RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems will unveil a new lightweight, EO/IR sensor for airborne Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance missions integrated onto an Aeronautics Orbiter-4 UAV at the Singapore Air Show (11-16 February).

 This is the first example of the tight synergy created by a RAFAEL product on an Aeronautics platform, after RAFAEL acquired Aeronautics last year.

MicroLite is an innovative, compact, lightweight EO/IR Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) system for small aerial platforms such as UAVs, manned aircraft, aerostats and observation balloons.

 By simultaneous scanning with a high-resolution Mid-Wave Infrared and Visual HD color sensors, MicroLite enables 24/7 Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance. In addition, the MicroLite can  be equipped with a LASER designator for sensor-to-shooter loop closure. RAFAEL says “ground-breaking technologies” have been developed and integrated into MicroLite to enable these capabilities in a miniaturised form-factor.

A gimballed-turret design  enables horizon-to-horizon field of regard. The system also includes an onboard data processing and storage unit for real-time advanced image processing. An advanced suite of cyber defences is also applied.

Microlite joins RAFAEL's family of advanced aerial electro-optical systems, including the Litening advanced targeting pod, of which more than 1,700 systems have been fielded worldwide; the RecceLite real-time Digital ISR pod; the Toplite EO/IR System; and more.