06 May 13. A team of researchers at Vanderbilt University has developed two hardware modules along with corresponding software that uses an Android smartphone to spot the location of a nearby shooter. The U.S. military has worked with the scientific community to develop systems to identify sniper locations for more than a decade. Pentagon leaders have already used at least two systems to track sniper fire — the Boomerang and Pilar acoustic sensor system. These systems use the sound created by the muzzle blast and/or the shockwave created by the bullet traveling at supersonic velocities to triangulate the location of a shooter. In order to best locate a shooter, the systems depend on networks of sensors. A processor collects the readings from the different sensors in the area and determines the location. Vanderbilt’s team has developed two modules of microphone sensors that can be connected to a smartphone. One is roughly the size of a pack of playing cards. It collects readings from both the muzzle blast and the shockwave to triangulate a location. For it to work, this version must have six nodes to get an accurate location, according to Akos Ledeczi, a member of Vanderbilt’s team. (Source: Open Source Information Report/Military.com)
08 May 13. Brazilian industry and MBDA are expanding their co-operation on Exocet rocket motor design and development into the production of new motors for new-build air-launched AM39 missiles. In 2009 the two companies reached an agreement for Avibras to re-engine existing Brazilian Navy ship-launched MM40 Exocets with a modernised motor. That programme was declared a success on 18 April 2012 with the test firing of a re-engined missile from the Brazilian corvette Barroso. Now MBDA says a formal agreement is in place for its partners Avibras and Mectron to expand their Exocet work to a new motor design for the AM39 missiles that will equip Brazil’s EC725 naval helicopters. (Source: Jane’s)
08 May 13. Germany’s Dynamit Nobel Defence revealed a new pre-production remote weapon station (RWS) in late April. The system does not have a formal name at the moment, known simply by the company as the Dual RWS, because it mounts paired weapon systems. It was privately developed with an eye on the export market and has already been demonstrated in at least one undisclosed country in the Middle East, installed on a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle. So far, two examples have been completed, with the second to what is described as an almost pre-production standard. Final production standards would depend on end users requirements, with systems apparently applicable to both upgrade or newbuild vehicles, as the primary or secondary weapon system and also for naval applications. Unusually, machine guns or automatic grenade launchers in the RWS can be reloaded from under armour. An ammunition counter enables the operator to keep track of the weapons’ status and when magazines run low, both ammunition boxes can be lowered into the hull of the vehicle for replenishment. The crew can also remotely cock the weapons. (Source: Jane’s)
07 May 13. Raytheon Company has completed delivery of more than 200 Paveway™ GBU-50 guidance kits to a European partner. The GBU-50 provides the 2,000-pound MK-84 or the BLU-109 penetrator with all-weather GPS navigation combined with precision terminal laser guidance. A full range of selectable terminal impact angles combined with a mature combat-proven, height-of-burst maximizes the capabilities of both the MK-84 and BLU-109.
08 May 13. Lockheed Martin demonstrated the Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system in multiple tests against free-flying Qassam-like rocket targets. The prototype laser system has destroyed eight small-caliber rocket targets in flight at a range of approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) in tests conducted in March and April 2013. Lockheed Martin is developing the transportable, ground-based ADAM laser system to provide a defense against short-ra