TACTICAL DRONES FOR TACTICAL ISR OPERATIONS

Tactical ISR drones

The main advantage of a tactical drone is gathering useful information from an aerial perspective in the most demanding environments. Surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) are methods of obtaining this information. Obtaining the right information at the right time enhances situational awareness for those who need it the most. Operating the UAS as autonomous drone systems can also increase operational readiness for the boots on the ground.

On this page, we will go over the unique aspects of the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) within our Martlet ISR systems for tactical ISR operations and how these systems contribute to the current war effort. Covertness, endurance, and intelligence will be our main focus to describe the concept of tactical drones through the eye of the Martlet tactical ISR systems.

What makes a multi-rotor drone a tactical drone?

To qualify a drone as a tactical drone, it needs to have sufficient endurance, range, and camera optics for ISR missions.

ENDURANCE

With endurance, we mean flight time. The endurance of a UAV will depend on numerous variables. For multi-rotors, it mainly comes down to a power to weight ratio: how much power is the UAV system able to output versus the weight of the total system (including the payload). The aerodynamics of the frame, the flight characteristics, and the power consumption of different components are also important factors.

MARTLET TACTICAL ISR DRONES
The Martlet is a mythical bird without feet. This bird always holds itself in the air and according to the myth, never touches the ground to land. Our ISR drone systems do have to come down for a landing, but they have an outstanding endurance for their class. The frame and propellers of the Martlet systems are all built with aviation-grade carbon composite, kevlar, and glass fiber materials – because every 1% counts.

RANGE

The range is dependent on the actual hardware and software of the datalink (comms, radio module), the physical environment can also play a role. A lot of vegetation in an area where a UAS operates can reduce the quality of the datalink.

CAMERA OPTICS

Camera optics can improve performance in two ways: by providing a high-resolution display and by increasing the amount of optical zoom. Optical zoom is zooming in while the quality of the image remains the same and the pixels are not stretched, as is the case with digital zoom.

1280×720 IR resolution 8x digital zoom	1280×720 EO resolution 40x optical + 2x digital

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Covert operations

Covertness definition:

The state of being covert and hidden
synonyms: hiddenness, stealthiness

NOISE LEVEL

To enhance the covertness of a tactical drone, it must have a relatively low noise level in flight. All our ISR drone systems are relatively quiet due to their unique architecture in the monocoque frame and the way the propellers are designed.

For instance: the Martlet MI-1 can not be heard from ±120 meters distance.

DATA TRANSMISSION

Another way for tactical drones to improve stealth capabilities is how these systems emit data. The Martlet systems datalink can automatically “hop” between frequencies and operate in a wide range of user-definable frequency ranges (2.0 – 2.5 + 5.0 – 5.2 GHz), making our UAVs more resilient when utilized as autonomous drone systems.

MI-1

Short-range tactical ISR micro-UAS

ENDURANCE:	+40 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)
RANGE:	5 km (with standard datalink)
COVERTNESS:	±120 meter distance
MAX PAYLOAD:	0.2 kg (1.6 kg MTOW)

ENDURANCE:

+40 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

5 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±120 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

0.2 kg (1.6 kg MTOW)

Discover the Martlet MI-1

MI-2

Long-endurance tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:	+80 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)
RANGE:	15 km (with standard datalink)
COVERTNESS:	±150 meter distance
MAX PAYLOAD:	1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

ENDURANCE:

+80 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±150 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

Discover the Martlet MI-2

MI-2S

Resilient endurance tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:	+55 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)
RANGE:	15 km (with standard datalink)
COVERTNESS:	±200 meter distance
MAX PAYLOAD:	1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

ENDURANCE:

+55 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±200 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

Discover the Martlet MI-2

MI-3

Multi-mission tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:	+90 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)
RANGE:	15 km (with standard datalink)
COVERTNESS:	±250 meter distance
MAX PAYLOAD:	3 kg (11 kg MTOW)

ENDURANCE:

+90 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±250 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

3 kg (11 kg MTOW)

Discover the Martlet MI-3

Ground Control Station

All-weather & field proven GCS

The Ground Control System (GCS) consists of an integrated Panasonic or Getac computer/tablet and a customized radio module with a standalone power supply. With this Ground Control Station, our users have the ability to use a predefined custom encryption key. The system can operate in a wide range of user-definable frequency ranges: 2.0 – 2.5 + 5.0 – 5.2 GHz and can automatically “hop” between frequencies.

BINGO TIME

The Bingo parameter keeps the mission safe and calculates the remaining mission time every minute, allowing the pilot to fully focus on the mission, ensuring a timely flight back to the home point.

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Certification:	MIL-STD 810H
IP rating:	IP65
Encryption:	128-bit AES / 256-bit AES
Custom encryption key:	user-definable
Operating frequency:	2.0 – 2.5 + 5.0 – 5.2 GHz
Max transmitting distance:	15 km

Tactical ISR drones

What makes a multi-rotor drone a tactical drone?

ENDURANCE

RANGE

CAMERA OPTICS

Covert operations

Covertness definition:

NOISE LEVEL

DATA TRANSMISSION

MI-1

Short-range tactical ISR micro-UAS

ENDURANCE:

+40 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

5 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±120 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

0.2 kg (1.6 kg MTOW)

MI-2

Long-endurance tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:

+80 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±150 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

MI-2S

Resilient endurance tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:

+55 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±200 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

1 kg (4 kg MTOW)

MI-3

Multi-mission tactical ISR mini-UAS

ENDURANCE:

+90 minutes (incl. EO/IR payload)

RANGE:

15 km (with standard datalink)

COVERTNESS:

±250 meter distance

MAX PAYLOAD:

3 kg (11 kg MTOW)

Ground Control Station

All-weather & field proven GCS

BINGO TIME

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

Contact us

Gijsbert [GB] Thijsen