MTS-B Sensors Help ‘Grim Reaper’ Harvest Enemy Targets

MQ-9 MTS-B turretand electronics unit(click to view larger) UAVs have been a critical resource for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. They perform many functions, including intelligence gathering, surveillance of enemy positions, and even attack capabilities. GlobalSecurity.org lists over 60 different models of UAVs. One of the most useful UAVs with attack capabilities has been the MQ-9 Reaper. It has the same surveillance capabilities of the popular MQ-1 Predator, but it also can carry GPS-guided JDAM family bombs, Paveway laser-guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles for air-air self defense, Hellfire anti-armor missiles, and laser-guided Hydra rockets. To find targets, track them, estimate their range, and ensure the targets are taken out, the MQ-9 needs a sensor-based targeting system. That system is the MTS-B [PDF] Multi-Spectral Targeting System manufactured by Raytheon, which recently received a $27.5 million order from the USAF to supply 17 MTS-B systems. MQ-1 MTS-A turret(click to view full) Raytheon’s MTS-B is an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) and laser detecting-ranging-tracking set. The EO/IR system provides long-range surveillance, high-altitude target acquisition, tracking, rangefinding, and laser designation for the Hellfire missile and other laser-guided munitions. MTS-B has been adapted for the high-altitude MQ-9, which has a flying ceiling of 50,000 feet. The MTS […]