Vehicle Mounted Shot Spotter for Iraq.

August 28, 2005 If there’s one thing worse than having snipers shooting at you, it’s getting shot at and not knowing. That’s the bizarre situation US Forces have encountered in both Iraq and Afghanistan as they travel the vast distances in convoys, unable to tell if a bullet has just flown past amidst the noise, dust, and rumble of up to 100 war machines around them. DARPA and BBN Technologies decided to tackle this increasingly common problem and came up with the device at right. It’s called the Boomerang Mobile Shooter Detection System and alerts soldiers of incoming sniper fire to give them the opportunity to retreat to safety or return fire before they are hit. 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 audio and visual signals that a bullet has been fired, its direction and elevation. Boomerang is currently being trialled on 50 Humvees in Iraq.

http://www.gizmag.com/go/4497/




One of the great things the war in Iraq is teaching us is how to fight terrorists in urban environments. Its also giving us the chance to develop technologies to counter IEDs and sniper fire. The boomerang is one of those examples. My hope is that this technology gets fielded on more vehicles and we can counter the Iraqi sniper threat. It could also have a use in detecting snipers in mountain and jungle terrain. With this technology we can also develop tactics and learn how to interpret the signals from the computer gives us even better. All in all its encouraging that were learning from the war in Iraq and developing new technologies.