QinetiQ to furnish Army with sniper detection gear

QinetiQ North America will deliver equipment that Army soldiers can use to help identify the location of hostile enemy fire.

Under a two-year, $19.5 million contract, QinetiQ will furnish man-wearable gunshot detection systems, Defense Department officials said March 23.

QinetiQ manufactures the Ears sniper detection system, which consists of a palm-sized, lightweight acoustic sensor that can be worn by soldiers, according to the company’s Web site. The sensor can locate sniper fire from any direction while being worn and has a speaker system that calls out range and bearing of the shooter’s position within a fraction of a second from the gunshot. The system also provides latitude and longitude of the shooter’s position for coordination with supporting units.

The company will perform the work in Cheswick, Pa. The contracting activity is the Research, Development and Engineering Command Contracting Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

QinetiQ North America, of McLean, Va., ranks No. 34 on Washington Technology’s 2009 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.