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 | Sujet: Boomerang: Sniper Detection System  Dim 15 Aoû 2010 - 0:21 | |
| - Citation :
Sniper attacks are an ongoing problem/ opportunity in any urban conflict, which is tailor made for the practice. The bad news is that most future conflicts and even peacekeeping operations can be expected to spend a lot of time in urban settings.
Western armies tend to field much better snipers than their enemies do, and the results show. Nevertheless, better support for those snipers, and for non-specialist troops under fire, offers those armies a critical new asset that gives them an edge. The question is, how to accomplish that in a way that provides immediate results, and is reliable?
A number of solutions have been developed over the past few years, some of which are also working to reduce crime in American neighborhoods – another urban setting that sometimes features opponents with AK-47s. On the front lines abroad, the most widely deployed system comes from BBN Solutions LLC in Cambridge, MA, who helped invent the Internet. Enter a system called Boomerang…
How Boomerang Works
The Boomerang units attach to a vehicle and use seven small microphones, arranged like the spine of a sea urchin, to detect both the muzzle blast and the shock wave from a speeding bullet. Once a sniper’s bullet is detected, Boomerang’s display panel, which is located inside the vehicle, alerts soldiers through an LED 12-hour clock image display panel and speaker mounted inside the vehicle that a bullet has been fired, and gives its direction and elevation. The system resets for subsequent shot detection.
Incoming fire detection and shooter position are determined and reported in less than 2 seconds, and the system is accurate for shots taken up to 1/4 mile away – a range that covers almost all urban combat situations. False shot detections are less that 1 per 1,000 hours of system operation at vehicle speeds under 50 miles per hour. Missed shots are less than 1 per 500 shots at vehicle speeds under 50 miles per hour.
The system is especially calibrated to detect the 7.62×39 mm round, which is the round fired by the AK-47 and similar small arms common to Iraq and Afghanistan; nevertheless, the system has been tested and performed successfully with 5.56 NATO and .50 caliber machine gun rounds.
Boomerang: Program History
The original Boomerang prototypes were designed, developed, and delivered to Iraq in just 66 days under a 2004 Rapid Reaction Initiative funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Spiral development has continued since that date, and subsequent improvements have included hardening of the system, improved urban performance, integration with various electro-optical/infrared and remote weapons systems, and integration with the Cursor on Target and FBCB2 (which includes Blue Force Tracker) systems.
In 2005 Boomerang won both the DARPA “Significant Technical Achievement Award” and the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX) Technology Influencer of the Year Award.
As of September 2005, Boomerang was being tested on 50 HMMWVs deployed to Iraq. Positive feedback led to further urgent requirements from US forces (Army and Marines), which were then procured, fielded, and supported by the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF) and US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) in 2006.
Orders have followed.   Defence Industry Daily |
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| | Sujet: Re: Boomerang: Sniper Detection System Jeu 16 Déc 2010 - 22:56 | |
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