EagleNXT Launches Altum-PT Pro: MicaSense's New Flagship Fuses FLIR Boson 640R Thermal with Multispectral in a Single Payload
EagleNXT unveils the Altum-PT Pro at Commercial UAV Expo, adding a FLIR Boson 640R thermal core to MicaSense's multispectral payload.
Main Story
EagleNXT — the operating brand of AgEagle Aerial Systems (NYSE: UAVS) — used the floor of the Commercial UAV Expo in Las Vegas to introduce the Altum-PT Pro, the new top of the MicaSense sensor line. The announcement, made on September 3, 2026, positions the device as a direct response to a gap that the company's own customer base identified: the predecessor Altum-PT delivered strong multispectral and panchromatic capability but fell short of the thermal resolution that research-grade and defense workflows now demand.
"Customer feedback has been clear, users want the integrated thermal capability of the Altum-PT and also need science-grade thermal performance," said Bill Irby, CEO of EagleNXT. The company's answer is a hardware revision that swaps in a FLIR Boson 640R radiometric thermal core while carrying forward the Altum-PT's multispectral and panchromatic optics largely intact, alongside updated firmware and internal hardware changes.
The upgrade is not merely a component swap. The Altum-PT Pro pixel-aligns all three sensing modalities — multispectral, panchromatic, and radiometric thermal — to minimize post-processing complexity and tighten the spatial correlation between spectral and thermal data layers. MicaSense's established radiometric calibration methodology, DLS2 downwelling light sensor correction, and existing research data pipelines transfer directly to the new model, reducing the learning curve for the more than 100 research publications that already cite MicaSense sensor data.
The base Altum-PT, for context, housed a 12.4 MP panchromatic imager capable of 1.25 cm per pixel pan-sharpened ground resolution at 60 m altitude, and a 320×256 FLIR Boson thermal core producing a ground sampling distance of 17 cm at the same altitude. The Pro replaces that thermal module with the higher-resolution 640R variant, a move designed to close the gap between integrated multi-modal payloads and standalone science-grade infrared instruments.
The FLIR Boson 640R belongs to the Boson/Boson+ family that Teledyne FLIR OEM positioned specifically for SWaP-constrained UAS, defense, and industrial integration. The module is NDAA-compliant and ITAR-free — attributes that matter directly to the defense segment EagleNXT is targeting with the Pro tier.
U.S. orders opened at launch. International availability is scheduled for November 2026. EagleNXT's sensor ecosystem already spans more than 150 compatible drone models, and the company holds FAA approvals for Operations Over People and Beyond Visual Line of Sight, EASA C2 certification in Europe, and Blue UAS list status from the U.S. Department of Defense — certifications that accelerate procurement cycles for government and defense customers.
Technical Breakdown
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Payload class | Compact multi-modal UAV sensor |
| Thermal core | FLIR Boson 640R radiometric (upgraded from 320×256 on base Altum-PT) |
| Thermal baseline (predecessor) | 320×256 FLIR Boson; 17 cm GSD at 60 m |
| Multispectral | Five discrete spectral bands (carried over from Altum-PT) |
| Panchromatic | 12.4 MP; pan-sharpened GSD 1.25 cm at 60 m |
| Sensor alignment | Pixel-aligned across all three modalities |
| Calibration | MicaSense radiometric calibration + DLS2 illumination correction |
| Integration interfaces | Ethernet, MAVLink serial, PWM triggering, HTTP APIs |
| Platform compatibility | Multirotor and VTOL; 150+ compatible drone models |
| Storage (predecessor standard) | CFexpress up to 2 TB; up to 2 captures/second |
| Shutter type | Global shutter (distortion-free capture) |
| Compliance | NDAA-compliant; designed and manufactured in the USA |
| Certifications (platform-level) | FAA OOP & BVLOS approvals; EASA C2; Blue UAS (DoD) |
| Autonomy level | Sensor payload — autonomy determined by host platform |
The Altum-PT Pro is designed for multirotor and VTOL platforms suited to high-endurance, large-area mapping missions. Connectivity via Ethernet, MAVLink serial, PWM triggering, and HTTP APIs maintains backward compatibility with existing aircraft integrations and ground control workflows.
Industry Impact
For manufacturers and integrators: The Altum-PT Pro addresses a well-documented demand signal in the premium multi-modal sensor segment. Drone OEMs and integrators building specialized aerial mapping systems now have a single-payload path to simultaneously high-resolution spectral and radiometric thermal data — a combination that previously required either separate payloads or a compromise on thermal resolution. The pixel-alignment architecture reduces integration and software development burden for downstream platform builders.
For research and commercial operators: The preservation of MicaSense calibration workflows and DLS2 correction means research teams and agronomic operators do not need to rebuild data pipelines to adopt the Pro. Application scope spans precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, solar farm hotspot detection, and industrial inspection — markets where calibrated, repeatable temperature data per pixel is increasingly a baseline requirement rather than a premium feature.
For defense and government customers: Blue UAS list status and NDAA compliance, combined with an ITAR-free thermal core from Teledyne FLIR, remove two of the most common procurement friction points for government buyers. The upgrade from a 320-resolution to a 640-resolution radiometric thermal core directly expands the sensor's utility for terrain characterization, geospatial intelligence, and other government-facing multispectral ISR applications.
For regulators: The sensor itself does not introduce new regulatory complexity — it is a payload that inherits the existing certification posture of EagleNXT's broader platform portfolio, including FAA and EASA approvals already in place.
For investors: The Altum-PT Pro extends EagleNXT's addressable market upward into the premium research and defense sensor tier without requiring a new product family. Combined with the company's reported sequential sensor revenue growth in 2026, the launch signals a deliberate move to capture higher average selling prices within the MicaSense brand ecosystem.