A demonstration of Thales' DigitalCrew sensor enhancement software, coupled with its PAAG sighting system, seen at the IAV 2025 conference. (Janes/Tom Barton)
Thales demonstrated DigitalCrew, a software package to enhance complex sensor inputs, at Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles (IAV) 2025 conference being held in Farnborough from 21 to 23 January.
Thales told Janes that DigitalCrew was being integrated onto the Bundeswehr's Boxer vehicles along with its Panoramic Above Armour Gimbal (PAAG) sighting system, as part of its Joint Fire Support Team (JFST) contract.
The system was also successfully tested in the desert in the Middle East in the third quarter of 2024, Thales revealed.
Usually mounted on a retractable vehicle mast, the PAAG's short-, mid-, and long-range field-of-view (FOV) cameras, short-wave infrared (SWIR) camera, and the thermal imager (TI) can detect ground or air targets up to 10 km away. Thales noted that some users have discussed mounting the PAAG on a static tripod, which is being explored, though external power and communications needs are challenges.
One of the functions of DigitalCrew is video combination, stitching all three videos from these three cameras with either the SWIR camera or TI, said Stewart MacPherson, head of Digital Strategy for Thales at its Glasgow sensor production site. DigitalCrew can also be integrated with non-Thales sensor systems.
Currently, FOV, SWIR, and TI feeds cannot all be combined, but that is in the development road map, added MacPherson.
The PAAG and DigitalCrew are designed for mid- to long-range use, beyond 200 m, with parallax errors from the different cameras generated in the combined image at shorter ranges.
Algorithm functions
DigitalCrew's suite of algorithms also provides artificial intelligence (AI) and non-AI enhancements, MacPherson said.
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