With Hensoldt’s Goshawk II HD fitted to a Diamond Aircraft DA42 MPP (multi-purpose platform) for a test recently, the aircraft’s crew spotted the beginnings of a forest fire by means of the gimbal’s infrared camera.
They immediately contacted the tower at Wiener Neustadt East airport to alert the fire control authorities who at that time had not yet been aware of the fire in the Alps. The remote sensing aircraft circled overhead and monitoring the situation through the infrared camera in anticipation of the fire fighters’ arrival.
Evidently our Goshawk II HD gimbal in this instance well and truly demonstrated its capabilities as a worthy sensing system for Diamond Aircraft’s special purpose planes. Our system was specially developed for use on light aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It comprises a high definition daylight colour TV camera and a 3rd generation thermal imager, the Attica Z, both with continuous zoom. In addition, it is equipped with an eye-safe laser rangefinder or laser designator and a laser pointer or laser illuminator.
If it had not been for the Hensoldt system being evaluated that day, a major fire could have run wild in the mountains of Austria, with the potential of causing serious damage.