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Newest force protection system named for mythological beast

Army News Service

Release Date: 5/17/2004

By Spc. Lorie Jewell

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Army News Service, May 17, 2004) - With a nod to Greek mythology, Army researchers and engineers touted the latest advancement in force protection in demonstrations on the Pentagon's parade field.

Cerberus is a tower-mounted sensor suite that uses several technologies to give those who guard installations, secure sites or tactical locations the ability to see and assess potential "beyond the fence" threats. In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a vicious beast with three heads of wild dogs, a serpent for a tail and the heads of snakes all over its back. It guarded the entrance to Hades.

"We didn't invent anything with this; what we've done is integrate several existing commercial and military technologies into one architecture,'' said Mike Jennings, deputy director for special products and prototyping in the Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Fort Belvoir, Va.

The suite consists of a tower that can extend up to 50-feet high and a ground-surveillance radar; day and night camera; video motion detectors; video camera with an adjustable zoom setting or a bore-sighted day/thermal camera, and up to 16 unattended ground sensors. Information is collected and sent to a computer display by a wireless Local Area Network, giving a guard a complete picture of what's going on beyond the perimeter. Everything is mounted on a lightweight trailer, allowing for easy mobility.

"A commander can stand in one place now and watch the whole perimeter,'' Jennings said. "This will really come into play for CSS (combat support services) units having to provide their own force protection."

With reductions in the number of reserve-component Soldiers providing security at stateside military installations, Jennings and others see Cerberus as a way to boost protection resources.

Officials will start using Cerberus by June and continue fielding it through the year at eight chemical storage facilities in the United States, Jennings said. Eventually, he anticipates seeing it used by Soldiers in field environments.