Raven Aerostar, a provider of high-quality technical products, was part of a team comprising three members set up by Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection.
This team will identify and follow the suspected personnel involved in illegal activity in the US border. DHS Science and Technology Directorate granted a fund to the CBP for the evaluation of a novel surveillance system to be used in the border.
A tethered aerostat system, which is a component of Flexible Area Surveillance Technology (FAST), has been provided by Raven Aerostar in association with L-3 Communications. The L-3 Wescam sensor will be carried as a payload by Raven Aerostar’s tethered aerostat.
The device operates like a camera and with the tethered aerostat, it acquires a surveillance capacity, which can be used in offshore and commercial surveillance including homeland and defense security.
A novel Kestrel sensor was provided by Logos Technologies, the third partner. This sensor will work well with the L-3 sensor. It can scan a broad region in a single surveillance and can subsequently identify small objects present in the search area.
The Vice President and General Manager of Raven Aerostar, Lon Stroschein stated that these tethered aerostats are low-cost and are adaptable in the surveillance sector. The sensors and aerostats have been used for many hours in the flight for persistent surveillance that defends rebellious activities in the Afghanistan bases.
The FAST system with the sensors was demonstrated in Nogales. The CPB and DHS will decide on the procurement of the system after demonstration.
Source: http://ravenaerostar.com/