitor integrated video recorder.

ConciAir says the package can be installed onto a variety of aircraft platforms.

The predominant limiting factor in bringing airborne surveillance to the remaining agencies is the acquisition and operational costs of the traditional helicopter unit. Typical non-government surplus acquisition costs range from $500,000 to over $2 million. Government surplus aircraft can be acquired for little initial costs, but the costs of returning those helicopters to service often approach the $500,000 mark as well. Direct and indirect hourly operating costs for a helicopter vary greatly, but typically fall in the range of $250/hour to $1200/hour. The Defender, with hourly operational costs less than $25/hour combined its extremely low acquisition cost, is a perfect solution for the small to medium sized agencies, according to ConciAir.

The TASE 200 equipped Defender, turnkey for daytime surveillance and limited infrared operations, will start at $299,000. The TASE 350 equipped Defender, which adds a two step zoom for better nighttime infrared surveillance, will be priced at $399,000. The TASE 400, which is a turnkey, fully functional daytime and nighttime surveillance package, will be offered at $499,000.

ConciAir says it will be offering demo rides at the conference June 23-24.

(Images provided by ConciAir)

FMI: www.conciair.aero