Specialized Cameras

Written by Peter Buxbaum

SOTECH 2009 Volume: 7 Issue: 9 (November/December)

Special operations units take on the most challenging of assignments and often conduct their operations under the harshest of conditions. Their missions take them to the remotest of locations, and they often operate under the cover of darkness.

Special operations forces make use of video and still cameras in a variety of scenarios. On reconnaissance missions, they are used to send images back to headquarters for further processing and decision-making. Cameras are also used to document special operations missions as well as in training situations.

Special forces’ specialized missions and the environments in which they operate require that they be equipped with devices providing enhanced capabilities. The military’s industry partners have come forward with a variety of photo and video products and components to meet these needs.

Night vision is perhaps the classic example of a specialized camera capability. But, in fact, night vision encompasses two capabilities and two technologies. Electro-optical cameras—the same kind used in commercial photography—utilizing image enhancement technology allow warfighters to discern threats in low-light situations. Infrared cameras display images without the aid of any light at all; they pick up the heat profile emitted from the objects being viewed.

The purpose of both of these capabilities, said Wesley Motooka, president, integrated sensor systems at L-3 Communications, is to be “able to find potential threats, identify them positively, establish what their intent is, and provide information for follow-up action.”

Another potential use of night vision cameras is to accomplish a public affairs mission, according to Art Stout, vice president for business development at Sofradir-EC. “There’s always a need post-action to go out and document what took place,” he said, “in order to counter enemy efforts to put out false stories and sway public opinion.”

The night vision products that Sofradir-EC supplies the special operations community are actually add-on image intensifying and thermal components that can be integrated into standard Canon and Nokia photography equipment. “These allow users of photo equipment to adapt to nighttime conditions,” said Stout.

There are advantages and applications for the intensifying, or low-light, systems, as well as the thermal, or infrared, sensors, depending upon the mission. “Thermal sensors are very good at detection people or vehicles,” said Stout. “The contrast of a person or vehicle against the background is extremely high. But you can’t recognize a face or make out the details or license plate or markings on a vehicle. Thermal and image intensification are complementary technologies and the military is keen to invest in both.”

Sofradir-EC’s image intensifying components are integrated into commercially available photography equipment by controlling communications between the lens and the body of a digital camera. This method of night vision amplifies the available light to achieve better vision by focusing available light on the photo cathode of an image intensifier. This process energizes electrons on the cathode, and the electrons are then transmitted to a green phosphor screen. The energy of the electrons makes the phosphor glow, and an image is displayed on the attached photographic camera or video device.

Most night vision devices incorporated into solider systems today are image intensifying technologies that must use some light source, according to Motooka. However, thermal technologies are progressing to the point where they, too, can be incorporated into equipment toted by individual warfighters.

This is being brought about by enhanced performance of less expensive, uncooled thermal devices. Until recently, high-performance infrared detectors were required to carry their own cooling apparatus with them. These were expensive, bulky, consumed a great deal of power, and therefore were inappropriate for soldier systems. Uncooled systems were less expensive and easier on power but also less sensitive.

Next generation uncooled thermal devices will boast significantly increased range and resolution, according to Motooka. “With the old generation of devices, you could see somebody there and something dark in front of him,” he said. “With the emerging technology, you will definitely be able to tell it is a rifle.”

These advances have been accomplished by cramming greater numbers of pixels into a smaller package that is more power efficient. “You need something that is small enough and light enough to work with,” said Motooka. “We are working on ways of optimizing performance, weight and battery life.”

These new infrared detectors are likely to be integrated with image intensifying night vision products, according to Motooka. “When you combine the two you have the capability of exacting more information to find threats and where they are hiding,” he said.

Video cameras are also being integrated into warfighters’ weapons. In combat, these cameras can provide real-time intelligence reporting to remote locations. They also can be used in training. An instructor can record video of the training activity for after action review.

Cast Fire Solutions in Grapevine, Texas, has been producing a line of cameras that integrate onto rifles for 12 years. The essential innovation brought about by Cast Fire, said company owner Tom Healy, is to place the camera in parallel to the rifle eyepiece, rather than at the end of the eyepiece, so that the weapon can be operated normally and video is captured with no effect on the operator. This is accomplished, explained Healy, with the use of a focusing beam splitter, which reproduces the images displayed in the eyepiece and directing them to the video camera.

“The reason to have a product like this is to be able to capture on video what an operator is seeing in surveillance or capture that video for contemporaneous use or at another time,” said Healy. “The video could be used for making a record of what is happening and for identification and verification.”

The product was originally developed to fulfill specific requirements of a special operations group. “They wanted to capture video for their purposes, but they did not make those purposes known to me,” said Healy. “We’ve since taken that basic premise and expanded and improved it by adding various capabilities and the ability to use a variety of cameras.”

One enhanced capability involves integration with multi-power rifle scopes. “The initial rifle-scope cameras were developed for fixed power rifle scopes,” said Healy. “With the advent and adoption of multi-power rifle scopes, the need to focus the camera optic at various power levels became necessary. In order to get a good video image you need to refocus the camera when changing powers.”

As is the case with other photographic equipment, Cast Fire’s rifle cameras have gotten smaller and lighter, making them all that much easier to use for military purposes. “Our typical camera assembly weighs between 2 and 4 ounces, and the overall dimension of the camera is much smaller without compromising camera performance,” said Healy. “That is pretty significant because every ounce counts when you’re lugging a big kit around.”

In Cast Fire’s 12-year history, it has delivered 700 rifle cameras to customers associated with the U.S. military.

Weapon-mounted cameras can be of importance to special forces in training exercises, according to Rich Kirk, president of sales at PistolCam Inc., a company based in Keeseville, N.Y.

Exercises on entry and clearing of buildings, for example, can be preserved for later review. “You can go back and review what they did correctly and what they did wrong,” said Kirk. “The instructor can review the recording with the student, and they can see where the student was pointing the weapon and whether the buildings and rooms were cleared properly.”

The product, which includes a camera, microphone, laser, and high intensity tactical illuminator integrated into a small package, slides onto the weapon’s rail and can be mounted on many types of weapons, said Kirk. The package also includes a mini USB port to facilitate image downloads.

The specialized cameras available to special operations units are not limited to those that can be carried around by warfighters. L-3 makes a series of products that can be mounted on airborne platforms from helicopters to aerostats to unmanned aerial vehicles, which can provide a range of utilities to special operations teams.

Warfighters can carry a small L-3 communications device known as the Rover to receive video feeds from an airborne vehicle overhead. “The Rover’s remote video terminal enables a soldier on the ground to receive video data right into a handheld device,” said Motooka. “If a unit is pinned down someplace, a UAV can fly overhead and provide the unit with situational awareness so that they can get commands on what the next move is.”

The video feeds from overhead can be provided by L-3’s Wescam MX sensor series. The MX-20, the largest in the series, is 20 inches long and is designed to be mounted on larger aerostats to provide maximum image resolution at high altitude, according to Motooka. The MX series integrates electro-optical and infrared sensors into a turret structure that provides a high degree of image stabilization. The series includes several other models that range down to the recently introduced MX-10, which is a mere 10 inches long and is designed to be mounted on smaller UAVs.

Similar to larger MX-Series products, the MX-10 can incorporate up to six sensors. Infrared, color and charge-coupled device imaging sensors, which convert analog signals to digital, can be combined with a laser rangefinder, pointer and illuminator. The MX-10 also performs image enhancement.

“The MX-10 is brand new and will be a home run for use on smaller UAVs,” said Motooka. “All the MX sensors work with the same set of software and interfaces. As the user moves from one system to the next, there is not a lot of retraining involved.”

L-3 Communications is preparing to introduce a next generation of components that Motooka said will provide even greater image resolution to the warfighter. The company will also be providing a very compact laser that will be both lightweight and light on power.

“Technology keeps on getting smaller,” said Motooka. “For warfighters, weight is everything and reliability is incredibly important. It’s the difference between who is doing the shooting and who is getting shot at.” ♦

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