Existing megaphones and speaker systems are hampered by poor intelligibility and very limited range. Acoustic Hailing Devices (AHDs) are a unique and innovative technology that provides the National Guard with extraordinary long range communications and non-lethal crowd control capabilities. Selective military and National Guard units have successfully used AHDs in combat operations, disaster relief operations, and homeland security missions.
AHDs produce a focused, highly intelligible beam of sound that can be clearly heard above significant background noise at distances of up to 2000 meters. They can penetrate into buildings and vehicles, through walls, doors, and windows and they can be heard above the background noise caused by rotor blades, engines, and other loud sources. AHDs are also able to produce loud, non-lethal deterrent warning tones that can quickly disperse crowds while buying security personnel time and space to incrementally escalate the use of force in dangerous situations.
AHDs are a critical, dual use technology that significantly enhances the National Guard’s ability to perform its domestic and overseas missions including Defense Support to Civilian Authorities (DSCA), Homeland Defense (HD), and Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). AHDs are a force multiplier for units supporting any search and rescue operations (air and ground), evacuation operations, check point and guard post operations, organizing and informing large groups of people, as would be necessary during a CBRNE event. The AHD will fill an existing capability gap in the Guard’s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and High Explosive (CBRNE) consequence management forces including Homeland Response Forces (HRF), CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Packages, and Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams (WMD-CST).
Justification:
• Operationally Proven: The National Guard used AHDs to communicate with survivors during emergency response operations including Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the Colorado flood relief (2013)
• Combat Tested: Used in Iraq and Afghanistan to communicate important checkpoint instructions to the civilian populace in their native language, AHDs have significantly reduced civilian casualties. They have also been used on tactical military vehicles as part of the escalation of force to save lives by communicating with the civilian populace.
• NGREA Supportable: Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) with no development risk; cost effective ($5K - $28K per unit); very low sustainment costs