BBN Technologies Awarded $1.4 Million in Defense Funding to Help Protect Helicopter Crews
Cambridge, Mass., February 9, 2009 — US forces often use helicopters to move quickly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because of their low altitude, helicopters are vulnerable to frequent ground fire, which can be deadly to helicopters, causing them to malfunction or forcing them to land in hostile territory. Additionally, helicopter noise levels make their crews deaf to shots fired at them, and they often do not realize they are under attack until damage has been done. While pilots have adapted to the threat with evasive measures—zig zagging their flight paths and varying their altitudes—what is really needed is a technology to detect and defend against enemy threats targeting helicopters.
To meet this need, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BBN Technologies $1.4 million in new funding to continue development of the first acoustic small-arms shooter detection system for helicopters. BBN first developed the Boomerang shooter detection system technology for ground vehicles and static applications under DARPA sponsorship in late 2004, and there are now over 5,000 systems helping to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In late 2007, again under DARPA funding, BBN demonstrated the feasibility of applying the Boomerang technology to detect small-arms fire from a helicopter, and developed and tested a proof-of-concept system for Blackhawk helicopters in 2008. The current work will continue development and testing of this system.
"The goal here is to give helicopter crews the same critical seconds that our Boomerang shooter detection system provides for troops on the ground, because those seconds can save lives by giving them time to respond appropriately,” said Tad Elmer, CEO and president, BBN Technologies."
About BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies is a legendary R&D organization that leverages its substantial intellectual property portfolio to produce advanced, repeatable solutions such as the Boomerang shooter detection system. With expertise spanning information security, speech and language processing, networking, distributed systems, and sensing and control systems, BBN scientists and engineers have amassed a substantial collection of innovations and patented solutions. BBN now employs over 700 people in seven locations in the US: Cambridge, Massachusetts (headquarters); Arlington, Virginia; Columbia, Maryland; Middletown, Rhode Island; San Diego, California; St. Louis Park, Minnesota; and O'Fallon, Illinois. For more information, visit www.bbn.com.
