Controp Expands Miniature EO Payload Line with Laser Designating Micro-Payloads

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TD STAMP multi sensor payload mounted on the new Orbiter 3. Photo: Tamir Eshel. Defense-Update

Controp is unveiling at the Paris Air Show 2011 the TD STAMP, a new lightweight payload optimized for small UAVs. TD STAMP is displayed at the airshow on Aeronautics’s Orbiter 3 UAV, also making its international debut here. The new payload offers performance level comparable to much larger payloads, at a weight ranging from 2.8 kg for the dual-EO/IR version to five kg, for the dual EO/IR plus laser designation capability, making TD STAMP the lightest laser designating payload in tkhe market.

TD STAMP multi sensor payload mounted on the new Orbiter 3. Photo: Tamir Eshel, Defense-Update

As an EO technology driven company, Controp Precision Technologies is developing EO payloads for use in airborne, land-based and naval applications. One of the company’s forte are lightweight, gyro-stabilized EO payloads developed for Small Unmanned Aerial vehicles (SUAV). About five years ago, Controp came out with the STAMP – small gyro-stabilized miniature payloads specially designed for SUAVs, developed with funding from Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Selected as the standard payload for the Sky Rider SUAVs operated by the IDF Artillery corps, STAMP payloads have proved their capabilities in operations in Israel and abroad. The STAMP payloads can all be installed by nose, top or belly mount on the carrying vehicle. These three-gimbal gyro stabilized payloads are not limited to SUAVs – they are also ideal for installation on board VTOLs, small balloons/aerostats and a variety of other air and land vehicles.

Through the years STAMP family was expanded to include a daylight (750 gr.), High Definition (STAMP-HD), and Uncooled IR models (U-STAMP), with and without zoom. To enable SUAV to rapidly cover large areas, D-STAMP day camera is now available with the new scanning mode operation. Supporting extended mission durations of modern SUAV, staying on missions for 5 or 6 hours, transitioning from daytime through twilight to nighttime on a single mission. The new M-STAMP includes a day camera, an uncooled dual FOV TI camera and a laser pointer all in a compact payload weighing less than 1.2kg. The M-STAMP model is currently being further miniaturized toward an objective weight of one kg. A larger EO payload is T-STAMP, a 2.8 kg payload mounting three sensors on a stabilized platform, offering high level of stabilization in three axes, cooled FLIR with continuous power zoom and CCD camera. The T-STAMP also comprises a line-of-sight stabilized inertial measurement unit enabling accurate geo-location of targets.

Aeronautics Orbiter 3 mounted with Controp

At the Paris Airshow Controp and Aeronautics are unveiling the latest version of T-STAMP, fitted with a laser designator designated ‘TD-STAMP’ weighing only five kilograms. This payload, the lightest of its class, is optimized for military VTOL operations providing a superior quality gyro-stabilized image. The new TD-STAMP fills what was previously a critical technological gap – now providing a lightweight payload with a Laser Designator for operational capabilities which are appropriate for small UAVs and VTOLs.