Wired for sound: Acoustic Week at Eglin

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  "Data On" crackles out of a radio through the sticky August air.

With that alert, technicians, engineers and programmers stand quiet and still beside their sound instruments that are set up along the Eglin range. An Army Blackhawk flies low over a tree line toward these devices so they can record every piece of sound the helicopter emits.

The "Data off" call from the radio breaks the silence and the recorders can move around again adjusting their equipment for another pass. This is "Acoustic Week" here at Eglin.

Acoustic Week, actually a three-week project hosted by the 46th Test Squadron and Project Chicken Little, is a cost-shared opportunity between the government and customers to collect specific and general sound data from ground and aerial vehicles. The event began July 29 and ends Aug. 15.

For the Eglin units, both the static and dynamic scenarios are used to gather seeker/sensor data, assess weapon and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system performance, and collect signature data for analysis and algorithm development, according to 1st Lt. Danielle Prieto, with the 46th TS.

"Acoustic week is a tremendous opportunity for Team Eglin," said Todd Dulle, the 46th TS test engineer with Project Chicken Little. "Half of the participants have never tested at Eglin and this gives them a taste of what Eglin can offer. Most of the participants have very little in their budget for the collection of this type of data. The whole concept of cost leveraging the funding provided by Project Chicken Little gives a tremendous benefit to the whole community. No one organization typically has the budget to control the acoustic environment and allow the high quality of data that is being collected."

Approximately 13 customers ranging from defense contractor, Northrop Grumman, to the Navy and NASA collect varying types of data from weather and frequency signatures to even seismic data from vibrations below the surface of the earth. Helicopters, large military vehicles and tanks provided the sounds for recording.

The helicopters made various low altitude passes over the equipment at different speeds, and the ground vehicles changed their speeds and RPMs to provide more variations in their sounds.

"Acoustic Week enables us to gain access to targets we wouldn't have the opportunity to test otherwise," said Chris Sermarini of the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Panama City Division. "While we do similar testing on our own base, we don't have the option to do as many passes on select targets as we can do here, thanks to this event. Acoustic Week allows a lot of organizations to collect data on targets that in the end will save a lot of money. Our findings during this event will make a big difference in our research as we continue to test and develop new technology."

The alternate event, "Sensor Week," which focuses on signature measurements in radar, synthetic aperture radar images, cameras, and infrared realms, is scheduled to occur next year.

"Between airspace management, target support and ground support, we have the best test organization in the Air Force," said Dulle. "Many of the participants of Acoustic Week will return to Eglin for further testing to collect additional acoustic data for their data libraries, refine their algorithms, or just to test their sensors against real operationally representative targets."