Army deploying ‘Individual Gunshot Detector’

March 21, 2011

(Photo credit: PEO Soldier)

U.S. Army forces in Afghanistan will begin receiving the first of more than 13,000 gunshot detection systems for the individual dismounted soldier later this month, according to the U.S. Army.

The Individual Gunshot Detector (IGD), made by QinetiQ North America, consists of four small acoustic sensors worn by the individual soldier and a small display screen attached to body armor that shows the distance and direction of incoming fire. The system weighs just under two pounds.

The small sensor, about the size of a deck of cards, detects the supersonic sound waves generated by enemy gunfire and instantaneously alerts soldiers to the location and distance toward the hostile fire.

In the future, the Army plans to integrate this technology with its Land Warrior and Nett Warrior systems. These are network-situational-awareness systems for dismounted units, complete with a helmet-mounted display screen that uses GPS digital-mapping-display technology.