BBN Technologies, an advanced technology solutions firm, announced today it has been awarded a contract valued at $1.8M by the U.S. Army Contracting Agency to supply 106 Boomerang II mobile shooter detection systems.

Originally developed under Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsorship, Boomerang II is an acoustic detection system that immediately reports a shooter’s location, giving U.S. troops time to take appropriate action. The systems are mounted on military vehicles such as Humvees (HMMWVs), where the environment is so noisy that troops often do not realize they are being shot at until they are hit. It is also being used to guard fixed positions — such as buildings or roadside checkpoints. Boomerang II uses passive acoustic detection, computer-based signal processing, and both aural and visual indications to help U.S. troops locate the shooter whether the vehicle is stationary or moving in urban or open terrain. The system earned DARPA’s Significant Technical Achievement Award last year and over 100 Boomerang II systems are currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Boomerang II provides the best performance at the lowest cost of any system available,” said Mark Sherman, vice president, BBN Technologies. “We are delighted to be able to provide life-saving technology that gives our troops the warning they need to respond or get out of harm’s way.”

Boomerang is easily integrated with situational awareness and response systems such as the TRAP T-250, a Remotely Operated Weapons System from Precision Remotes Inc.; Weapon Watch, an EO/IR System from Radiance Technologies; and the Enhanced Tactical Automated Security System (eTASS), a Sensor Fusion, Display, and C2 system from Northrop-Grumman. Such integrated Boomerang II systems not only tell troops where the shooter is located, but can also automatically slew a gun to the target or immediately notify other units or higher command of the situation.

BBN is now finalizing development of the next generation, Boomerang III. Boomerang III will provide enhanced performance and easier installation, maintenance, and support, while meeting or exceeding Boomerang II’s accuracy, ease of use, robustness and mil-spec qualifications.

About BBN Technologies BBN Technologies, an advanced technology and research and development firm, is focused on solving some of the world's most pressing problems. From national security, information security, and speech recognition, to integrating disparate systems and networks, BBN has been at the forefront of technological change for over 50 years.

Known for pioneering the development of the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, BBN continues to create advances in Internet and networking technologies through its work on ad hoc networking, the semantic web, quantum communications, and advanced protocols. Building on its substantial list of firsts, BBN operates the first metro quantum cryptography network, the first real-time foreign broadcast monitoring system, and has developed the world's first stereoscopic digital mammography system. For more information, visit www.bbn.com.