Acoustic counter-sniper system

BBN has developed, tested, and fielded pre-production versions of a versatile acoustics-based counter-sniper system. This system was developed by BBN for the DARPA Tactical Technology Office to provide a low cost and accurate sniper detection and localization system. The system uses observations of the shock wave from supersonic bullets to estimate the bullet trajectory, Mach number, and caliber. If muzzle blast observations are also available from unsilenced weapons, the exact sniper location along the trajectory is also estimated. A newly developed and very accurate model of the bullet ballistics and acoustic radiation is used which includes bullet deceleration. This allows the use of very flexible acoustic sensor types and placements, since the system can model the bullet's flight, and hence the acoustic observations, over a wide area very accurately. System sensor configurations can be as simple as two small four element tetrahedral microphone arrays on either side of the area to be protected, or six omnidirectional microphones spread over the area to be monitored. Increased performance can be obtained by expanding the sensor field in size or density, and the system software is easily reconfigured to accommodate this at deployment time. Sensor nodes can be added using wireless network telemetry or hardwired cables to the command node processing and display computer. The system has been field tested in three government sponsored tests in both rural and simulated urban environments at the Camp Pendleton MOUT facility. Performance was characterized during these tests for various shot geometries and bullet speeds and calibers.