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Exercise focused on interoperability and operational readiness in maritime domain
AeroVironment JUMP 20 Group 3 VTOL UAS platform intetrated with Overwatch Imaging’s PT-6 Smart Sensor as its wide-area maritime search payload during the 2024 REPMUS exercise.
November 20, 2024 – The 2024 REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping Augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems) exercise brought together leading-edge technologies, innovative platforms, and global industry leaders to advance maritime operations and collaboration between partnering NATO allies. Held amidst the underpinnings of heightened global tensions, this year’s event carried particular significance, underscoring the growing need for robust maritime domain preparedness to ensure security, stability, and operational advantage.
The exercise focused on interoperability and operational readiness in maritime domains, providing an ideal setting to showcase the combined capabilities of AeroVironment’s versatile JUMP 20 Group 3 VTOL UAS platform with Overwatch Imaging’s PT-6 Smart Sensor.
The combined platform provided effective maritime domain awareness and automated wide-area search capabilities, leveraging the sensor’s advanced onboard processing and precise geolocation to enable real-time identification and tracking of vessels, debris, and other key objects of interest.
“Overwatch Imaging’s automated sensor operation software and PT-6 wide-area imaging smart sensor, with the versatile and highly-capable JUMP 20, serves as an immediate force multiplier for our nation and allies’ efforts to meet the increasing demands for real-time intelligence across vast maritime domains,” said Greg Davis, founder and CEO of Overwatch Imaging.
“Autonomy is essential to manage the overwhelming scale of tasks for our already strained human resources. The future of maritime operations depends on scalable, repeatable, and autonomous solutions that serve as force multipliers in all kinds of operational environments.”
The JUMP 20 high-endurance fixed-wing platform is known for its versatility and ability to deploy from both land and shipboard environments, with 13+ hours of endurance and an operational range of 185km (115mi). With the PT-6's ability to passively search more than 1,000 sq nautical miles an hour, the pairing of these technologies highlighted the potential of agile unmanned systems to dramatically enhance situational awareness and mission success in complex and vast maritime environments.
Sample imagery of Overwatch Imaging's PT-6 Smart Sensor maritime search capabilities with automated image collection, data analysis and real-time intelligence reporting. The system is capable of searching more than 1,000 sq nm an hour.
“The integration of AV’s autonomous JUMP 20 and Overwatch Imaging’s PT-6 Smart Sensor delivers significant operational advantages in the maritime domain,” said Shane Hastings, AV’s vice president and general manager of Medium UAS.
“By combining long-endurance flight with advanced imaging payloads, the JUMP 20 delivers precise, real-time intelligence over vast ocean environments, addressing critical challenges such as vessel tracking, surveillance, and wide-area search-and-rescue. This collaboration enhances situational awareness and empowers autonomous decision-making for maritime operations.”
About AeroVironment
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) provides technology solutions at the intersection of robotics, sensors, software analytics and connectivity that deliver more actionable intelligence so you can Proceed with Certainty. Headquartered in Virginia, AeroVironment is a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, and serves defense, government and commercial customers. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.
About Overwatch Imaging
Overwatch Imaging is a venture-backed startup that serves important, time-critical missions around the world, ranging from fire, flood and oil spill mapping to counter narcotics, tactical intelligence, and maritime search and rescue.
Overwatch Imaging develops automated, multispectral smart sensors and AI-enabled software solutions for time-critical missions in challenging environments. Cutting-edge solutions leverage the latest advancements in sensor technology, computer vison, GPU processing, Artificial Intelligence, and sensor fusion to scan wide areas, find objects of interest, extract actionable geospatial intelligence from data streams and deliver it quickly and efficiently. www.overwatchimaging.com
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