Back to Iraq for Hood Technology’s UAV Imaging Systems

May 24, 2012 - PRLog -- According to The Hill (http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/industry/228565-iraq-to-buy-us-unmanned-drones-to-protect-oilfields-), the Iraqi government is negotiating to buy about a dozen UAVs featuring Hood Tech’s imaging systems.  This purchase will allow Iraqi forces to monitor the security of oil platforms dotting the waters off its southern coast.  Use of Hood Tech’s optical and infrared imagers will provide reliable, high-quality, 24-hour coverage.
The new systems will complement others already being used in military security operations.  Hood Tech’s imagers, originally designed for seaborne operations, match well with the Iraqi Navy’s current needs.
When Hood Tech began producing 800-gm video-camera turrets in 1998, it enabled an entirely new class of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  Hood Technology Corp. Vision, Inc. (Hood Tech) designs and manufactures imaging and video processing systems at the highest level of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS):  level 9.  Designed for manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), boats, land vehicles, and stationary mounts, the reliability and utility of Hood Tech’s daylight and thermal imaging products has been demonstrated over more than 600,000 hours of use in a variety of temperatures, humidity, dust, smoke, haze, and other environmental factors (http://www.alticamvision.com).
Hood Technology was founded by Dr. Andy von Flotow in Hood River, Oregon in 1993.  In addition to stabilized imaging systems, Hood Technology:
•   Develops, tests, and manufactures launch and retrieval systems for a variety of UAVs and
•   Monitors blade vibrations in industrial turbines and jet engines, a diagnostic method for predicting possible future failures.
•   Web site:  www.hoodtech.com