A vehicle-mounted sensor that detects the location of sniper fire is now being developed for individual soldiers.
Since its introduction into the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts in 2004, the Boomerang sniper-detection system, has been installed on more than 1,000 vehicles.
The system, comprising an antennae and digital display box, detects the unique shockwaves emitted by bullets and tells occupants the direction and azimuth of the gunfire.
The technology is set to proliferate further with a recent order from the Army for 8,131 Boomerang 3 units under an urgent needs request.
The third-generation systems will be used in a variety of circumstances in addition to being mounted on humvees, Strykers, and other vehicles, said Mark Sherman, vice president of the system’s manufacturer, BBN Technologies. They will be put on guard towers, vehicle checkpoints, forward operating base perimeters or “anywhere where people are getting shot at,” he said.
BBN first developed the Boomerang system under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program.
Researchers are now designing the next generation of sniper detection technology for dismounted soldiers.
Last year, General Dynamics C4 Systems integrated the Boomerang data into the Land Warrior system, which is currently being used by a Stryker brigade in Iraq.
Land Warrior is an integrated ensemble that is designed to increase an individual soldier’s situational awareness. In this operational demonstration, soldiers — viewing a map seen through a monocle that came down over the eye — could pinpoint the exact location of a shooter who had fired a weapon. The point of origin of the gunfire was overlaid onto a map of the neighborhood.
“We can tell them what window it’s coming from,” Sherman said.
When a soldier comes under fire especially in an urban environment, the first thing he does is try to figure out where the shot is coming from, he noted.
“But the ear is easily confused especially in an urban environment,” he said.
In this field test, the antennae that picked up the shock wave of the bullet was mounted on a nearby vehicle or placed on a rooftop near the area the soldiers were patrolling, Sherman said.
BBN, in a project with the Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center, is developing an inclusive system with the antennae embedded into the soldier’s uniform.
The soldier borne gunshot detection system had a unique challenge because it must be calibrated to keep up with the rapid movement of a soldier, Sherman said.
Once a shot is fired, a soldier can duck, dive for cover, spin around or react in a number of ways. The system must keep a bead on the location of the shooter as the soldier moves.
“That’s critical because the human body can move quite a bit in a very short time,” he added. “Five seconds later, the system can tell the soldier where the shooter is relative to where the soldier is now.”
The other challenge was figuring out where to place the sensors. Putting one sensor on one particular spot on the uniform wouldn’t work because it must pick up the shockwave to be able to tell where the shot is coming from. If it were placed on the chest, for example, and the bullet came from behind, the sensor wouldn’t pick up the shock wave.
BBN settled on two sensors embedded on the shoulder pads of the body armor. Both operate independently and provide redundant coverage, so no part, or piece of equipment on the soldier — such as a backpack — can block the readings.
The soldier hears a verbal warning in an ear bud — for example, “shot 3 o’clock, range 75 meters.” Or they can determine the direction on a wrist-borne view screen.
Size, weight and power issues are the other challenge.
Soldiers complain that they are weighed down with too many items. Carrying batteries has been a long-time complaint.
Sherman said the sensors being embedded within the shoulder pads should help. The system will use an existing battery, meaning soldiers can pack spare batteries that can be used for other items. The total weight should not exceed 16 ounces, he said.
BBN’s goal is to deliver wearable systems to Natick that can be used for field operational tests by the end of the year.
DARPA is now funding a project to put the sniper-detection technology on a Blackhawk helicopter, Sherman said.
Naval Systems Warfare Command is also looking into mounting the systems on unmanned boats. BBN has also sold units to private security contractors, who provide protection to the State Department and the Department of Energy as well as a “couple of other classified applications,” Sherman said.