Fast as Light Assessment of Snipers and Hostile-fire (FLASH) identifies and fingerprints hostile fire aimed toward friendly forces in the field.
FLASH was developed for the U.S. Department of Defense to identify incoming hostile fire (gunshots) aimed at U.S. ground forces. FLASH provides inbound threat location and identifies weapon type by fingerprinting hostile fire for troops in the field. FLASH is deployable at fixed sites and is small and rugged enough to be used on mobile platforms, including trucks or helicopters.
Through years of research, Oceanit developed FLASH based on disruptive, infrared focal plane technology. Unlike any other system currently deployed, FLASH is able to literally see a gunshot occur and ‘fingerprint’ the weapon as the bullet leaves the enemy’s barrel – it’s that fast.
Existing detection systems are prone to inadvertently declaring gunshots when none had occurred, known as False Alarms. In addition, no systems had the ability to provide full-hemispheric coverage around the sensor. Finally, general direction of the incoming threat was possible via older systems, but accurate bearing to the threat was limited.
Oceanit built upon previous work on a high-speed wave front sensor which sampled the atmosphere at greater than 20,000 times per-second. This research lead to a patented Position Sensing Detector (PSD) array with associated Read Out Integrated Circuit (ROIC). Combined, the PSD and ROIC made Oceanit’s current Focal Plane Array (FPA).
Oceanit developed proprietary software and hardware designs throughout the five-year effort, as well as conducting field testing and threat modeling based on user input. The completed FLASH systems have true hemispheric coverage, high angular accuracy, low false alarm rates, and the ability to recognize threat type.
Key Features
- Precision hostile fire detection and tracking
- Detects & locates hundreds of simultaneous targets (<0.1% false alarm rate)
- Provides automatic cueing for counter-fire systems, countermeasures, and radar
- One million times faster than acoustic systems for rapid threat location and identification and warning
- Easy to integrate with countermeasure, detection, or response systems
- Static, multiple unit system to monitor and store weapon fire event details
- Airborne sensor capable of simultaneously detecting and localizing hundreds of targets
