Finding where a sniper is: is there new tech for field use?

Factual Questions
1

See subject.

Prompted by clocktower thread.

2

Yes, there is.

Generally uses remotely placed microphones to triangulate the source of the gunshot.

3

The Boomerang system made by Raytheon and SWATS platform for dismounted soldiers made by Qinetiq NA were the best ones in the field from an acoustic standpoint. Even these system have challenges, however, and you can see what some of them are based on the DoD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant topics that are released every three months. Topics I have seen in the last two years include:

  1. Location determination in urban environments for both sniper fire and IED detonations - because echoes can cause a level of confusion in tight “urban canyons” with acoustic signatures, especially when you are not the target but are a few blocks away and want to render assistance.

  2. Detection from helicopters where the changing perspective of the platform relative to the shooter, downwash of the rotor blades, and general noise of the environment makes gunshot detection more difficult. Raytheon makes the Helicopter Alert and Threat Termination (HALTT) system, and a Dutch company has one called the PILARw.

  3. Optical detection - this is a hot topic that keeps appearing in the SBIR solicitations because they want to detect snipers from the glint of their scopes prior to them taking the shot. That continues to be a problem with all the acoustic systems, which rely on the first shot being a miss from an amateur sniper. There is a company called Applied Science Innovation working on something they call the Advance-Warning System for Active Detection of Snipers (AWADS) which uses an electro-optical approach - basically, lasers to detect the characteristics of the scope optics prior to a shot. That is a very tough problem, since all kinds of surfaces at the right distance and angle can produce a signature similar to a sniper scope, but they claim to have something that works.

4

Hire more color-blind soldiers. A ghillie suit may not stand a chance.

5

There are also optical systems in development that are intended to detect and characterize muzzle flashes – it isn’t just about detecting a scope.

6

Thanks to all so far. Yarster, I used to follow mil and tech SBIRs as part of my job. Lot of good stuff there.

7

I would hate to be a citizen trying to see what is going on with a monocular when those systems are around!

8

The Boomerang is worthless. A waste of time, effort and money. The SWATS even more so. Exponentially more. Why people want to throw ridiculous amounts of money at a problem to come up with worthless gadgets is beyond me. And then to turn around and cut back on things like more ammo because of “budget cuts”. It’s asinine.