Remember when we showed you the badass gear that might have been worn by Cairo, the military working dog that participated in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden?
At the time, there was no direct evidence of any of the specific gear that Cairo wore. All anyone could do was make educated guesses as to the type of equipment the dog wore on the raid based on the fact that we know the SEALs give their dogs vests that can be equipped with everything from radios to night vision cameras. Still, we had no confirmation as to what gear the SEALs actually put on their dogs' vests.
Until now. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU -- otherwise known as SEAL Team Six) wants to buy a camera that can be carried by a dog and beam images back to the SEALs, according to this Aug. 26 U.S. Special Operations Command solicitation:
The contractor shall provide a a canine transmit and receive kit (1.0 - 1.5GHz) comprising of Transmitter/Camera Unit; including a battery and antenna. Includes Receiver includes battery and antennas. Six-way Battery Charger, Peli-Case, and user manual shall be included.
The kit we showed you a few months ago was made by the Canadian firm, K9 Storm. In this case, DEVGRU wants to buy a camera made by Cobham's tactical communications & surveillance division or the equivalent.
In the meantime, check out this dog-mounted, infrared, wireless video camera made by Tactical Electronics. It seems to be along the lines of what the SEALs want:
The camera is an extremely low light, black & white camera that uses enhanced IR illumination to see in areas where most can't. The system was designed to record audio and video directly to the SD card, but the K-9MC4 also incorporates a wireless tranmitter that allows for the transmission of video up to one half mile LOS. The small housing assembly encompasses the wireless transmitter, battery compartment, and on-board DVR.
This is also significant because it could reinforce claims that video cameras were brought on the bin Laden raid -- something that's been debated since the mission. It doesn't make sense that the only video of the op was taken by the Air Force's stealthy RQ-170 Sentinel drone flying more than 15,000 feet above bin Laden's compound; especially given the fact that helmet cams are frequently worn by special operators.
