Defence and security company Hensoldt has launched its new-generation airborne imaging system, the Argos-15, at the African Aerospace and Defence trade show and exhibition at Air Force Base Waterkloof, in Centurion, on September 19.

The new system, which was fully designed, developed and manufactured in South Africa, features advances in multispectral sensor technology for modern intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The new 15" Argos-15 gimbal system builds on Hensoldt’s existing Argos range, providing better performance for medium- to high-altitude missions on both manned and unmanned airborne platforms.

“Customers or users demand more functions. Those functions need processing power. Processing power needs architecture, and that architecture is then used to run that processing and supply the functionality. That's the whole reasoning behind our new system,” Hensoldt South Africa business development manager Gerrie van der Merwe explained at the launch.

Featuring an advanced, modular design and AI-powered functionalities, the next-generation system is geared for use in modern defence and security applications.

“With the launch of the Argos-15, we are reinforcing our position as a leading provider of airborne imaging technologies. This system’s superior capabilities will ensure that our customers remain at the forefront of modern surveillance and reconnaissance missions,” Hensoldt South Africa optronics sales head Sunette van Rensburg said.

The Argos-15 follows on from the widely deployed Argos-II, which has been integrated into more than 34 platforms globally, thereby offering a blend of proven technology and next-generation innovations.

“We have blended the experience of Argos-II into what we now have as the new architecture, so we are fully backwards compatible. Mechanically, electrotonically and the software, everything is backwards compatible. This means that the customers that are using Argos-II today still can have continuity by simply taking off Argos-II and putting on Argos-15,” Van der Merwe explained.

The Argos-15 can provide high-fidelity image quality across diverse lighting conditions owing to its next-generation multispectral sensors. Moreover, its unique image fusion capabilities can combine thermal, daylight and short-wave infrared sensors, ensuring optimal visibility in challenging environments.

The high-definition images enable detailed aerial video analysis so that infrastructures, troop movements and targets are clearly recognisable, even under detrimental light and weather conditions.

Moreover, inflight bore-sighting is unnecessary owing to the highly accurate boresight alignment and retention under harsh conditions.

The Argos-15 features four-axis stabilisation architecture, coupled with a high-precision inertial measurement unit, delivering under five microradian stabilisation for image clarity. The advanced stabilisation ensures reliable performance during long-range surveillance and target acquisition.

Common aperture architecture for lens-size optimisation offers a balance between multispectral sensors and internal volume usage. All the cameras in the Argos-15 are designed with optimised detector and lens-matching to ensure the best performance possible in its class. Also, multispectral video is simultaneously available, allowing for different information to be exposed from the scene.

“The architecture is upgradable in the sense that, since it's now a software apparatus system, functions that we don't have today, we will have tomorrow. There's still solutions that we need to develop. There are requirements that we don't know of today, but tomorrow, it will be in the system, because it will be added into the software. We embrace the digitalisation,” Van der Merwe said.

At the heart of the Argos-15 is an AI-powered object detection, classification and tracking system. Using an integrated graphics processing unit, operators can easily detect and track targets with its advanced one-shot object classifier. The aim of this capability is to reduce workload and improve mission efficiency, with the real-time processing enabling rapid decision-making in dynamic environments.

“The AI will enable us to reduce the operator workload, be faster and improve the optimisation. One important thing for operators today is that there are so many things they need to do now. The system needs to provide that capability, to automate the process, and reduce the workload,” Van der Merwe said.

Equipped with Hensoldt’s specialised laser sensors, the Argos-15 also houses a comprehensive laser suite, featuring a dual-wavelength, high-power laser-designator and rangefinder for precise intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities.

The Argos-15 is operational at altitudes of up to 50 000 ft and is designed to support a range of platforms, including tactical and medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and aerostats.

Its modular design makes integration across various applications feasible, including military, paramilitary, law enforcement and search-and-rescue missions.

“We have optimised the internal volume, but it's possible to reduce this even further depending on customer requirements. We can focus on certain sensors. We can take out other sensors. We can make the payload lighter, and we can even increase the weight. As much as 60% of your weight sits in the sensors and the payload, and that is possible to be reduced in the future as well,” Van der Merwe explained.

Since the Argos-15 is a South African-made product, it is subject to South African export regulations, giving the product wide exportability and ease of integration.

Van der Merwe noted that Hensoldt provided comprehensive in-country support to ensure operational readiness for its clients.

Production deliveries of the Argos-15 will begin in mid-2025.