Jan-22-2009 02:51 PM
Military surveillance has become far more sophisticated as field
commanders demand increasingly higher levels of intelligence to
prevent boots-on-the-ground casualties-especially in urban combat zones
like Iraq and Afghanistan. These technologies add to the military's
arsenal in combating IEDs, which have caused at least 60% of the 950
U.S. combat deaths in Iraq in the past year and crippled, maimed and
disfigured thousands more troops. So what are some of these
surveillance technologies and how do they work?
In a joint effort, Lockheed Martin has teamed up with the Chicago and L.A. police departments to set up counter-insurgency (COIN) surveillance technology to support U.S. Marine Corps urban operations in Iraq. COIN technology combines video surveillance and other police investigative methods to track and identify persons of interest. The system is designed to learn a suspect's characteristics, patterns and associates, and to predict when and where insurgents might strike.
Properly implemented, COIN technology will save lives, letting Marines target specific areas, observe people surreptitiously and collect and unite investigative data to identify patterns and key insurgent locations. This key information will be available to tactical field units as well as command and intelligence HQs.
COIN technology supports military SOPs with proven police investigative methods, allowing Marines to more accurately conduct round-the-clock surveillance from a relatively safe distance. COIN quickly identifies potential insurgents and their networks and helps protect Iraqis and U.S. troops against suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). It basically extends a Marine's sight and sensory perception.
The military is also considering the use of several optical and thermal surveillance systems designed by a company called Synectics Surveillance Technology (SST). Its LRS2000, for example, provides long-range surveillance and can read vehicle number plates at 1.2km, can recognize a known face at 2.4km, and observe human activity at greater than 12km. It features a high performance color camera for daylight use and a low-light or intensified camera for night surveillance. It's also ideal for long-range border surveillance.
Another SST system, the multi-sensor LRS3000, provides optical and thermal surveillance at extreme ranges-up to 20km. It features a high performance thermal imager and can even be integrated with other technologies, such as radar, remote ground sensors, lasers for range finders, target markers and illuminators. For military applications that call for total mobility, there's SST's LRS-F, a completely self-contained and highly portable video surveillance, monitoring and recording system. Its advanced electro-optical technologies provide surveillance in low light and can read vehicle number plates at 3,000 meters. This powerful tool is ideal for highly specialized and sensitive special covert ops, counter insurgency, hostage rescue and intervention.
Uniting aircraft with powerful cameras is a system called Angel Fire. Here, aircraft armed with cameras monitor the battlefield, giving U.S. commanders in Iraq an uninterrupted, bird's-eye view to search roads and neighborhoods for IEDs and the insurgents who plant them. With Angel Fire, real-time imagery is distributed to combat troop commanders, letting them zoom in and closely observe an area under suspicion. It also lets commanders quickly play back key events with a 'TiVo-like' capability.
Angel Fire's replay feature lets commanders view an IED blast and trace it back to who planted it. The system provides high-resolution imagery to hundreds of users at once. Angel Fire is particularly well suited for enhanced situational awareness to forces operating in an urban environment, convoy operations or other ground operations.
Angel Fire aside, the U.S. military has quite a track record with an aerial surveillance system called Constant Hawk. The system combines advanced electro-optics with the high spatial resolution required to detect and characterize tactically significant and dangerous areas. Constant Hawk can maintain long-term surveillance and an archival database of activity. This forensic data gives field commanders the intelligence they need to locate enemy positions and areas that require more intense and immediate surveillance by other assets.
Finally, there's the Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) system developed by Waltham-based Raytheon. It employs sensor systems elevated on stationary platforms to provide continual IR surveillance monitoring in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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