Rostec unveils Russian first fully indigenous thermal imager.

Russia’s industrial conglomerate Rostec has developed its first fully indigenous cooled thermal imager, according to a spokesperson for the company.

"The new high-sensitive thermal imager integrates a quantum well-infrared photodetector [QWIP], an infrared diffractive optics, and a micro-cryogenic cooler. (Picture source: Rostec)

"The new high-sensitive thermal imager integrates a quantum well-infrared photodetector [QWIP], an infrared diffractive optics, and a micro-cryogenic cooler. The camera has been fitted with a 640x512 matrix," said the spokesperson. According to him, the new thermal imager can recognize an object at a distance of no less than 3,500 m in a 10.5x78° field-of-view.

The unit is produced in two configurations, namely, a multipurpose and a military-grade, with the latter intended for both man-portable and stationary sensor suites, said the spokesperson. "Previously, Russian-made thermal imagers incorporated only foreign photodetectors, and the new unit is the first thermal camera built of Russian components only. The serial variant of the thermal imager has already been produced," said Rostec Executive Director Oleg Yevtushenko. The new thermal imager has been designed by the research-and scientific institute TsNII Cyclone (a subsidiary of Rostec’s holding Roselektronika).

In recent years, Rostec has largely invested in the development of indigenous thermal imagers. In 2018, Shvabe (a subsidiary of Rostec) launched the production of the Anakat-2 stationary thermal camera based on a 640x512 indigenous matrix.

At the Army 2019 defense show, Rostec’s NPO Orion unveiled the first Russian short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera. Orion Scientific Production Association is a company based in Moscow, Russia. It is part of the Shvabe Holding (Rostec group). The Orion Scientific Production Association in Moscow is a major designer, developer, and manufacturer of high technology military and aerospace electronics. It also produces special electronics for the space industry, which are used in both space launchers and satellites. In 1991, Orion entered into an agreement with a Russian-French joint venture radio station to produce commercial stereo receivers.

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