JANUARY 25--The General Directorate of French Customs (www.douane.gouv.fr) has selected the Pharos LRN multisensor surveillance system from Cedip Infrared Systems (Croissy-Beaubourg, France; www.cedip-infrared.com) for its two new Coast Guard patrol craft in construction in Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the North of France. These patrol craft are intended to facilitate maritime police force reconnaissance, as well as sea search-and-rescue missions.
The Pharos LRN is a high-resolution gyrostabilized multisensor platform specifically designed to provide surveillance imaging in all visibility conditions (day or night). It features a two-axis platform equipped with a long-range 640 x 512-pixel cooled thermal imager to give night capabilities and a color CCD camera with powerful zoom for daytime operation. The head, engineered to withstand the harsh marine environment and meet IEC60945 standards, includes wash/wiper system and internal heater to prevent icing on windows.
It will be controlled by two piloting consoles integrated and interfaced with the patrol craft navigation systems. The Pharos LRN enables detection of small boats at distances up to 10 nautical miles and automatic tracking of targets spotted by video or detected by ship radar. When brought into operation in summer 2007, one patrol craft will be located in Boulogne-sur-Mer to cover the English Channel and the other in Brest to cover France's Atlantic frontage.
