LRAD events and reports from users, as of Aug 26, 04. An update from the meeting, including advances and further feed back from the field, would be in order.
Smaller LRADs said to be in development would work nicely with the small boat interdiction, heliocopters, and military robots.
Further information about the HSS-LRAD device might be forth-coming.
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American TechnologyCorporation (ATC) (NASDAQ:ATCO) reported today on recent developments regarding its growing LRAD(TM) business.
LRAD is a breakthrough long-range hailing and warning, directed acoustic device designed to communicate with authority and exceptionally high intelligibility. From either a static or mobile location, LRAD can transmit a verbal challenge with instructions at operationally significant distances in a focused beam, and follow up with a powerful warning tone to influence behavior or determine intent. Recorded messages can be selected and transmitted over LRAD in multiple languages. Used in maritime roles, LRAD supports force protection of critical assets against small boat terrorist threats plus visit/board/search and seizure missions during maritime interdiction operations. Land-based applications include crowd control, area denial, clearing buildings, psychological operations, and protection of critical infrastructure. Military services are also evaluating LRAD for use in helicopters to further extend their ability to hail and warn at longer distances and in remote locations.
U. S. Navy 5th Fleet
Through a $320,000 contract awarded by the U.S. Navy, ATC delivered LRADs to the U.S. Navy in June for urgent use by Navy and Coast Guard patrol craft in the Persian Gulf shipping lanes in and around the Basra, Iraq, oil terminals.
As featured on the front page of the June 30 edition of the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. military is becoming the protector of Iraq's offshore oil terminals. The terrorism threat heightened when two suicide attackers in a small boat sped towards the northernmost Basra oil terminal. A U.S. Navy patrol ship launched a small boat to investigate. Of the seven crewmembers, three were killed as the terrorist vessel exploded at close range.
The employment of LRAD either from patrol craft or small boats involved in maritime interdiction operations, or from oil platforms, allows for directed communication and warning at ranges in excess of 500 yards. LRAD provides a safe standoff distance to either defuse a potentially hostile situation, or to take additional action if verbal and tone warnings are ignored. Using LRAD can both save lives and protect critical infrastructure.
Feedback from the Navy's 5th Fleet during the first month of LRAD use indicated maritime interdiction operations were very effective, more efficient, and safer. During the first two weeks of operation, over 400 interdictions were conducted with LRAD, resulting in over 80 percent of the vessels interrogated changing course as directed. LRAD enabled crews to reduce routine "pull along sides," thereby significantly enhancing the safety of crews and their ships. LRAD's operational success is described by the 5th fleet force protection officer as "phenomenal."
U. S. Navy orders more LRADs for Maritime Interdiction Operations in Basra
As a result of its success over the last month, the U.S. Navy has awarded ATC another contract for $320,000 for urgent and immediate LRAD deliveries for use by Navy and Coast Guard patrol craft in the Persian Gulf shipping lanes in and around the Basra oil terminals.
Carl Gruenler, ATC vice president for government and force protection systems, remarked, "It is becoming increasingly clear that LRAD provides a profound new tool for anti-terrorism/force protection in multiple operational scenarios. Informal feedback from the U.S. Army (Stryker brigade in and around Mosul, Iraq) and U.S. Marine Corps (1st Marine Expeditionary Force in and around Fallujah and Najaf, Iraq) indicate similar success for check points, notification, and crowd control."
Naval Surface Warfare System Crane
ATC is completing work with Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane on a remotely operated, pan/tilt LRAD with integrated camera. This advanced, directed acoustic energy capability is envisioned to be a critical component of the Navy's Integrated Radar and Optical Surveillance Sighting System, known as IROS3. IROS3 (for surface combatants) and its companion project (for aircraft carriers) are evolving as the U.S. Navy's integrated solution for waterside force protection.
NSWC Crane issued the following comments on LRAD during the Aircraft Carrier Situational Awareness System (ACSAS, the carrier version of IROS3) Fleet Tiger Team meeting in March:
"The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is the most recent spiral capability being added to ACSAS. The addition of LRAD fulfills the requirement of ship's forces to warn approaching vessels to avoid entrance into the Naval Vessel Protection Zone established around the ship. LRAD generates intelligible voice announcements at extended ranges either by microphone input or prerecorded messages in almost any language. LRAD is primarily designed as a long-range communications device that can be manually operated on a tripod or automatically cued to common track data provided by ACSAS. LRAD operates within OSHA guidelines to deliver communications and safely disorient the listener based upon range, exposure time, power output, frequency and tonal patterns controlled by the operator."
Gruenler added: "ATC expects to compete for the FY05-FY09 IROS3 `program of record' contract in early FY05. The remotely operated LRAD will be leveraged into a wide variety of markets and force protection applications."
Department of Homeland Security - Border Transportation Security (BTS) Directorate
"ATC received a delivery order for manually operated LRADs to support the Arizona Border Control Initiative (ABC)," said Gruenler. "Although not large in dollar value ($66,500), LRAD is now included in the evaluation of technologies to enhance border security."
On June 17, the Honorable Charles McQueary, Undersecretary, Directorate of Science & Technology (S&T), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), briefed the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. The following excerpt was part of his testimony on the introduction of various technologies supporting ABC:
"We are in the process of inserting several technologies into the ABC field, including a long range acoustic device (LRAD) which gives Border Patrol agents the ability to communicate with persons at a long distance. The LRAD is one of the most promising existing technologies that S&T has introduced that could transition to BTS on a larger scale. During recent demonstrations, we have had positive initial evaluations and feedback by Border Patrol agents in Tucson. We are providing a permanent LRAD unit for continued testing in day-to-day operations during ABC."
ATC demonstrated its new remotely operated pan/tilt model while proving LRAD's functional effectiveness to senior BTS executives at the DHS headquarters in Washington, D.C., in July.
New York City Police Department (NYPD)
In an August 19th Associated Press (AP) article, the NYPD revealed it had purchased two LRADs (at $35,000 each) for use during the upcoming Republican National Convention. In the article by Tom Hays titled "Authorities turn up the volume to help secure convention," he quotes the NYPD's chief spokesman on LRAD's intended uses for "directing crowds to safety following a terrorist attack or other calamity, and reminding protesters where they're allowed to march and rally. At past demonstrations, protesters have complained they couldn't hear police directions, resulting in confusion and angry clashes."
Gruenler commented: "As a point of clarification from the article, LRAD at maximum power generates a source level burst warning tone of 151dB at one meter. At this source level, the dB level at 300 meters is less that 105dB, or about the level of a police siren. Source levels for voice communications are a maximum of 120dB at one meter. Both voice and tone can be dialed down, with volume control depending on distance and ambient noise, providing flexible and safe operating parameters. What differentiates LRAD from a normal loudspeaker is that it delivers strikingly intelligible messages with authority in approximately a 30-45-degree beam at either close or long distances via microphone, voice translators, MP3-players, and other audio devices."
On the same day as the AP article, Channel 4 WNBC New York aired a report that in part said: "The NYPD was responding to protestors who said after the February 15 anti-war march last year they couldn't hear instructions from police about where to go and where to assemble. Police say that with this new `high-tech toy' they'll be able to address tens of thousands of people from as far as three blocks away."
Gruenler added: "This is the first official use of LRAD for crowd control by law enforcement. LRAD's crystal clear directional voice capability over long distance makes it an ideal tool to confidently communicate important instructions to large groups of people. Although the NYPD is not planning to use LRAD's warning tone, if needed, it provides an acoustically safe authority to influence behavior and to defuse escalating and potentially combative situations. LRAD gives authorities the ability to respond to the specific needs and urgency of a situation."
Port Authority New York/New Jersey (PANYNJ)
ATC recently received a $140,000 order for pan/tilt remotely operated LRADs to support the PANYNJ's initial integrated infrastructure force protection pilot project at the Hackensack Bridge.
Gruenler said: "LRAD was a specified capability in the contract award process. As a lead technology agent and possessing an urgent and visible need, the successes and lessons learned by the PANYNJ should influence similar implementations worldwide. This contract foreshadows additional projects at the port authority's airports, bridges and tunnels, commercial ports, and building infrastructure."
Critical Infrastructure Force Protection
"Inherent in the ability to protect critical infrastructure, such as dams, power plants, and transportation nodes, is the ability to acquire and track at operationally meaningful distances, evaluate rapidly, and take authoritative and definitive action," remarked Gruenler. "Optics, radar, and cameras provide initial sensor intelligence. Rules-based intelligent software can trigger LRAD's initial response to communicate from a remote command location. LRAD's increasingly urgent messages and warning tone support initial authoritative action. LRAD's powerful warning tone at close range and other non-lethal capabilities (some under consideration to be integrated into the LRAD pan/tilt framework) provide a means for instant escalating interdiction."
In the maritime environment, warships, ports, oil platforms, or high value commercial and civilian shipping represent the most likely applications.
For land-based critical infrastructure, borders, airports, pipelines, terminals, storage facilities, power plants, dams, bridges and tunnels, and building complexes are among the urgent and compelling applications.
Gruenler added: "ATC is currently involved with initial projects in many of the above applications. In addition to protecting the warfighter, LRAD provides a robust and effective, non-lethal, first responder capability to protect high value and/or geographically challenging critical infrastructure. Furthermore, LRAD provides a platform for integrating additional non-lethal technologies. The risk and cost of not employing an integrated system to protect politically or economically significant infrastructure was highlighted again by the August 16 attack on the northern Iraqi pipeline to Turkey. ATC is working on LRAD-based solutions for the critical infrastructure force protection challenge, and sees this market segment as a rapid and significant growth opportunity."
LRAD Safety Report
Under sponsorship from an agency of the Department of Defense, an LRAD Interim Safety Report has been issued by Penn State University (PSU). PSU is one of the leading acoustic research institutions in the world. The report concludes that LRAD can be safely employed as a "hailing and warning" device based on applying the MIL-STD 1474D standards for operator safety and OSHA standards for target population.
Other Developments
"ATC recently demonstrated LRAD to the Military Sealift Command, and both the Navy's Afloat and Ashore Anti-terrorism/Force Protection Program Managers at the Washington Navy Yard," said Gruenler. "Requirements have been developed in multiple services that identify LRAD for end-of-fiscal-year force protection funding. We are currently scaling up LRAD inventory to support anticipated demand in this quarter and into our next fiscal year."
Additional Customer Feedback/Quotes on LRAD:
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, U.S. Marine Corps
"A modern marvel, the LRAD -- a disc-shaped loudspeaker -- can be used to broadcast warnings and commands at distances of up to several hundred yards."
Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate at Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Va.
"The operator of the LRAD has the capability to speak to (a specific audience) from a distance, keeping Marines out of harm's way."
Army 2nd Infantry Stryker Combat Brigade
"Designers of the U.S. Army's new light-and-fast Stryker vehicle needed a non-lethal capability to help enforce crowd control and checkpoints in Iraq. They found an answer in the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a directed acoustic tool from American TechnologyCorporation (ATC)."
Gruenler concluded, "Based on current and expected orders and a growing number of successful deployments, LRAD is becoming The Sound of Force Protection(TM)." |
