FEATURE ARTICLE

June 2006

High-Tech Weapons Mix Targets Urban Hazards

By Stew Magnuson

DAHLGREN, Va. — As the Pentagon continues to invest in technologies to neutralize roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenades remain a potent threat. More than 100 soldiers have been killed since operations in South East Asia began.

The Trophy active protection system, a weapon designed by the Israelis to destroy RPGs in mid-flight from moving vehicles without causing collateral damage, is in advanced state of testing.

Trophy is part of a suite of cutting edge lethal and non-lethal weapons being integrated on a Stryker armored vehicle as part of a broader effort — known as Project Sheriff — sponsored by the Defense Department’s office of force transformation.

The project seeks to provide battlefield commanders with more tools to operate in chaotic urban environments. It includes a menu of lethal and non-lethal capabilities for conducting raids, reconnaissance, crowd control, point defense and force protection missions.

Representatives from the office of force transformation and from Israel’s Rafael Armaments Development Authority — and its U.S. partner General Dynamics Land Systems — recently demonstrated Trophy here at the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Dahlgren Division, for Pentagon brass and the media.

The Stryker drove toward two launchers at about 23 mph. The first was aimed to hit the vehicle, while the second was calibrated to miss to the side. As the RPGs shot toward the Stryker, the system picked them up on its radars and released a projectile to shoot down the first rocket. Meanwhile, it determined that the second was not a threat, and let it pass.

Later, General Dynamics engineers displayed the results. The rocket was brought down without igniting the warhead. Ensuring that fragments are not released is crucial to the success of the system because friendly troops could be standing nearby. The nature of the projectile that destroys the RPG is classified, but is similar to buckshot.

The Trophy system uses four radars and one launcher on each side of the vehicle to give 360-degree coverage. Rafael executives said there is less than a 1 percent chance of fragments injuring a soldier.

The system has undergone hundreds of tests in Israel for the past 10 years, according to Didi Benyoash, business development manager at Rafael. The Israeli Defense Forces demanded that fratricide rates be kept at below the 1 percent mark, he said. Some Israeli tanks will be outfitted with Trophy this fall.

Although most U.S. soldiers in Iraq ride in humvees, it is not likely that technologies such as Trophy will be installed in these trucks, said Chris Brown, director of strategic planning at General Dynamics. “People are not going to buy a [system] that costs more than the vehicle itself,” he said.

Brown would not divulge the cost, noting that the price would come down if it were to be produced in large quantities.

The Iraq Index, compiled by the Brookings Institution, attributed 76 deaths to RPG attacks as of mid-April, which accounts for 3.6 percent of all fatalities suffered since 2003. Unclear is how many of these deaths took place in a vehicle or what type of vehicle the victim was riding in.

Anecdotally, indications are that many RPG casualties are suffered in humvees rather than larger armored personnel carriers such as Strykers. According to lists of fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan compiled by the Washington Post, many such deaths appear to occur in humvees.

Marine Corps Col. Wade Hall, transformation strategist at the office of force transformation, said that only mature technologies are being integrated on Project Sheriff. Further evaluations will take place on three Stryker vehicles at Fort Benning, Ga., this summer. The Army’s joint rapid acquisition cell received $31.3 million to purchase and equip the Strykers after U.S. commanders in Iraq identified the platform as a “joint urgent operational need.” The funds came from emergency appropriations approved by Congress for fiscal year 2006.

In early 2007, the three vehicles will be handed over to a yet to be determined Army unit for evaluation, Hall said. Because these technologies are in demand in Iraq, different phases of the program development are being carried out simultaneously, he said. There is no set timetable for deployment, other than the requirement that it be done as “expeditiously as possible,” Hall said.

Other technologies being integrated onto the platform are non-lethal weapons, such as a laser dazzler and bright white lights, designed to visually warn or stop individuals from approaching a checkpoint or perimeter, and the long range acoustic device (LRAD), which does the same except with sound. Active denial technology sends out non-lethal millimeter waves that cause a burning sensation on the surface of the skin. The lethal weapon is the Gunslinger, which has acoustic and infrared sensors that pinpoint the location of a sniper’s rifle. It automatically swivels, locks in and fires in the direction of the assailant.

The technology furthest in development is the LRAD, which delivers a tight undistorted beam of sound, and is already being used by the Navy and at military prisons. The Boston and New York City police departments are also operating the device.

The beam can deliver messages in a crowd control situation or discharge a debilitating sound blast. It was famously used against pirates attempting to attack a cruise ship near Somalia last year.

“They turned it on full and let them have it,” said Steven Bradbury, product and development manager at American Technology Corp., the device’s manufacturer. “You have a hard time shooting at somebody with both hands over your ears.”

Users can speak directly through a microphone, play pre-recorded messages or employ an optional translation attachment to send messages in foreign languages. Even at distances of 1,000 meters, the sensation is similar to someone talking directly into the ear.

Among the challenges in the next phase of development due to be completed this fall, Hall said, will be integrating the LRAD, the bright white light and the active denial millimeter wave into one array to reduce the amount of hardware mounted atop the Stryker. An automatic reloading system for Trophy is also in the works, he added.

The active denial system is expected to be controversial, because it will be one of the first of the directed energy, non-lethal technologies to be fielded.

Robert Doheny, principal deputy of resources at the office of the secretary of defense, when signing off on the request noted that active denial technology will have to undergo a comprehensive review of health effects and legal and policy implications, in addition to the development of well defined rules of engagement, before it is fielded, according to the memo approving the program.

The Army, meanwhile, intends to continue to evaluate Trophy and other competing technologies before it decides to procure any system.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker said it is premature to commit to the purchase of the Trophy system, at least until it undergoes more thorough testing. “What we’ve found is that traditionally people have made claims about things that have not been tested,” Schoomaker told reporters. He said he is aware of Israel’s development work so far, but that is not enough to convince the U.S. Army that this is the right system. “We want to make sure that what we put precious dollars against works … Manufacturer’s claims don’t tend to be the way we judge things.”

Under the future combat systems program, the Army recently awarded a $70 million to the Raytheon Co. to develop a hard-kill active protection system. But that technology is not expected to be fielded until at least 2010. The Army also has to develop tactics and procedures for the operation of vehicles with active protection systems.

Hall said Project Sheriff doesn’t have to go overseas as a package. If treaty or other concerns over active denial technology or the laser dazzler, for example, hold up their deployment, other sub-systems can still move forward. The ultimate goal is plug-and-play capability that can be applied to different vehicles. “Sheriff is not all systems or none. A key feature of this the Army and Marine Corps like is modularity.”

Back To Top