Application Note: Using SWIR In Intelligence, Surveillance, And Reconnaissance (ISR) Military And Security Systems

Responding to the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has become the focus of U.S. Defense policy, and with that, the need for greater intelligence collection has moved upward in priority. And whereas past reconnaissance needs were more strategic in nature, today's needs are highly tactical, demanding a high level of persistence and the ability, in many cases, to identify individual humans in the field of interest. Many approaches have been employed and proposed, but in recent years, the exceptional capabilities of short wave infrared (SWIR) technology have made SWIR the "Next Generation" of imaging technology for ground, airborne and space technology.