AI Vision Detection (EO/IR)
DetectionOpen-Source Verified
Passive electro-optical / infrared sensors paired with computer-vision classifiers that detect, track and classify drones from imagery without emitting any signal. Increasingly the backbone of modern C-UAS sensor fusion.
How It Works
Daylight EO and thermal IR cameras feed a CNN/transformer model trained on drone signatures. The model detects sub-pixel moving objects, classifies them by airframe, and cues kinetic or EW effectors. Operates entirely passively — no RF emissions to be geolocated by the adversary.
Technical Specifications
range
1–8 km depending on lens and weather
cost
$30,000–$300,000 per node
deployment Time
Hours (mast/vehicle), permanent (fixed)
crew Required
0–1 (semi-autonomous)
weight
5–40 kg per sensor head
power Requirement
100–400 W
Advantages
- + Fully passive — undetectable by adversary RF intel
- + Works against fiber-optic and autonomous drones (no RF needed)
- + Day/night operation with cooled IR
- + Scales horizontally with cheap sensor nodes
Disadvantages
- − Degraded by fog, heavy rain, dust, low cloud
- − Requires significant compute and trained models
- − False positives on birds without good classifier
- − Limited range vs. radar
Tactical Deployment Tips
- ▸ Mesh multiple sensor nodes for 360° coverage
- ▸ Cue kinetic effectors and EW from vision tracks to remain emissions-quiet
- ▸ Train classifiers on local drone inventory for best accuracy
Limitations & Vulnerabilities
- ⚠ Weather-dependent
- ⚠ Line-of-sight only — terrain masks targets
Drones It Defeats
Drone types ranked by how well this system defeats them — tap any drone for details
Commercial COTS QuadcopterHighMilitary Reconnaissance QuadcopterHighFPV Kamikaze DroneHighHeavy-Lift FPV BomberHighFiber-Optic Guided FPVHighAI-Autonomous Strike DroneHighHeavy-Lift Cargo / Resupply UAVHighCBRN / Hazmat DroneHighAcoustic-Stealth RotaryHighConverted Agricultural Heavy-LiftHighAdversary Interceptor DroneHighTactical Fixed-Wing UAVMediumSmall Loitering MunitionMediumLarge Loitering MunitionMediumCoordinated Drone SwarmMediumNaval USV / UUVMediumMini ISR Fixed-WingMediumTethered Surveillance DroneMediumVTOL Fixed-Wing HybridMediumDecoy / Electronic Warfare DroneMediumMicro / Nano DroneMediumMothership / Carrier UAVMediumMALE / HALE Strategic UAVLowJet-Powered UCAVLowHigh-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS)LowWinged Glide MunitionLow
⚠ How Adversaries Defeat This System
Active enemy adaptations observed in the field — distinct from passive limitations above
- ▸ Fog, rain, dust degrade EO/IR range significantly
- ▸ Very small or low-contrast airframes evade classifier at range
Sources & Further Reading
- ▸ Anduril — Lattice / Sentry product documentation
- ▸ Defense News — Computer vision in C-UAS (2024)