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Homeland defense
November 2007
Defense System Detects Swarming Boats in Coastal Waters
By Grace Jean
 Since the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 using an explosives laden boat, the Navy continues to search for technologies that will protect its warships from waterborne threats while in ports and other coastal areas.
One of the more pressing scenarios is a simultaneous attack by multiple small boats that swarm toward a large ship.
To counter such a threat, Lockheed Martin has developed a system that detects such vessels at long distances to allow operators ample time to identify hostile situations and engage targets.
The fast inshore attack craft defense system fuses existing ship sensors and radars with advanced technologies for full situational awareness around a vessel, says Tim Fouts, manager of business development for the company’s littoral ships and systems division.
Using on-board and off-board sensors, such as those found on helicopters and unmanned aircraft, the system spots potential threats among vessel traffic beyond a ship’s five-mile defensive perimeter.
Aboard the ship, the “eyes” of the system consist of a surveillance technology from Massachusetts-based RemoteReality Corp. Mounted on a mast, the camera system provides 360-degree coverage using a combination of mirrors and lenses, unlike conventional surveillance devices.
“It’s very difficult to have hundreds of cameras spread around a ship and see everything. But with our system, a large ship can have persistent situational awareness all the way around,” says Jim Ionson, president of the company.
Like the Hubble space telescope, the technology captures detailed images, which are displayed on a computer monitor in a single or double panoramic strip representing 360 degrees or 180 degrees of view, respectively.
“If a little boat comes around and tries to do something nefarious, it will be caught,” says Ionson.
Suspicious activity, such as trespassing boats, will trigger other cameras and sensors to zoom in on targets automatically. The additional feeds will pop up in separate boxes beneath the panoramic view, which continues to provide coverage of the entire environment. Operators then will determine if the breaching vessels’ intentions are hostile. The system can link the video data to the boats’ radar tracks, and if a response is necessary, operators can designate targets and launch Hellfire missiles and other weapons.
The FIAC system was integrated aboard Lockheed Martin’s Sea Slice vessel for demonstrations to the Navy during exercises off the coast of San Diego in August.
Fouts says the system could be developed in two years for operational capability aboard cruisers and destroyers in mid 2010.
Please email your comments to GJean@ndia.org
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