Acoustic Detection System for Counter-UAS
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) announced on 8 March that its FENCEPOST acoustic detection system was successfully demonstrated late last year to the US Army.
The Army’s annual Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment (MFIX) took place at Fort Sill, OK, in December 2017. The MFIX event brings together military and industry partners to view and demonstrate key technology solutions to inform requirements, validate and refine concepts, address capability gaps and assess solutions for incorporation into future Army Warfighting Assessments. GA-EMS was invited to participate to demonstrate FENCEPOST’s capabilities in support of counter-UAS (C-UAS) missions.
FENCEPOST is a covert, lightweight and cost-effective acoustic surveillance system for C-UAS, port security and high value asset, facility and base protection applications. It provides a range of tracking and data collection capabilities and visualisations, including early warning alerts with target bearings, multiple simultaneous threat detection and tracking, and 3D target tracking. The system can be configured with multiple networked sensors to support a wide area of coverage, from remote field operations to congested urban environments. Captured data can be integrated into existing C2 software programmes to support ISR operations and decision-support applications.
“Six FENCEPOST acoustic sensors were deployed in a networked configuration to create a passive surveillance perimeter that effectively detected and tracked small UAS threats on the range. We were also successful in demonstrating FENCEPOST integrated with the US Army’s Maneuver Aviation and Fires Integrated Application (MAFIA) solution, displaying threat tracks and providing updates within MAFIA. We have validated the FENCEPOST system against multiple groups of threats and continue to see the technology successfully provide persistent, reliable early warning, security, and surveillance capabilities under diverse operational conditions and environments,” commented Business Lead for Surveillance and Sensor Systems at GA-EMS, Hank Rinehart.
