GA-ASI Avenger with Lockheed Martin Legion Pod autonomously follows target aircraft
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), on 2 July for the first time, used its Avenger unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod modular infrared search-and-track (IRST) system to autonomously track and follow targets of interest.

During this industry-funded, 1.4 hour-long demonstration, the Legion Pod's IRST21 system detected multiple fast-moving aircraft and fed target tracking information to the Avenger's autonomy engine, according to a company statement. GA-ASI spokepersonMark Brinkley , said on 17 August that the relative speed between the Avenger and tracked aircraft varied depending on their respective velocities and aspect angles between them. The Legion Pod, he said, was able to track a variety of high-speed jet and low-speed aircraft across a range of low-to-high relative velocities.
The autonomy prioritised the targets informing the Avenger's manoeuvres for target engagement. The Avenger, Brinkley said, determined the probable location of the track and manoeuvred to maintain custody of that track until a different track was selected.
At that point, the jet-propelled Avenger changed course to maintain custody of the newly selected track. Brinkley said the IRST21 detected a variety of tracks that were prioritised based on the detection and tracking algorithms that are part of the IRST21 system.
Aqui está um Pod que era uma boa adição aos nossos F-16.
Seria concerteza. O problema está na configuração das estações do queixo (5L e 5R), visto que o Legion tem sido visto sempre à direita (5R), e até agora a LM não conseguiu responder se a 5L poderia, ou poderá, montar o Sniper ou Litening TGP sem grandes problemas, tal como aconteceu com o AN/ASQ-213 HTS. Enquanto a LM, junto dos fabricantes dos pods, não esclarecer isso, levar um pod IRST em detrimento de um TGP terá óbvias consequências na diminuição da capacidade operacional do aparelho.
Não é por nada que muitos, entre os quais a FAP, usam o Litening ou Sniper neste momento como um "IRST dos pobres", e bom seria o Legion (ou outro) pudesse ter todas as capacidades num só dispositivo. Ainda seremos surpreendidos um dia destes pelos israelitas.
