XQ series · Two-axis · EO + IR + LRF

XQ-180T two-axis EO/IR pod with 6 km LRF

4K daylight imaging at 3840 × 2160 with 17.5x zoom and 6 km ranging. Because it uses the same stabilisation stack and control protocol as the rest of the XQ series, it can share a mount and a cable run with other heads in the range.

Weight 4.1 kg
Two-axis stabilised
EO 3840 × 2160
Thermal 1280 × 1024
LRF 50 m – 6 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-180T is

The XQ-180T is the only head in this range with a 4K visible channel. Its detector is 3840 × 2160 behind a 17.5x zoom running 6.8 – 120 mm, paired with a 1280 × 1024 thermal core on a 75 mm lens and a laser reaching 6 km, all in a 4.1 kg pod. The case for it is not sharper video for its own sake: a 4K frame holds enough detail for a wide search to be re-examined later without flying the sortie again, which changes what the crew has to get right in the air.

A 4K daylight channel and the two costs that come with it

3840 × 2160 where the rest of the range runs 1920 × 1080, and a data path to match.

EO / visible

3840 × 2160, 17.5x zoom 6.8 – 120 mm

9 km on a person and 20 km on a vehicle, in a frame that survives a crop.

Thermal / IR

1280 × 1024, 75 mm fixed

Matching pixel count to the 4K channel: 2 km on a person, 7 km on a vehicle.

Laser rangefinder

50 m – 6 km (± 1 m)

± 1 m over the full span, eye-safe at 1535 nm, and a 6 km far end.

Where four thousand pixels across earns its keep

A sweep flown at 6.8 mm covers ground quickly and each frame still holds enough detail to re-read a section after landing. A crop out of a 3840 × 2160 frame survives enlargement where a 1920 × 1080 crop would not, and the detail exists at the instant of recording.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — 4K daylight frame: the wide field holds detail that survives a crop later.

The bandwidth bill, and the storage bill

The link is Ethernet at 100 Mbps in H.264 or H.265, so the crew trades resolution against frame rate on the way down while the recorder keeps 128 GB of full-rate material: compressed for the operator, original frames for analysis.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — 1280 × 1024 thermal on the 75 mm optic, tracker holding a vehicle at range.

A thermal channel that keeps up at night

The night side is a 1280 × 1024 core on 75 mm, 2 km on a person and 7 km on a vehicle, boresighted to the 4K optic so both channels line up on one reference.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Operator station: the 4K feed, the coordinate from the rangefinder, and channel health.

The 4K channel is a workflow decision more than an image-quality one. It lets a search be flown once and read several times, and it asks for a link and a storage plan that can carry the frames.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

Pitch and yaw, sized for a heavier optic group

Both axes are brushless and direct-drive, encoded at the joint, holding ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) at ≥ 60°/s. A 4K zoom group puts more glass ahead of the axis than a 1080p one, and a two-axis layout only works at 4.1 kg if the bearing and motor are chosen for that mass.

4.1 kg, Φ180 × 240.5 mm, 30 W cruising

Mass is 4.1 kg inside Φ180 × 240.5 mm, with 30 W in cruise and 100 W at peak from an 11–28 VDC supply. Budget the aircraft bus on the peak rather than the cruise figure, since the peak is what a load sheet has to survive.

Detection and tracking at the edge

Detection before compression

Person, vehicle, vessel and aircraft detection runs on the payload, ahead of the encoder. That ordering matters here: boxes are placed on the full-resolution frame, so the overlay is not limited by what survived the link.

Twenty marks, one lock, no hand steering

The module holds up to 20 targets and the crew works one. Because the tracker copes with rotation, scale change and occlusion, a long orbit does not need an operator on a joystick, which is what makes a single-operator 4K search practical.

Integrating a 4K pod

4.1 kg, a 100 W peak and a video path to plan rather than assume.

Mount, mass and the fairing question

A vibration-isolated base and a quick release, with adapter plates for other patterns. At 4.1 kg and Φ180 × 240.5 mm the head is a step above the light pods, so look at the hardpoint and the fairing before ordering rather than after. Mass is not the only item: the frontal area changes drag and the airflow over the tail, which is worth a word with whoever signs the flight envelope.

Video, control and power

The link carries H.264 or H.265 over Ethernet at 100 Mbps, which is the constraint a 4K channel is planned around; 128 GB of on-board recording adds headroom regardless. Control sits on serial with SBUS and MAVLink, supply is 11–28 VDC, and the sealed housing holds −20 °C to +60 °C in flight. Range-standard detail on the technology pages.

XQ-180T gimbal camera payload integrated on a fixed-wing UAV with ground control station

On the aircraft

The airframe side in one picture: the pod on its hardpoint, one harness, one operator station.

Before the pod arrives you can have the three-view outline and its pinout from the datasheet pack. The protocol definition, the video pipeline note and the bench calibration and test report follow with the first unit, and the paperwork needs clearance just as the turret does.

Full specifications

Model	XQ-180T
Series	EO/IR Pod Systems (XQ series)
Stabilisation	Two-axis gyro-stabilised, ≤ 100 μrad
Sensor configuration	EO + IR + LRF
Visible channel	3840 × 2160, 17.5x zoom 6.8 – 120 mm
Thermal channel	1280 × 1024, 75 mm fixed
Laser rangefinder	50 m – 6 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤4.1 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ180 × 240.5 mm
Power consumption	30 W / 100 W
Detection (EO)	9 km person / 20 km vehicle
Detection (IR)	2 km person / 7 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 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-180T is used

Three taskings where recording detail at capture time is worth the mass of a 4.1 kg pod.

Wide-area search, read again later
A search flown at the wide end of the 6.8 – 120 mm zoom covers ground fast, and a 3840 × 2160 frame means the crew can revisit a section of that sweep after landing instead of re-flying it. Person detection at 9 km and vehicle detection at 20 km mean the wide pass is no compromise on reach either, so one sortie produces both the overview and the evidence that a second pass would otherwise have been needed for.
Long-range imaging →
Evidence and incident recording
When somebody who was not on the sortie will examine the footage, the frame has to stand alone. Native 4K detail, a 6 km laser coordinate written onto the same frame, and storage independent of the downlink give an investigator material rather than a summary, and the record survives a link that dropped halfway through.
UAV surveillance →
Corridor survey with a thermal pass
A transmission corridor is surveyed in daylight for structure and at night for heat, and the 1280 × 1024 thermal core does the second half without a second aircraft or a second crew. Because both channels share a boresight, a joint or a fitting appears in the same place in either image, which is what makes the two passes comparable in a report.
UAV inspection →

Questions engineers ask about the XQ-180T

How far can the XQ-180T detect a person or a vehicle?

The 4K visible channel returns 9 km on a person and 20 km on a vehicle; the thermal channel 2 km and 7 km. Those are detection figures on the 1.7 m person and 2.3 m vehicle convention, and recognition or identification needs a closer look than that.

Do we need a faster link to use the 4K channel?

The video path is Ethernet at 100 Mbps in H.264 or H.265, so the encoder has to trade resolution against frame rate on a link of that size. The usual arrangement is a compressed stream for the operator and full-rate recording to the 128 GB on board, which keeps the detail without widening the link.

Is 3840 × 2160 useful, or just a bigger number?

Useful when the frame is read after the fact: a sweep re-examined on the ground, a crop enlarged for a report, footage somebody else will assess. For a crew watching live video of a target already framed, 1080p is enough and the bandwidth buys nothing.

What is the smallest order, and how does a build slot work?

Buy the catalogue version and one unit is enough; change the build and the order floor is 100. A head already on the shelf leaves as soon as it is released, while a custom run gets its dates in the quotation, on T/T terms, with twelve months of warranty from 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-180T

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.

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