Tag Archives: gorgon stare

Air Force to Field New Gorgon Stare

The Washington Post recently caught up to the announcement from last June that the US military was attempting to field UAVs with a multitude of cameras and sensors called the Gorgon Stare — named for the Greek mythological creature.

Of actual interest in the article is the technology the Air Force is using to help analysts sift through the vast amount of material produced by UAVs:

The Air Force…is working with Harris Corp. to adapt ESPN’s technique of tagging key moments in National Football League videotape to the war zone. Just as a sportscaster can call up a series of archived quarterback blitzes as soon as a player is sacked on the field, an analyst in Afghanistan can retrieve the last month’s worth of bombings in a particular stretch of road with the push of a button, officials said.

Gorgon Set to Fly Over Afghanistan

The Gorgon Stare is a 1,000 pound sensor that will enable a wide area to be monitored across a variety of spectrums, day or night, likely including both visual and infrared.  It is currently set to be deployed to Afghanistan on the MQ-9 Reaper.  Rather than having a single operator operate a single camera pointed at an area just a few miles (or feet) across (as, say, the Predator), the idea is that this sensor will capture a huge area, and users can simply choose that which they want to see.  Think of it as “Google Earth” — only live.

The ARGUS may eventually supersede Gorgon Stare with, as its namesake implies, far more — and more detailed — “eyes.”

Think “religious freedom” advocate Michael Weinstein will consider this an endorsement of Greek mythology by the US military, and a “propaganda tool” for American adversaries?  Given Weinstein’s selective outrage to date, it’s probably unlikely, though the fact it fits so well into his dogmatic rants demonstrates how ludicrous his claims actually are.