Proceedings Article | 5 May 2009
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Acoustics, Weapons, Artillery, Explosives, Global Positioning System, Environmental sensing, Rockets, Seismic sensors, Unattended ground sensors
This paper describes the NATO Task Group SET-093/RTG53/MSE (referred to as TG-53 in this report) Acoustic
Detection of Weapons Firing Joint Field Experiment II conducted at the Etablissement Technique de Bourges (ETBS),
Bourges, France, during 16 to 27 June 2008. This field experiment is a follow-on to the NATO TG-53 Acoustic
Detection of Weapons Firing Joint Field Experiment I conducted at the Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG), Yuma, Arizona,
USA, during 31 October to 4 November 2005 [1]. The objectives of the joint experiment were: (i) to collect acoustic
signatures of direct and indirect firings from weapons' such as small arms, mortars, artillery, rockets, and C4 explosives,
(ii) to analyze the propagation effects of grassy, wooded, and urban terrains, (iii) to share signatures collected from a
variety of acoustic sensors, on the ground and in the air, distributed over a wide area, and (iv) to demonstrate the
interoperability of disparate sensors developed by the various nations involved. The participating NATO countries ,
including France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States of America, and Israel as well as
part of the Mediterranean dialogue countries, deployed nearly 90 sensors and sensor systems over the test range area.
