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Sentient Vision Systems, Team Reaper Australia’s newest member, is the only Australian provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions that has been an integral part of every Australian unmanned aerial system (UAS) program to date.
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The inclusion of Sentient Vision further reinforces Team Reaper Australia as the leading viable solution to meet the Project AIR 7003 requirement, which now consists of 10 Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life cycle support capabilities.
"General Atomics recognises the importance of having a robust team of Australian industry partners to support the AIR 7003 requirements. We continue to be committed to partnerships with Australian industry and to providing a capable, affordable RPA system to the Australian Defence Force," said Linden Blue, CEO of GA-ASI.
The MQ-9 Reaper (occasionally referred to as Predator B) is a turboprop-powered, multi-mission remotely piloted aircraft (RPA). First flown in 2001, the system is a highly sophisticated development built on the experience gained with the company's battle-proven Predator RPA and is a major evolutionary leap forward in overall performance and reliability.
Reaper has an endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and has a 1,746-kilogram payload capacity that includes 1,361 kilograms of external stores. Twice as fast as Predator, the aircraft carries 500 per cent more payload and has nine times the horsepower. It provides a long-endurance, persistent surveillance/strike capability for the warfighter.
Team Reaper Australia, originally consisting of Cobham, CAE Australia, Raytheon and Flight Data Systems, was first announced at the Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition (Avalon 2017) by Linden Blue and Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston, AK, DFC of Defence South Australia.
Since Avalon 2017, Team Reaper Australia has expanded to 10 companies, and now also includes TAE Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Ultra Electronics Australia, Airspeed, Quickstep Holdings and Sentient Vision Systems.
Project AIR 7003 will provide the Australian Defence Force with an Armed medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) RPA system that will include aircraft and ground control stations (GCS) that will be fully inter-operable with Australia’s allies.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of RPA systems, radars and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator RPA series and the Lynx Multi-mode Radar.
Sentient Vision Systems develops and deploys computer vision solutions for defense and civil applications. Since 1999, Sentient has specialised in video analytics with a primary focus on the development of automated detection software for full motion video.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
