Threat Spectrum Direction Finding Unit

A program is proposed to perform mission-adaptable, covert surveillance in various contested environments to localize vehicles and weapons fire. Development of a covert, air-deployable (UAV & A/C) sensor system capable of operating in diverse environments and coherently overlapping multiple types of sensor data will significantly increase battlespace awareness, yielding early detection of threats and reduced casualties. To address the military's needs, a commandable multi-sensor cluster will be formed by deploying a gateway unit centrally located among a wireless network of various types of modular sensor nodes. Each cluster will be dispersed by a single airborne delivery vehicle. The cluster will utilize an array of microphones for all missions; other sensor technologies will be added to augment the detection, localization, and classification abilities of the acoustic array depending on the mission environment and suspected threats. A unique concept of modularity will be explored to achieve mission adaptability to a wide range of missions. An optical sensor module, for instance, can be interchanged to sense a completely different phenomenon, such as chemical/biological agents. The gateway logic will provide seamless integration of the sensor change into the overall system.