A Review of the Role of Acoustic Sensors in the Modern Battlefield

Acoustic sensors have been used for battlefield applications since World War I. Acoustic sensors provide several advantages and are increasingly employed in the modern high-tech battlefield. The twenty-first century battlefield calls for cutting-edge technology for military superiority and deployment of state-of-the-art acoustic sensor systems that employ advanced acoustic signal processing. Thus acoustic sensing technology is becoming increasingly important to accomplish this superiority. The utilization of several acoustic sensor systems dating from the early 1900s to the present is reviewed. The role of acoustic sensor technology in military exercises for ground-based, aerial, and naval combat is discussed. A detailed review of acoustic signal processing and the different stages involved—sound rejection, detection, localization, classification and cancellation—is presented. The advantages and disadvantages of using acoustic technology for potential battlefield applications are presented, and the potential role to be played by acoustics in future warfare is also discussed.