XQ series · Two-axis · EO + IR + LRF

XQ-200T two-axis EO/IR pod with 9.5 km LRF

A two-axis EO/IR (electro-optical/infrared) pod for long-endurance fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and heavy multirotors. A continuous-zoom thermal channel from 40 mm to 220 mm plus 9.5 km ranging on a 5 kg pod.

Weight 5 kg
Two-axis stabilised
EO 1920 × 1080
Thermal 640 × 512
LRF 50 m – 9.5 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-200T is

The XQ-200T is where the thermal channel stops being a fixed lens. Its 640 × 512 core sits behind a 40 – 220 mm continuous zoom, next to a 30x daylight optic and a laser reaching 9.5 km, in a 5 kg pod with a Φ200 × 260 mm envelope. Everything below it in the family fixes the thermal field of view at build time. This head lets the operator change it in flight instead, and that single difference rewrites how a night sortie is flown and what the crew can be asked to do in one.

A thermal channel that zooms, and the workflow it changes

The 40 – 220 mm range replaces two fixed thermal heads with one.

EO / visible

1920 × 1080, 30x zoom 4.3 – 129 mm

Deliberately ordinary, with the budget spent on the night side: 6 km person, 15 km vehicle.

Thermal / IR

640 × 512, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm

4.9 km on a person and 20 km on a vehicle at the long end of the travel.

Laser rangefinder

50 m – 9.5 km (± 1 m)

Long enough to range what the thermal channel finds, at ± 1 m.

Search wide, identify narrow, without changing sensor

A fixed thermal lens forces a choice before take-off: wide enough to find, or long enough to identify. With 40 – 220 mm that choice moves into the cockpit, and the tracker holds the box through the change.

Daylight EO imagery from a HITS camera payload with vehicles detected and boxed automatically — Daylight channel at 30x with vehicles boxed automatically in the live feed.

Why the mass went here rather than into a third axis

A zooming thermal group is heavy, and it has to stay boresighted while the pod manoeuvres. At 5 kg the budget went to that mechanism and the 9.5 km laser rather than a roll axis, on the assumption the airframe holds roll.

Thermal imagery from a HITS camera payload with a target held by the onboard tracker — Continuous-zoom thermal: the same scene narrows from a wide sweep to a single target.

Nine and a half kilometres of ranging

Fifty metres to 9.5 km at ± 1 m, longer than any fixed-thermal head below this one. A contact found at the wide end can be identified and fixed as a position from the same orbit.

HITS ground station showing UAV payload video with target coordinates — Operator view: the thermal feed, the range the laser returned, and the state of each channel.

Continuous zoom on the thermal side is the dividing line in this family. Below it the night field of view is a procurement decision; above it, an operator decision, and that is worth five kilograms.

Stabilisation and mechanical design

A gimbal that tracks its own balance

Two thermal lens groups travel through the pod while it is stabilised, so the mass the axes hold changes during a zoom. The servos manage that without the image walking, and the sight line stays ≤ 100 μrad (1σ) at ≥ 60°/s.

5 kg, Φ200 × 260 mm, 50 W cruising

Mass is 5 kg in Φ200 × 260 mm, drawing 50 W in cruise and 100 W at peak from 11–28 VDC. Cruise is higher than the fixed-thermal pods because the zoom runs in use, which is a real endurance cost.

Detection and tracking at the edge

Tracking that survives a zoom

The awkward case for a zooming thermal is a target held while the field of view changes. The module keeps the lock on the target rather than on a screen position, so narrowing onto a contact does not lose it.

Twenty contacts on a wide sweep

Up to 20 targets can be marked at once, which on a night search is the difference between noting contacts and stopping for each one. The crew narrows onto what matters while the marks stay put.

Putting a five-kilogram turret on an airframe

Five kilograms, a zoom mechanism and 100 W at peak are what the aircraft side has to absorb.

Structure and envelope

Five kilograms in a Φ200 × 260 mm turret wants a hardpoint drawn for a turret, not a small-payload bracket with a plate bolted to it. The base is isolated and the release quick, and both figures are released limits, so the stress case closes from the datasheet.

Current, protocol and recording

Plan the bus around 100 W at peak rather than the 50 W cruise, because the zoom motor and the laser draw together. Video is H.264 or H.265 over Ethernet at 100 Mbps into 128 GB on board, control is serial with SBUS and MAVLink, and the sealed housing runs −20 °C to +60 °C. Read the rest at the technology pages.

On the aircraft

Payload, harness and operator station. The pod is also flown on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters; the hard point carries five kilograms either way.

Three things answer most integration questions before the pod lands: the protocol definition, the video pipeline note and the three-view outline with pinout. The fourth, the calibration report, is written for the specific unit and travels with it. Export review applies to each.

Full specifications

Model	XQ-200T
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, continuous zoom 40 – 220 mm
Laser rangefinder	50 m – 9.5 km (± 1 m)
Weight	≤5 kg
Dimensions	≤Φ200 × 260 mm
Power consumption	50 W / 100 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 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-200T is used

Three operations where a thermal field of view that changes in flight is worth five kilograms.

Night border and coastal watch
A wide thermal sweep finds the contact and the 220 mm long end identifies it, in one orbit, with the 9.5 km laser fixing the position. Without a zooming thermal that sequence needs two aircraft or two passes, and the second pass arrives after the contact has moved. Here the crew can stay on one target from first mark to confirmed identification without breaking the pattern they were flying.
UAV surveillance →
Search and rescue after dark
Searching at 40 mm covers ground; identifying at 220 mm answers whether the shape in the field is the person being looked for. One aircraft does both without breaking the search pattern, and the laser hands the ground team a coordinate instead of a description they have to interpret over a radio link that may be marginal.
Night vision →
Maritime patrol at range
Water is uniform, which is exactly where a zooming thermal pays: sweep wide for wakes and hulls, narrow onto a candidate, range it at up to 9.5 km and pass the position on. The 30x daylight channel then covers identification once there is light, on the same boresight and the same mount, so the night watch and the day watch share one picture.
Military UAV →

Questions engineers ask about the XQ-200T

What night detection range does the XQ-200T deliver?

Five kilometres on a person and twenty on a vehicle, measured through the thermal channel at the long end of its zoom on the standard 1.7 m and 2.3 m targets. Daylight figures are six and fifteen.

Why does a zooming thermal matter if the detection range is similar?

Because detection range is measured at one focal length and a sortie is not flown at one focal length. A 40 mm field finds contacts across a wide area and a 220 mm field identifies them; a fixed lens commits to one of those jobs before the aircraft launches.

Does the zoom mechanism cost endurance?

It costs mass and current: 5 kg, 50 W in cruise and 100 W at peak, against lighter fixed-thermal pods in the same family. How that converts into minutes depends on the airframe and its pack, so it is worked out per platform rather than quoted as one figure.

What quantities can we order, and how does delivery work?

Catalogue builds are available singly. Any deviation from the catalogue moves the floor to 100 units. Stock is shipped from what we hold, otherwise your dates arrive with the quotation. Terms are T/T, warranty twelve months from delivery.

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-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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