Teledyne FLIR Defense part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated has announced the launch of an innovative and first-of-its-kind small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) payload that can be used to provide NATO Standard laser target designation for laser-guided weapons. The Teledyne FLIR StormCaster™-DX is an advanced, multi-role laser designator payload built especially for use on the FLIR R80D SkyRaider™ UAS platform. StormCaster-DX is uniquely designed to manage target areas using a Laser Spot Tracker while affecting the terminal guidance of laser guided munitions.

Until now, this capability was only possible with larger UAS platforms or ground-based systems. Potential applications for the technology range from manned or unmanned air strikes to precision-guided mortars, naval gunfire, or air-launched effects. User-defined target tracking on StormCaster-DX captures accurate coordinates, heading and speed of moving objects and vehicles, enabling clandestine monitoring and marking. Two FLIR Boson® 640 longwave infrared thermal cameras support missions day or night.

The DX payload delivers unmatched stability in all-weather conditions and leverages class-leading payload capacity, plus multi-modal operations – tethered or untethered, mounted or dismounted – as well as Artificial Intelligence/Computer Vision-based targeting features.