Overguard Missile Detection System from Viseum
In practice, this case study is about a site in a war zone. The customer needed to identify where missiles were being launched from, so that the launch sites could be dealt with rather than the incoming rounds alone.
Systems of this type are normally procured as major defence programmes at very high cost. Viseum delivered success for this customer by using its Remote Managed Support to customise its standard Viseum Overguard Product Solution. This system uses multiple radar, thermal and optical devices built into a single camera system.
Viseum Remote Managed Support
Our customer benefitted from a dedicated support team from Viseum. Viseum’s Red Team/Blue Team Service formed part of this service. A significant amount of local ground intelligence was used alongside missile attack prevention information from Viseum Overguard.
Missile attack prevention
Viseum Overguard is used for intelligence gathering about the activity of vehicles and groups of people transporting heavy machinery within 20 km. This helps identify hotspots for potential missile attacks. Viseum Overguard will focus on monitoring these hotspots while maintaining general surveillance for insurgent activity. The military also use this information to mitigate attacks aimed elsewhere in the area.
- Operates in all weather and ambient light conditions including extreme fog and complete darkness.
- Automatically reports speed, size, bearing and GPS position of targets in range.
- Priority for areas (zones) of detection, for optimising first responders.
Missile detection
When a missile is launched, it will be detected automatically using video analytics of the thermal and optical cameras. Equally, this will send an alarm to security teams. Information from the optical and thermal video is correlated with its radar. In some situations, the sound of the missile can also be used. Using all of this information the missile’s speed, distance and trajectory, can then be used to calculate the location of where the missile was launched.
Investigations
Viseum Overguard is used to follow vehicles and groups of people escaping from where missiles are launched. This intelligence is also used to help identify locations where missiles, missile launcher equipment and ammunition may be stored.
Results
The solution was commissioned in 2020 and the customer’s training was completed at the same time. Viseum Overguard was used to mitigate six missile attacks. A ceasefire was agreed later that year and there have been no further attacks on the site. Over one twenty four hour period, eight missiles were launched at the site. These are examples of how the Viseum Overguard system was used to give early warning of incoming attacks:
One recorded attack. A Howitzer missile launch was detected by Viseum Overguard, and an alarm of an imminent attack reached every security guard on site within 3.5 seconds of the launch. The emergency situational awareness training gave the security team an extra 31 seconds to act.
Investigation – Viseum Overguard identified the location of where the missile was launched, with longitude and latitude coordinates. This was just under 18 km from the site. This led to the capture of an armoured missile carrier and the arrest of 16 insurgents.
A second recorded attack. A Grad missile launch was detected by Viseum Overguard, and an alarm reached the customer’s command control within 2.7 seconds of the launch. The emergency situational awareness training gave the security team an extra 12.5 seconds to act.
Investigation – Viseum Overguard identified the location of where the missile was launched, with longitude and latitude coordinates. This was about 5 km from the site. This led to the capture and arrest of 12 insurgents.
