TARGOS
Cognitive electro-optical interception seeker · Terminal C-UAS
The interceptor's terminal eye: acquires, locks and guides against the drone in the critical phase of interception, at the latency a fast effector demands.
Overview
TARGOS is Miriad's cognitive interception seeker for high-speed C-UAS effectors. It is an intelligent terminal subsystem — not an onboard camera or an auxiliary sensor — that combines electro-optical vision, long-wave infrared, onboard artificial intelligence and guidance-correction generation to turn visual perception of the target into terminal maneuvering.
Its function is to close the loop between imaging, detection, classification, lock-on, tracking and GNC correction at a latency compatible with fast interceptors.
Capabilities
- Target acquisition
- Stable lock-on
- High-frequency tracking
- Very low latency
- EO + LWIR
- Edge AI
- GNC corrections
- Modular and decoupled
The name
TARGOS stands for Target Acquisition and Rapid Guidance Optronic Seeker , and echoes Argos Panoptes, the hundred-eyed watchman of Greek mythology: the all-seeing observer. The initial "T" places it in its tactical, terminal mission — acquiring, locking onto and guiding against UAS targets in the critical instant of interception.
Architecture · everything within the seeker itself
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Optical
EO
Electro-optical channel for target acquisition and identification during the approach.
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Infrared
LWIR
Long-wave for thermal contrast and operation in low visibility.
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Cognition
Edge AI
It interprets the scene, discriminates target from clutter and holds the lock-on.
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Kinetic kill
GNC
It generates terminal corrections for the effector's autopilot or GNC system.
Why latency is decisive
TARGOS is built for jet-powered effectors and interception platforms operating at closing speeds of up to 150 m/s, where latency stops being a secondary parameter. At that speed, a 30-millisecond delay means 4.5 meters traveled before a correction is applied; 100 milliseconds means 15 meters. That's why it's designed as a very-low-latency seeker, with edge processing, high-frequency tracking and the ability to generate terminal corrections to the effector's GNC in useful time.
Terminal intelligence
Its cognitive character lies in not merely detecting contrast or following a thermal signature. TARGOS interprets the terminal scene, discriminates the target from clutter, recognizes threat patterns, sustains tracking in degraded conditions, and prioritizes lock-on stability against maneuvers, background changes, low thermal signature or optronic interference. It can be trained and tuned for specific environments: maritime horizon, sun glint, urban backgrounds, low altitude, smoke, overcast sky, complex terrain or small drone swarms.
Decoupled from the effector, by design
- Integrates into kinetic interceptors, expendable C-UAS munitions, light missiles, point-defense effectors or third-party architectures.
- Gives manufacturers, integrators and end users a sovereign terminal capability — modular, measurable and adaptable — without forcing them to adopt a closed platform.
In kinetic impact
In kinetic-impact configurations, TARGOS integrates into the effector's forward section and acts as its terminal eye: it acquires the target, sustains tracking and feeds the GNC with continuous corrections through to impact. Its architecture reduces dependence on a large explosive warhead, shifting the probability of neutralization toward terminal precision, low latency and concentrated kinetic energy.