By B.C Kessner
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $6.9 million phase 2E contract to build 15 One Shot laser based sighting systems designed to improve sniper accuracy and reduce the possibility of detection, according to a company executive.
“We have been able to prove that snipers could successfully engage targets twice as quickly, and increased the probability of a first round hit by a factor of between two and four, depending on the distance to the target,” John Wojnar, director of business development, Lockheed Martin Laser & Sensor Systems, told Defense Daily on Friday.
The problem that Lockheed Martin set out to solve with One Shot is that existing sniper spotting scopes cannot precisely measure the effects of wind on a bullet as it travels from the rifle to targets at long distances.
Snipers are trained to work in pairs, with one serving as a spotter. The spotter calculates an offset value for wind strength and direction by observing telltale indicators between the shooter and the target, including the ‘mirage’ that is created by a difference in ground and air temperatures.
This technique, though practiced ad nauseum during service sniper schools and sustainment training, is inherently subjective and gained mostly through extensive experience. At longer distances an imprecise wind call could easily lead to the round missing the target, even if the range is properly calculated and the trigger is squeezed near-perfectly from a stable rifle position.
One Shot utilizes a laser and camera to determine wind speed and direction, Wojnar said. It illuminates particles in the air and determines the wind profile based on the information that comes back, providing windage calculations, he added.
“This integrates your spotting scope display and your rifle scope display all into one unit,” Wojnar said. “It’s really an incredible capability.”
According to Wojnar, professional snipers think it is an incredible capability, too. “The feedback has been phenomenal, and we’ve dealt with some of the guys that are the best in the world–just won in world competition,” he said.
Lockheed Martin last year conducted about 20 field trials of One Shot in conjunction with DARPA and select service snipers during the original phase of the program, Wojnar said. In 2008 DARPA competitively awarded the company $9.7 million 18-month contract to provide a One Shot prototype for the tests.
“We had three sets of teams, one would have it, one wouldn’t, then they switched, and we would compare results,” Wojnar said. “It was just a phenomenal comparison, the overall feedback was great, they kept saying, ‘when can you get them to us? What kind of speed? When can we have them?'” he added.
One concern the snipers had was the weight, Wojnar said. “So that’s why phase 2E came about, to address SWAP [size, weight, and power],” he added.
Under the phase 2E program, the integrated One Shot system weight target is about 8.25 pounds. “We’re trying to do the most difficult task of putting a night scope, direct view optics and everything into one integrated package for phase 2E,” Wojnar said.
Phase 2E will also see the system’s operating range extended to 1,500 meters, at the recommendation of the snipers. The previous tests were at distances out to 1,200 meters. “One objective of the phase 2E program is extending to 1,500 meters and maintaining the predicted probability of a first shot hit at 65 percent,” Wojnar said.
While designed and tested with .308 caliber and .338-type sniper rifles in mind, One Shot could work with other caliber sniper rifles, as well as other applications, he said.
The 15 One Shot systems will go into tests by various users starting in about nine months to make sure they meet SWAP requirements, Wojnar said. There is an option under the contract to procure 100 of the systems. “We anticipate a spiral one option to build 100 units with the intent of providing such systems to the rapid equipping force under a quick reaction type capability for our snipers,” he said.
“Based on feedback, we then plan to create various permutations of the device for the users, depending on the service and the application,” he said.