MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Specialists of the Astron Opto-Mechanical Design Bureau (part of the Shvabe Group within the state tech corporation Rostec) have engineered a long-range thermal imaging reconnaissance system based on artificial intelligence, Astron CEO Vladimir Popov told TASS on Tuesday.

The Blokpost-4T system integrates a 400T ‘flying thermal imager’ quadcopter, he specified.

"Currently, the Russian army operates various optoelectronic equipment for gathering terrain data in any weather conditions, including thermal imagers. However, a dilemma always exists for both optical and thermal imaging systems: either you have a large field of view or you need to provide a highly detailed image. We believed that the integration of the ‘flying thermal imager’ into the ground-based surveillance system would help solve this dilemma unconventionally and quite elegantly," he said.

The long-range reconnaissance vehicle features a single system of image control and reception with its projection to a joint monitor, the chief executive explained.

"The ground-based thermal imaging stations of the Blokpost-4T system help detect individuals at a distance of 800 meters and motor vehicles at a distance of 2,000 meters. The system’s inbuilt video analytics singles out spotted objects on the screen to assist an operator who sends a drone to the designated area. Spotted targets are identified by an unmanned thermal imaging system at distance of up to six km," he added.

The system has been successfully tested, the chief executive said. "Presently, the first prototypes are being manufactured," he said.

The Blokpost-4T consists of ground-based thermal imaging cameras (from one to four) mounted on a tripod or any other platform with inbuilt target detection analytics and also of unmanned thermal imaging target identification, reconnaissance and fire adjustment equipment.

The 400T drone is the first quadcopter with a domestic thermal imager. The drone is being employed in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.