Lockheed Martin Begins Production of 'Shot Stalker' UAV
Jane's Defence Weekly
May 4, 2010
Lockheed Martin's Skunkworks says it has begun production of Shot Stalker: a small, hand-held, quiet unmanned aerial vehicle that can be used to detect and geo-locate gunshots and mortar fire. Shot Stalker is being internally funded; while it has been heavily tested, it has not yet been deployed with the US military, according to Lockheed Martin officials.
Shot Stalker programme manager Vilma Wisham said the aerial drone relies on a combination of acoustic and electro-optical/infrared sensors to track enemy forces and detect the location of incoming fire. The acoustic sensors are tiny microphones made by Lockheed Martin's partner on the project: a company called ShotSpotter. The microphones have already been affixed to buildings and other static structures in major cities to alert police to shootings, according to Charles K. Pickar, ShotSpotter's senior vice-president.
The Shot Stalker uses an extremely quiet engine, which Skunkworks' Wisham said could not be identified other than to say it was "silent electric." The quiet nature of the engine allows the Shot Stalker's microphones to extend their acoustic sensing range, according to Pickar. Lockheed Martin has "a particular technology in the motor that is very, very quiet and, because of that, we can hear things that normally we wouldn't be able to hear on a UAV with a motor that is loud," he said.
Shot Stalker has already been heavily tested in a "realistic operational environment", according to Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Melissa Dalton, and Pickar said that the two companies are hopeful that the military will test it soon.
The Shot Stalker airframe, made by Lockheed Martin, is similar to that of the Stalker UAV: another Lockheed Martin drone that is already operationally deployed, according to Dalton.
In response to a question about which military requirement the Shot Stalker was designed to meet, Wisham would say only that the "Shot Stalker's operation and the customer information are proprietary." However, she did note that the Shot Stalker and the Stalker can work as part of a group of systems in a "swarming" situation or on their own.
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