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Old 17th Nov 2013, 23:52
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Lima Juliet
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 4,333
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But how was the C-17 spotted in the first place, to allow the operator to zoom in on it?

I'm genuinely curious as I have extensively flown DA42M with backseat operator and with the same FLIR as Reaper. I also have some experience as operator in the back. I would say that just about every time we have spotted a target, whether on the ground, in the air or at sea it is initially spotted by Mk1 eyeball of one of the onboard crew. The field of view and acuity of eyeballs is still way ahead of the sensors and video screens that I have flown with.
Trim

I think you'll find that DA42M uses the MX15? The Reaper uses MTS-B which is a far more capable sensor (another 7 inches of aperture for starters). Anyway, the MTS-B was slewed to the C-17's track showing on JTIDS/Link 16 - this system shows RADAR tracks of aircraft (with or without transponders) that are being tracked by AWACS or ground RADAR stations.

Let us know if DA42 is carrying MTS-B as that would be an interesting development.

LJ
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