XQ series · Two-axis · EO + IR + LRF

XQ-125T two-axis EO/IR pod with 3 km LRF

A two-axis EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared) pod that packages EO (electro-optical), IR, LRF into a 1.6 kg head measuring Φ125 × 177.5 mm. The smallest pod in the XQ range: 30x zoom, a 35 mm thermal channel and 3 km ranging at 1.6 kg.

Weight 1.6 kg
Two-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
Thermal 640 × 512
LRF 30 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 XQ-125T is

The XQ-125T is the lightest head in the XQ range that carries a laser: 1.6 kg, a 30x daylight optic, a 640 × 512 thermal core on a fixed 35 mm lens, and a rangefinder measuring 30 m – 3 km. Two axes carry that set, pitch and yaw, and that is the decision the model is built on. Roll is left to the airframe, so the mass and volume a third axis would have taken go to the zoom group and the laser bench instead. It suits a hardpoint that cannot take a heavier turret.

A 30x zoom, a fixed 35 mm thermal and a 3 km laser

Three channels fitted to a mass budget, not to a catalogue of maximums.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm

Wide enough to hold a compound, long enough to read one vehicle in it.

Thermal / IR

640 × 512, 35 mm fixed

Night reach of 1 km on a person and 4.6 km on a vehicle, with the lens fixed by design.

Laser rangefinder

30 m – 3 km (± 1 m)

Eye-safe at 1535 nm, with a short floor for masts and fittings.

Why the zoom range is worth its grams

One optic from 4.3 mm to 129 mm means no swap between a search lens and an identification lens, and no target lost in the change. Detection reaches 6 km on a person and 15 km on a vehicle.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — Daylight feed with vehicles boxed by the detector running in the turret.

The thermal lens that had to stay fixed

A zooming thermal of this aperture would have taken the volume the laser bench occupies. Fixing it at 35 mm is what keeps three channels inside 1.6 kg, and boresight means a target sits in the same pixels either way.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — White-hot thermal at 640 × 512; the tracker keeps the box on a moving vehicle.

A short range that still earns its place

Thirty metres to 3 km at ± 1 m. Most of what this pod is pointed at lies inside the near half, and a measured slant range turns a frame into a grid reference a ground team can use.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Ground station view: imagery, the coordinate the laser produced, and sensor state.

Mass is what separates this head from its neighbours. The zoom and the laser went in, and the thermal lens is what paid for them.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Pitch and yaw, no gear stage

Each axis is a brushless motor turning the optics directly, with the encoder reading position at the axis rather than the motor shaft. Nothing in that path can develop lash, so the sight line holds ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) and the loop answers at ≥ 60°/s.

1.6 kg inside Φ125 × 177.5 mm

The head measures Φ125 × 177.5 mm and draws 30 W, 60 W at peak, from an 11–28 VDC bus. Mass, volume and current are what an integrator budgets, so all three are published as limits.

Detection and tracking at the edge

Classification before the video leaves

Person, vehicle, vessel and aircraft classes are recognised inside the turret, so a thin downlink costs detail but not the boxes, and the recorder keeps the annotated frames the crew worked from.

One working track, the rest as pointers

Up to 20 targets can be held at once. The crew promotes one to the working lock; the tracker carries it through rotation, scale change and a pass behind cover, then picks it up on the far side.

Fitting a small pod to an existing airframe

At 1.6 kg the aircraft-side work is a bracket, a harness and a current budget.

Hardpoint and fairing

A quick-release mount on a base isolated against airframe vibration, and adapter hardware for a different bolt circle. Mass and envelope are published catalogue limits rather than targets, so a stress case written this month still describes the head that arrives.

Harness, protocol and environmental limits

One 11–28 VDC feed, RS-422 / RS-232 / TTL for the gimbal with SBUS and MAVLink at the autopilot end, Ethernet video in H.264 or H.265 at 100 Mbps into 128 GB on board, sealed to −20 °C to +60 °C running and −40 °C to +70 °C parked. That shared electrical layer is set out on the technology pages.

XQ-125T gimbal camera installed on a UAV - payload mounted on the aircraft

On a multirotor hardpoint

Payload, harness and ground station: the whole aircraft-side change is one bracket and one cable.

The head ships with a protocol document, a note describing the video pipeline, a three-view drawing that includes the connector pinout, and the report from its own calibration bench run. Paperwork is export-reviewed in the same pass as the hardware.

Full specifications

Model	XQ-125T
Series	EO/IR Pod Systems (XQ series)
Stabilisation	Two-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	30 m – 3 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤1.6 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ125 × 177.5 mm
Power consumption	30 W / 60 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 XQ series.

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

Shared across the XQ 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.

Where the XQ-125T is used

Three taskings where a 1.6 kg two-axis pod with a 3 km laser is the right answer rather than a compromise.

Fixed-wing patrol on a light airframe
A small fixed-wing aircraft that already holds roll can carry this head without a new mount, which is the whole argument for two axes. The 30x channel covers a road or a shoreline from altitude, the thermal core keeps the same line useful after dark, and the rangefinder puts a distance on whatever the crew flags. The saving is on the hardpoint rather than in the optics.
UAV surveillance →
Route and asset inspection
Substations, spans and plant are read in daylight with the zoom and checked for heat with the thermal core in the same pass, so one flight carries two findings. The 30 m floor of the rangefinder matters here, because the object being measured is often close and small, and a georeferenced position is what turns a photograph into a work order.
UAV inspection →
Swapping roles on one multirotor
One airframe, two taskings: daylight identification on the zoom, night watch on the thermal, and no second payload to certify or wire. The 60 W peak is the figure to check against the aircraft bus, and the quick-release interface turns a change of mission into a swap rather than a rebuild. That flexibility is what a small operator buys instead of a third aircraft.
Drone and helicopter cameras →

Questions engineers ask about the XQ-125T

At what range does the XQ-125T pick up a person or a vehicle?

Six kilometres on a person and fifteen on a vehicle through the 30x optic, one and 4.6 through the thermal core, measured on the 1.7 m person and 2.3 m vehicle convention. Recognition and identification both need a closer approach than detection.

What does dropping the third axis actually cost?

Roll stabilisation. Pitch and yaw are held to ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) and the aircraft supplies the roll reference, which is a fair assumption on a fixed-wing aircraft in a steady turn and a poor one on a small multirotor working in gusts. In exchange the head fits a 1.6 kg hardpoint and still carries a zoom, a thermal core and a laser.

Is a 3 km rangefinder useful when detection reaches 6 km?

Yes, because ranging and detecting answer different questions. Detection at 6 km is a shape on a screen; a 3 km measurement is a position, and most of what this head is asked to measure sits inside 3 km. The 30 m near limit covers masts and fittings at close range.

What are the terms if we order one unit first?

One unit buys a stock configuration; once the configuration changes the minimum becomes 100 units. A head we hold in stock goes out from the shelf, and a custom or volume date is agreed in the same document as the quotation, with twelve months of warranty starting at handover.

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 XQ-125T

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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