Candian Commercial Corp. to upgrade L3Harris Wescam electro-optical sensor for high-altitude surveillance

Sept. 27, 2021
WESCAM MX-20D electro-optical sensor turret is for high-altitude, long-range persistent surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition.

CRANE, Ind. – U.S. Navy electro-optical surveillance and reconnaissance experts needed a company to upgrade the Navy's L3Harris Wescam MX-20D sensor turrets. They found their solution from The Candian Commercial Corp. (CCC) in Ottawa.

Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Crane, Ind., anounced a $10.7 million order to CCC to upgrade 33 MX-20D turrets and deliver 34 digital master control units.

The WESCAM MX-20D EO/IR targeting and designating system is for high-altitude, long-range persistent surveillance, reconnaissance, and target acquisition from manned and unmanned aircraft.

The CCC is a Canadian corporation mandated to facilitate international trade on behalf of Canadian industry -- particularly with governments of foreign countries. CCC helps Canadian exporters gain access to foreign government procurement markets through a government-to-government contracting.

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CCC positions qualified Canadian exporters to win international contracts with governments abroad while significantly reducing the risks associated with foreign procurement. The MX-20D sensor turret is from L3Harris Wescam in Burlington, Ontario.

The WESCAM MX-20D is for covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, armed reconnaissance, and target acquisition and designation from fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and aerostats.

The MX20D can support as many as six sensors simultaneously. Among those sensors are HD visible light cameras; HD infrared imaging sensors; laser rangefinders and designators; high-sensitivity color camera; pseudo color infrred; advanced video tracker, moving target indicators; and laser spot trackers.

Related: FLIR Systems to upgrade persistent surveillance electro-optical sensors for Marine Corps perimeter security

The integrated sensor system is compatible with standard U.S. and NATO designator codes, automatically detects a designator spot of a given code in its field-of-view, and slews the system’s line-of-sight to laser energy, and offers dual-channel daylight and electron multiplying CCD charge-coupled device (EMCCD) low-light camera.

The turret has an inertial measurement unit for enhanced location, and a five-axis gimbal with stabilized imagery. On this camera the CCC will do the work Ottawa, and should be finished by September 2022.

For more information contact The anadian Commercial Corp. online at www.ccc.ca, L3Harris Wescam at www.l3harris.com, or the Naval Surface Weapons Center-Crane at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Crane.

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