neighbourhood
Watch
HHTs being installed in Leh to detect PLA movement
Shuchismita
JAMMU, Feb 5: Hand Held Thermal Imagers (HHTI) – advanced yet compact, light weight night vision binoculars for long range observation and reconnaissance, are being installed along borders in Ladakh region to detect movement of People’s Liberation Army(PLA) of China.
Installation process of indigenous HHT Imagers manufactured by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun has already begun in some areas of Leh bordering China and in a year or two, these would be installed all along the border in Ladakh region.
This was informed by Pradeep Kumar, a scientist with IRDE, Dehradun, manning IRDE lab in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) pavilion in India Vision 2020 Mega Expo under 5-day101st Indian Science Congress presently underway at the University of Jammu.
According to him, manufactured in 2012, HHT Imagers can detect the movement with in the radius of 10 kms in any weather condition.
“Earlier we used to remain dependent on foreign thermal imagers but now the indigenous products would be available for surveillance. The HHTI operates in 3-5 um and based on 320X256 InSb FPA detector. The system can be hand-held or tripod mounted, according to operational need,” he informed. It’s 3rd generation Thermal Imager with built-in continuous zoom, high-resolution OLED display, ruggedized metal casing and is easy to operate and maintain.
Notably the Ladakh region is witnessing frequent intrusions by PLA personnel.
Another IRDE scientist K C Bahuguna, while detailing about other instruments, informs that Light Weight Laser Target Designator with Thermal Imagers too are in final stage of induction along the border areas across the country.
Presently its trials are on and it’s in the final stage of induction. Already IRDE has received 447 requirements from the Artillery.
Detailing about it, Bahuguna states that the state-of-art diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser target designator with thermal imager enables accurate terminal guidance of laser guided munitions during day and night.
Its salient features include designation of military targets upto 10 kms, built in range finder, integrated DMC & GPS, target coordinate computation, night operation with 3rd Gen. MWIR thermal imager. It operates with rechargeable Li-ion batteries and weight is below 20 kgs including all accessories.
He points out that night vision goggles, binoculars, thermal imagers are already being in Ladakh and other border areas of the country.
Given the diverse product range on display including state-of-the-art defence surveillance instruments and materials, DRDO pavilion comprising over 30 labs is attracting the maximum crowd. The pavilion is particularly huge hit among the children and the locals who are thronging it in thousands daily.
Source: http://www.kashmirtimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=28631
19
Jammu-Kashmir News Watch/February, 2014