NY Daily News: Troops take noise beam into battle
By DEREK ROSE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
U.S. troops in Iraq are getting a new way to ward off potential threats: 151 decibels of earsplitting sound.
Sonic blasters will be used to disperse crowds, clear buildings and control restricted areas.
"We prefer to call it a long-range hailing and acoustic device," or LRAD, said Carl Gruenler, vice president of American Technology Corp. of San Diego.
About 50 of the 45-pound devices are heading to Iraq with Marines deploying from Camp Pendleton, Calif., under a $1.1million contract.
The LRAD can act as a megaphone, broadcasting live or prerecorded messages from an attached MP3 player. If that doesn't ward off potential intruders, the operator can unleash a beam of concentrated, high-pitched sound audible from as far as 500 yards.
"It's just an uncomfortable area of your hearing," said Gruenler, comparing the shrill tone to the noise used in smoke detectors.
"You would have to be mightily determined to come closer, especially at 100 yards. It's very, very uncomfortable, and the closer you get the more uncomfortable it gets," he said.
At close range, targets could suffer permanent hearing damage if exposed long enough, but the operator, who stands behind the device, is not affected.
"These devices provide a critical new tool to place distance between the Marine and the threat, giving him/her more time to sort out a measured and appropriate response," said Marine Lt. Col. Susan Noel, force protection officer for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.
The LRAD was first developed after the 2000 attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole as a means of warning away unknown ships, and is already used on four Navy vessels and a Coast Guard cutter.
The Port Authority also has been testing the device, mainly as a way to beef up security around airports and marine facilities, agency spokesman Steve Coleman said.
"It's one piece of technology that we're taking a close look at, possibly including it in our security plans," Coleman said. "At an airport, if someone breaches a security zone, and it's picked up on a camera, you could send out a warning with this thing and alert that person and get them to leave before you have to send the police out."
With Paul H.B. Shin
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PS, A Port Authority lrad has been in testing for some time now. They apparently like it, as they are addressing expanded usage to include airports.
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