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JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - SEPTEMBER 15, 2004
US Army to send Sheriff to Iraq
JOSHUA KUCERA JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC
The US Department of Defense is planning to field a vehicle equipped with non-lethal high-powered microwaves with US forces in Iraq next year.
The project, which was initiated only three months ago, aims to get four to six systems to US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC) units by about September 2005, said the project director, Col Wade Hall of the Office of Force Transformation (OFT), which is heading the initiative.
The vehicle, named the Sheriff, is intended for troops operating in cities and fighting an enemy that operates near civilians. It will give US troops options other than not firing - thereby putting themselves in danger - and using traditional weapons, which carry a heavy risk of killing civilians, Col Hall said.
The Sheriff will be fitted with a version of the Active Denial System (ADS), which is currently in an advanced concept technology demonstration. The ADS uses millimetre-wave electromagnetic energy that can be directed at potential attackers and repels them by causing a painful, burning sensation. The ADS has a range of 1km but the Sheriff's system will be "a lot" weaker, said Col Hall, who declined to be more specific.
It will also incorporate an active protection system - either the Full Spectrum Active Protection Close-In Layered Shield, developed by Chang Industry, or the Active Defense System, from United Defense LP - to intercept and deflect rocket-propelled grenades and other fire. The decision on which of these systems to use will be made by the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren division "fairly soon", said John Canning, the Sheriff programme manager at Dahlgren.
It will also have Gunslinger, a rapid-fire gun being developed at Dahlgren, which will detect snipers and automatically fire back at them.
The system will be mounted on a currently fielded vehicle so that the system can be deployed as quickly as possible. The USMC is most likely to get a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV)-based Sheriff, while the US Army will use either a Stryker or an M1117 Armored Security Vehicle. The army's Rapid Equipping Force is making that decision.
If the first vehicles are successful, the programme could be expanded and could eventually be mounted on vehicles in the army's Future Combat Systems and the Marine Air Ground Task Force Expeditionary Family of Fighting Vehicles, Col Hall said.
The Sheriff could also be used by the US Air Force and US Navy for perimeter security of airbases and ports and by the Department of Homeland Security for border patrol, said Arthur Cebrowski, head of the OFT.
The second generation of the Sheriff will include an ADS with a slightly longer range and the ability to modulate its strength and possibly more non-lethal weapons. Future versions will be remote- controlled or even autonomous, according to Col Hall.
Artist's impression of the Sheriff equipped with a non-lethal weapon system comprising an Active Denial System mounted on an LAV chassis
(Source: US Army)
