Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) Multi-Spectral Illuminator

Bodkin Design & Engineering (BD&E) will develop a Nighttime capability for the AN/DVS-1 COastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) system. A multi-spectral illuminator is required, with high irradiance over a large area, compatible with the COBRA Block I system. Previous illuminators used single waveband sources that cannot illuminate the six band light spectrum required for the COBRA system or provide sufficient illumination power for the COBRA camera field of view. The key innovation of the proposed Multi-Spectral Illuminator is to provide sufficient illumination power to image mine lines and minefields at night and without modification to the existing Block 1 hardware or detection software. Phase 2 will develop a solution that meets COBRA operational needs within the limited space and power constraints available on the MQ-8C Fire Scout. BD&E has assembled a strong development team with electrical systems experts Enginasion and flashbulb manufacturer Verre & Quartz. This team will demonstrate laboratory and ground test results of a multi-spectral illuminator prototype working with a prototype COBRA imager. In Option 1, we will validate our performance models with outdoor ground tests and in Option 2 we will validate our performance model projections with nighttime airborne tests.