BBN recently received a $1.4 million increment as part of a $6.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to Design, Fabricate Prototypes, Test and Document and Support Upgrades to the Counter Shooter System (aka. Boomerang).
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. Like counterbattery, except for rifles rather than artillery.
Incoming fire detection and shooter position are determined and reported in less than 2 seconds. False shot detections are less that one per thousand hours of system operation at vehicle speeds under 50 miles per hour. Missed shots are less than one 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 proven to perform successfully with 5.56 NATO and .50 caliber machine gun rounds.
Boomerang is currently being tested on 50 HMMWVs deployed to Iraq. See this BBN White Paper for further details [PDF format].
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