SQ series · Two-axis · EO + IR + LRF + laser designator

SQ-200T two-axis laser designator pod

Laser designation plus 8 km ranging on a 5.5 kg two-axis pod. The complete payload weighs 5.5 kg and measures Φ200 × 260 mm, so it fits heavy fixed-wing platforms, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft.

Weight 5.5 kg
Two-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
Thermal 640 × 512
LRF 300 m – 8 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 SQ-200T is

At 5.5 kg in Φ200 × 260 mm the SQ-200T is the second rung of the designator range, and the first pod in it whose thermal channel zooms. A 640 × 512 core behind a continuous 40 to 220 mm group reaches further on a vehicle than the 30x daylight optic does, 20 km against 15, while the daylight side stays ahead on a person at 6 km to 4.9 km. The laser measures 300 m to 8 km and the designator works at 1064 nm. Draw is 50 W cruising and 250 W at peak.

A thermal zoom, which changes the working method

On this pod the night channel searches and closes, rather than searching and handing over.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm

Opens at 4.3 mm for the wide search. Confirms colour and markings once the aircraft is close.

Thermal / IR

640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm

Person 4.9 km, vehicle 20 km. The channel that overtakes daylight on this head.

Laser rangefinder

300 m – 8 km (± 1 m)

1535 nm and eye-safe, feeding the coordinate solution.

Laser designator

1064 nm

Marks a target already confirmed on either imaging path.

The night channel goes further than the day channel

Twenty kilometres of thermal vehicle detection against fifteen on daylight is the unusual figure, and the zoom explains it: 220 mm of thermal focal length puts more pixels on a hull than 129 mm of visible does. So the crew does not search by day and confirm after dark. The core carries the search; the daylight optic does the shorter, colour-dependent job of naming the contact.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — EO / visible channel: vehicles detected and boxed automatically in the live feed.

Ranging that starts at 300 m

The band is 300 m to 8 km at ± 1 m, eye-safe at 1535 nm, and the near figure reads as a decision rather than a gap. A 5.5 kg pod flies on an aircraft working at standoff, so the band opens where that aircraft sits and closes beyond the range at which most ground targets could see it. Close work belongs to a lighter head.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — Thermal channel: white-hot imagery with the tracker holding a moving target.

Find, measure and mark without leaving the orbit

All three sit on one line of sight, so the aircraft never breaks its pattern between them. The thermal zoom searches, the laser measures, the 1064 nm channel marks what both agreed on. One pass, three outputs, and no second aircraft sent to re-find a contact that has since moved.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Ground station: payload video with live target coordinates and sensor status.

Two figures carry this model against the pod below it in weight: 220 mm of thermal zoom and 8 km of ranging. Both are named in a requirement, and neither is available lower down.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Two axes, and a zoom group to hold inside them

A thermal zoom travelling 40 to 220 mm moves the pod’s inertia as it goes, and that is the load case these axes are drawn around. Each turns on a brushless motor fixed to its own frame, encoder feedback closing the loop, no reduction stage. Boresight is held to ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) with ≥ 60°/s of rate in hand. Roll belongs to the airframe.

5.5 kg in Φ200 × 260 mm, 250 W at peak

The pod is 5.5 kg in a Φ200 × 260 mm envelope on 11–28 VDC. Cruise is 50 W, peak 250 W, and that gap is what a designator and a long ranging laser cost a budget.

Detection and tracking at the edge

At 20 km the box is drawn on board

Detection of people, vehicles, vessels and aircraft runs on a module inside the pod. At that range the picture is thin and the link thinner, so computing the box before compression keeps a contact marked while the crew weighs closing on it.

A lock that survives a focal-length change

Twenty targets can run together with one actively locked. Because the thermal channel zooms, the tracker holds through a change of magnification as well as rotation and scale change, and re-acquires after occlusion. On a pod whose night channel is the primary search tool, that is the behaviour the method depends on.

Fitting the pod to an airframe

5.5 kg of mass and a 250 W peak: the two numbers that decide the platform.

Structure and mounting

Φ200 × 260 mm and 5.5 kg suit heavy fixed-wing platforms, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft. The face releases off an isolated base, with plates to bridge a bolt pattern that is not ours. At 5.5 kg the bracket is load-bearing structure, and slack in it turns into boresight wander over 8 km of measurement.

Power, data and sealing

Voltage is not a constraint: 11 to 28 VDC covers it. Three serial standards are on offer for commands, RS-422, RS-232 and TTL, with SBUS or MAVLink available to an autopilot that wants bus-style control. The video encoder writes H.264 or H.265 to a 100 Mbps pipe and to 128 GB of memory inside the pod at once, which is why losing the downlink costs only the live view. Sealed housing, −20 °C to +60 °C working, −40 °C to +70 °C stored. The family supplies this layer rather than the model; the technology pages set it out.

SQ-200T gimbal camera payload integrated on a fixed-wing UAV with ground control station

On the aircraft

One harness, one isolated mount, two axes. At 5.5 kg the bracket is drawn as structure rather than as an accessory.

Documentation released with unit one: control protocol, video pipeline note, dimensioned outline with connector pinout, the calibration record, the bench test report. All five are export-reviewed before they leave.

Where the SQ-200T is used

Three roles that want a thermal channel reaching further than the daylight one.

Maritime patrol from a fixed-wing aircraft
Over water the air is often clearer than the sea is contrasty, and a hull stays warm against cold water long after its paint stops separating it from the swell. Twenty kilometres of thermal vehicle detection is the figure that matters on that orbit, the 8 km laser fixes a position without closing, and the designator marks a vessel an intercept is already being sent toward.
UAV surveillance →
Border watch across open ground
Open country is where a fixed daylight optic runs out of detail first. The 220 mm thermal end reads a vehicle at 20 km, so the crew searches on the night channel through the day as well, and the 30x optic takes over close in for colour and markings when the task turns from detect to identify.
UAV security →
Target hand-off from a helicopter
A helicopter carries 5.5 kg with margin, and the pod’s value here is the chain rather than any single figure. A contact found on the thermal zoom is measured at 300 m to 8 km, then marked at 1064 nm for a crew already airborne that does not need a coordinate read out to it over the radio.
Helicopter cameras →

Full specifications

Model	SQ-200T
Series	Laser Designator Pods (SQ series)
Stabilisation	Two-axis gyro-stabilised, ≤ 100 μrad
Sensor configuration	EO + IR + LRF + laser designator
Visible channel	1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm
Thermal channel	640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm
Laser rangefinder	300 m – 8 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤5.5 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ200 × 260 mm
Power consumption	50 W / 250 W
Detection (EO)	6 km person / 15 km vehicle
Detection (IR)	4.9 km person / 20 km vehicle

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

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

Shared across the SQ 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 SQ-200T

How far can the SQ-200T detect a person or a vehicle?

Pick the channel: 6 km and 15 km by day, 4.9 km and 20 km by thermal, person then vehicle in both cases. Neither figure is an identification range, and both are quoted against 1.7 m and 2.3 m reference targets.

What are the order terms and the delivery time?

Buy a catalogue pod singly or a custom build from a hundred. Anything sitting in stock is shipped as built, leaving only carriage time; anything else is scheduled inside the quotation. T/T, a year of warranty.

Why does the thermal channel reach further than the daylight one?

Focal length. The thermal group zooms to 220 mm against 129 mm on the daylight side, so it puts more pixels on a hull at the same distance, and a warm vehicle against cold ground or water separates readily. On a person the advantage narrows to 4.9 km, because a body is a smaller and less contrasty target than a vehicle.

Can the thermal zoom and the designation run together?

Both channels sit on one line of sight, and the tracker holds a lock through a focal-length change, which is what a designation pass depends on. Beam parameters at 1064 nm are not on the sheet, so confirm timing and interlock behaviour with the quotation rather than assuming them.

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 SQ-200T

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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