30 March 2023

SOFINS 2023: Thales demos Sophie Ultima's long-range targeting capability

by Amael Kotlarski

Thales Sophie Ultima. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)

Thales demonstrated the Far Target Location (FTL) capabilities of its Sophie Ultima thermal imager at the SOFINS 2023 exhibition in Bordeaux, France.

Sophie Ultima features an optical day channel with a 20º wide field-of-view and unlike earlier members of the Sophie family is fitted with a continuous zoom function, which helps to maintain the target in sight at extended distances. The system is equipped with a cooled thermal imager that supports a 6 km detect, recognise, and identify range for a standard NATO tank-sized target. The system also supports picture-in-picture (PIP) functionality, as well as augmented reality and the ability to download and upload imagery. Cartography maps, specifically orthoimagery, can be loaded into the onboard memory with a maximum size of 200×200 km.

The imager is also equipped with a laser rangefinder with an effective range of 15 km. The overall system weighs 2.7 kg and can be used handheld or mounted on a tripod. According to Thales, in average ambient temperatures, the thermal sensors take three-and-a-half minutes to reach operating temperatures.

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