RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES RAIVEN SENSOR SUITE

The dense foliage of the jungle obscures friendly forces in need of exfiltration, making them difficult to locate, while the vast expanse of the ocean presents a seemingly endless void. These environments can catch even the most experienced aircrews off guard, requiring innovative solutions to improve detection and identification capabilities.

Raytheon Technologies has developed a groundbreaking system called RAIVEN to address these challenges. RAIVEN revolutionizes the way aircrews detect and identify threats, obstacles and targets in real-time.

Unprecedented range and clarity
With RAIVEN, pilots can see up to five times farther and clearer than before, compared to traditional electro-optical imaging systems. This means aircrews can spot potential threats from a safe distance and keep their platforms out of harm’s way. RAIVEN can automatically detect and identify threats, reducing the workload for operators and accelerating the decision-making process.

The development of RAIVEN was inspired by the combat-proven Multi-Spectral Targeting System, which has been used for surveillance and targeting purposes for the past 20 years, providing unprecedented mission versatility and capability.

Quoth the AI, evermore
With RAIVEN, operators can silently and covertly observe their surroundings. The system’s intriguing capability lies in its ability to analyze and identify chemical signatures of various materials including gases, metals, vegetation and many others.

Its hyperspectral technology allows it to detect targets or objects that were previously invisible to the human eye or other conventional imaging technologies. By capturing the wavelengths of light emitted by materials and objects, RAIVEN’s hyperspectral sensors can discern even the slightest changes in the chemical composition of the environment, providing an entirely new level of situational awareness.

The RAIVEN turret’s hyperspectral imaging system creates a unique "fingerprint" for different materials based on how they reflect and absorb light. This enables RAIVEN to detect and analyze the chemical composition of its surroundings. The onboard AI algorithms process this data in real-time “at the edge,” providing immediate results to the aircrews.

Eased workload, enhanced situational awareness
In addition to hyperspectral technology, RAIVEN incorporates LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, to further enhance situational awareness for aircrews. LiDAR uses laser pulses to measure distances to objects, creating a detailed 3D map of the environment.

The integration of LiDAR into RAIVEN provides aircrews with an additional layer of safety during missions, reducing the risk of accidents or collisions. It helps in detecting and avoiding obstacles such as wires, buildings, or trees, which is crucial during low-level flight or in complex terrains.

By swiftly analyzing and processing LiDAR data, RAIVEN’s AI algorithms identify potential threats and present them to the operator, reducing their workload and allowing them to focus on critical tasks.

While the company has modernized the sensors for traditional full-motion video, it has also upgraded them to 4K resolution. By utilizing smaller pixels and larger apertures, the resolution has been improved, enabling aircrews to discern objects at even greater distances.

Helping military forces see and understand more
With its hyperspectral and LiDAR capabilities, combined with powerful AI algorithms, RAIVEN provides operators with enhanced situational awareness, real-time data processing, and the ability to detect and identify objects that were previously invisible or simply out of range. Its versatility and scalability make it an asset across a range of military platforms.

RAIVEN will empower aircrews with unprecedented capabilities, ensuring they have the information they need to make critical decisions in today’s complex battlespace.