HQ series · Three-axis · EO + IR + LRF

HQ-125TB three-axis gimbal camera with 3 km LRF

A three-axis gimbal camera for multirotors, fixed-wing aircraft and small helicopters. Balanced mid-range turret: 30x zoom, a long thermal lens and 3 km ranging.

Weight 1.2 kg
Three-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
Thermal 640 × 512
LRF 15 m – 3 km (± 1 m)
AI detection & tracking

CE / RoHS documentation available on request
Export compliance statement available on request
Calibration and test report supplied with every unit

What the HQ-125TB is

The HQ-125TB sits at 1.2 kg, one step above the 1 kg head beside it, and the step is entirely lens and laser. The daylight optic is untouched at 1920 × 1080 and 30x across 4.3 – 129 mm. What moved is the thermal barrel, 35 mm instead of 25 mm, and the rangefinder, 3 km instead of 1.5 km. Same three-axis platform, a Φ125 × 180 mm shell, 20 W / 50 W, 6 km on a person and 15 km on a vehicle by day, 1 km and 4.6 km by thermal.

What the extra mass buys

One longer thermal lens, one longer laser envelope. Nothing else moved.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm

6 km person, 15 km vehicle.

Thermal / IR

640 × 512, 35 mm fixed

1 km person, 4.6 km vehicle. Uncooled, NETD ≤ 40 mK.

Laser rangefinder

15 m – 3 km (± 1 m)

1535 nm, eye-safe. Reaches 3 km where a 1.5 km laser stops.

35 mm against 25 mm, and what it costs

A longer focal length puts more pixels on a warm body at a given distance, so a contact that reads as a smear on one reads as a shape on the other. That is the entire thermal gain: 1 km on a person, 4.6 km on a vehicle from a 640 × 512 array.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — The 35 mm thermal path, tracker holding a moving target.

When 1.5 km of ranging is the wrong number

A rangefinder’s reach sets the size of the problem it georeferences. At 1.5 km the envelope is a compound, a span or a street; at 3 km it is a valley or a coastal strip. The near end is unchanged, so a mast base remains a valid target, and ± 1 m holds across the span. A survey that never leaves a few hundred metres needs no more.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Coordinates from the 3 km laser, on the station display.

The same 30x, deliberately

Nothing on the daylight side was touched, which is the argument for this head over a heavier one. 4.3 – 129 mm already covers search at 6 km on a person and 15 km on a vehicle; going further needs a larger aperture and a heavier cage.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — The unchanged daylight optic, vehicles boxed automatically.

Against the 1 kg head, the difference buys a longer thermal lens and a laser that reaches 3 km rather than 1.5 km. Nothing else changes, so the choice is one question: does the mission need either.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Three axes, and a taller cage

Yaw, pitch and roll each turn on a brushless motor fixed direct to its axis, encoding closing the loop, nothing geared between. The 35 mm barrel dictates shell depth, which is why the envelope runs to Φ125 × 180 mm rather than a shallower can. Boresight sits inside ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) at ≥ 60°/s.

1.2 kg, 20 W / 50 W

Mass lands at 1.2 kg inside Φ125 × 180 mm, from 11 to 28 VDC on a 20 W / 50 W draw. A multirotor, fixed-wing aircraft or light helicopter takes it; catalogue figures rather than goals, so mount and power budget settle before a prototype exists.

Detection and tracking at the edge

Classification aboard the turret

The module inside the head separates people, vehicles, vessels and aircraft on its own, so bounding boxes stay live when the link thins and no frame is sent down for a processor. Twenty tracks can run together, one under active lock.

A long lens magnifies aircraft motion too

At 35 mm the thermal path magnifies airframe motion along with the target, which is where the tracker and the third axis earn their keep. The lock holds through rotation and scale change, and re-acquires after occlusion; the recording is written internally, so a long-range pass survives a dropped link.

Airframe integration

1.2 kg and a taller cage: mount, bus, environment, documents.

Mount

The quick-release face sits on a vibration-isolated base, with adapter plates where a bolt circle does not match ours. The bracket is stress-cased for Φ125 × 180 mm and 1.2 kg, a load a fixed-wing aircraft or light helicopter carries without anything bespoke.

Bus and sealing

Power range is 11 to 28 VDC. Control is serial, on RS-422, RS-232 or TTL, with SBUS and MAVLink for an autopilot that uses them. Imagery leaves as H.264 or H.265 at 100 Mbps while 128 GB inside holds the recording. Sealed against dust and rotor wash, it works between −20 °C and +60 °C and stores from −40 °C to +70 °C. All range-wide, described once on the technology pages.

Outline and interface drawingThree-view outline at Φ125 × 180 mm, connector pinout included. Request the PDF alongside your quotation and we will issue it for airframe review.

Bench, then aircraft

The protocol, the video path and the gimbal limits are checked on the bench before that harness is installed in the aircraft.

The first head is shipped alongside five papers: protocol, pipeline note, outline with pinout, calibration record, test report. Export screening applies to paper too.

Where the HQ-125TB is used

Three tasks that need the longer thermal lens or the longer laser.

Persistent surveillance from a fixed wing
A fixed-wing stands off and watches, so the sensor works at the range the aircraft can hold rather than where a multirotor hovers. 6 km on a person and 15 km on a vehicle by day, 1 km and 4.6 km on the 35 mm thermal path, plus 3 km of ranging: an orbit stays outside the area and still returns positions, not bearings.
UAV surveillance →
Helicopter patrol
A rotorcraft is hostile to any camera, and the third axis is what makes the picture usable: roll is corrected in the head, so a turn does not tilt the horizon. The 30x optic covers a road from patrol altitude, the 35 mm thermal carries that after dark, and 1.2 kg is a payload a light helicopter takes.
Helicopter cameras →
Corridor and boundary survey
A corridor is long, and what matters is how much length one pass resolves. The 3 km laser measures along it rather than only across, and the wider thermal reach makes a night pass return a picture instead of a row of blobs. Both channels record inside the head, so the survey is a file before the aircraft is down.
UAV inspection →

Full specifications

Model	HQ-125TB
Series	Gimbal Camera Series (HQ series)
Stabilisation	Three-axis gyro-stabilised, ≤ 100 μrad
Sensor configuration	EO + IR + LRF
Visible channel	1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm
Thermal channel	640 × 512, 35 mm fixed
Laser rangefinder	15 m – 3 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤1.2 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ125 × 180 mm
Power consumption	20 W / 50 W
Detection (EO)	6 km person / 15 km vehicle
Detection (IR)	1 km person / 4.6 km vehicle

Detection distances follow the standard 1.7 m person / 2.3 m vehicle convention. Rows marked as shared are common across the HQ series.

Control software: Windows as standard. An Android version can be customised for OEM/ODM projects.

Shared across the HQ series

Video output: Ethernet, H.264 / H.265
Gimbal control: RS-422 / RS-232 / TTL, SBUS, MAVLink
Input voltage: 11–28 VDC
Operating temperature: −20 °C to +60 °C
Sealing: Sealed housing for dust, wind and rotor wash
Recording: On-board recording, imagery retained if the link drops
AI module: Onboard detection, classification and multi-target tracking
Mounting: Quick-release interface, adapters available for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) airframes

Three-view outline drawing with connector pinout, available on request.

Outline and interface drawingThree-view outline with dimensions and the connector pinout for this head. The drawing set is released with the datasheet — ask for it with your quotation and we will send the PDF for your airframe review.

Questions engineers ask about the HQ-125TB

What range does the HQ-125TB detect at?

Daylight: 6 km to a person, 15 km to a vehicle. Thermal, on the 35 mm barrel: 1 km and 4.6 km. Both sets use the standard 1.7 m person and 2.3 m vehicle targets and both are detection only. Identification comes closer in, and the datasheet lists it.

How do I order, and when does it arrive?

Stock configuration from a single unit, custom from 100. Heads already built leave as they stand and only carriage remains; a custom or volume run has its date written into the quotation, along with the T/T terms. Warranty is one year from delivery.

What does 1.2 kg buy over the 1 kg head?

Two numbers. The thermal barrel goes from 25 mm to 35 mm, lifting thermal detection to 1 km on a person and 4.6 km on a vehicle, and the rangefinder goes from 1.5 km to 3 km. The daylight optic, the axes and the protocol stay the same, so nothing else on the aircraft side changes.

Why is the cage taller than the 1 kg model?

Because the 35 mm thermal barrel sets the depth. The envelope is Φ125 × 180 mm, and the mass comes out at 1.2 kg. That is the physical reason the head is heavier, and it is the first thing to check against an airframe.

Designed and manufactured by HITS

Optics, servo hardware, stabilisation firmware and the AI tracking module are developed in house, and every unit is assembled, calibrated and environmentally tested on our own line before it ships.

HITS engineer testing a stabilised gimbal camera payload on the test bench before dispatch

Production line assembling stabilised gimbal camera payloads at the HITS factory

Engineer assembling the internal components of a HITS stabilised gimbal camera payload

Gimbal payloads on the calibration and environmental test rack at the HITS factory

Next steps for this payload: how it is inspected and tested · export licensing and documentation · ordering and integration FAQ

Request a quotation for the HQ-125TB

Tell us the platform, the range you need to identify and how many units you are planning. Every configuration is quoted individually, so you get a written price against your own requirement rather than a list figure that does not fit it. We answer within one working day.

MOQFrom 1 unit

Small ordersUsually held in stock, shipped straight away

Volume ordersDelivery schedule confirmed with your quotation

Reply timeWithin one working day

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