UAV Sniper

With Tenacious Automatic Precision

Shooting System (TAPSS)
White Paper

Sagetech Corporation
a small company

October 2006

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UAV Sniper
Sagetech Corporation introduces UAV Sniper, a highly accurate unmanned
combat air vehicle armed with a 50-caliber sniper weapon system. For the first time,
the tactical targeting precision of a field sniper team will be available in an unmanned
aerial platform. Employing long-range communication links, a mature system will be
operable day and night from control stations thousands of miles distant, undetectably
placing sniper shots with perfect confidence.
The long range precision shooting skills of the military sniper team have found
increasing utility in the urban combat environment of Iraq and sparsely populated
regions of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the speed and effectiveness of a sniper team is
limited by the need to find concealed firing locations in range of the adversary. The
remotely operated UAV Sniper system will remove this requirement while drastically
increasing capability and keeping the shooter out of harms way.
The effectiveness of the UAV Sniper vehicle will not be measured simply by the
number of casualties inflicted upon the enemy. Realization of the UAV Sniper's
presence would instil fear in enemy troops and influence their decisions and actions. In
a close air support role, the UAV Sniper would enhance a unit's firepower and augment
their means for destruction and harassment of the enemy. This role becomes more
significant when the target is entrenched or positioned among civilians where firing
automatic weapons would result in the wounding or killing of non-combatants.

UAV Sniper System

The UAV Sniper vehicle will be equipped with an inertially stabilized high
precision 50-caliber weapon system utilizing automated second-shot firing solution
correction to enable high confidence even at long range. We call the system the
Tenacious Automatic Precision Shooting System, or TAPSS.

Figure 1 UAV Sniper engages targets using the same sequence as human shooters, but much
faster and more accurately. The second shot is delivered only a few hundred msec after the
first shot hits. Aiming is based on the impact point of the first. Total engagement time is about
4 sec.
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A typical long range (700-1500m) TAPSS firing sequence consists of two shots,
the second automatically re-aimed based on the observed impact point of the first, to
reliably engage human sized targets (0.5 m diameter) at up to 1.5 km. At ranges less
than 700 m the weapon is likely to hit on the first shot and the automated re-aim
sequence is not required. Figure 1 depicts the TAPSS firing sequence.
The TAPSS weapon system automatic firing sequence functions similarly to the
way a human sniper team works. At long range, a first shot is likely to miss due to
errors in wind approximation, muzzle velocity, etc. A second shot in which the aim
point is adjusted based on the impact point of the first is likely to hit, provided
conditions and weapon characteristics remain consistent between shots. The
proposed system optically senses the impact point of the first shot, performs
adjustment calculation, and automatically delivers a second shot, adjusted to hit the
target.
The TAPSS system is much more accurate than a traditional human sniper
team for both the first and second shots fired, as shown in Figure 2 for a range of 1500
m. A traditional sniper weapon’s maximum range is typically limited to 600-800 m.
Kills have been recorded at longer ranges than this, but it is typically considered to be a
“lucky shot”. The TAPSS automated firing system pushes the useful range of the
sniper weapon out to 1500 m.
The TAPSS system benefits from wind, range, pressure and temperature
sensors to develop a highly accurate firing control solution to achieve a precise first
shot with a confidence of hit much greater than a human team. The automated system
can deliver a second shot more quickly than can a human team significantly limiting
random errors between shots. Reduced time between shots also decreases the
reaction time available to the target (if human).

Human Team Second

Shot, 95% Confidence
Human Team First
Shot, 95% Confidence

UAV Sniper with

TAPSS First Shot, 95% UAV Sniper with TAPSS
Confidence Second Shot, 95% Confidence

Figure 2 95% shot confidence bounds at a 1500 m slant range, and an altitude of 500 m. The
TAPSS full firing control system and automatic second-shot bias correction result in a
significantly smaller shot dispersion. We expect a 50% probability of hitting a human sized
target at this range. Human team accuracy based on ARL sniper error study1.

UAV Sniper Benefits

UAV Sniper will be a tactical multiplier offering an order of magnitude
improvement over conventional sniper teams. Early engagement is one of the benefits
of the system, with the ability to travel to a target within the operational radius at a 90-
130 km/h cruise and engage at a range of 1500 m. This is in stark contrast to a
conventional sniper team slowly moving from concealed location to concealed location.
This agility will allow UAV Sniper to take advantage of targets of opportunity that
current sniper teams are not capable of.
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UAV Sniper’s long loitering presence in the sky will allow it to act in a
reconnaissance role until needed as a tactical weapon. UAV Sniper’s presence in the
sky will always give its operators the coveted high ground resulting in improved
situational awareness.
UAV Sniper will also offer advantages over other Unmanned Combat Air
Vehicles (UCAVs). UCAVs armed with Hellfire missiles have proven to be very
effective, but a Hellfire missile is overkill in many situations. This is especially true
when civilians are in close proximity to the intended target. For these situations, an
accurately placed bullet will result in achieving the desired kill with a much lower risk of
collateral damage.
The UAV Sniper vehicle will likely have a similar vehicle cost to other highly
capable UAVs, but the ammunition cost will be much less than other UCAVs. Each 50-
caliber ammunition round will likely cost from $4 to $8, as opposed to a cost of $60,000
for each AGM-114 Hellfire missile. UAV sniper will also have a relatively large number
of stowed kills; about 100 50-caliber rounds versus 2-4 Hellfire missiles for other
UCAVs.

UAV Sniper with Conventional Existing

TAPSS Sniper Team UCAVs
Awareness Eye in the sky Stationary sniper team Eye in the sky
has limited situational
awareness
Speed 90-130 km/h, can 2-3 km/h march 130 km/h
reach combat zone in
minutes.
Engagement 1500 m 600-800 m 8 km
Range
Cost Up-front same as Sniper teams require Up-front cost same
existing UCAVs a high degree of as UAV Sniper
training.
Ammunition $4-$8 per round $4-$8 per round $60,000 per AGM-
114 Hellfire missile

Table 1 Comparison of Sagetech’s UAV Sniper with TAPSS to the present day alternatives,
conventional sniper teams, and heavily armed UCAVs.

DARPA Seedling Investigation

Sagetech is nearing completion of a DARPA seedling investigation into the
feasibility of the UAV Sniper vehicle concept. The major goals of this seedling
investigation were to identify the major risks in vehicle development and to conduct
analysis and experiments to mitigate those risks. Several of the key technologies
necessary to the operation of the UAV Sniper vehicle were proven feasible in this
seedling investigation.

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One of the keys to the long range accuracy of the system is the ability to
optically sense the impact point of the first shot, perform an adjustment calculation, and
automatically deliver a second shot, adjusted to hit the target. As part of the seedling
program, Sagetech developed and demonstrated a proprietary video algorithm that
senses a bullet impact as displayed in Figure 3. The algorithm successfully detected
100% of shots in sand, dirt, and other materials using spotter rounds. Further
algorithm advancements will be made to pinpoint the exact shot location.

Impact Detected

Figure 3 – Sagetech bullet impact detection algorithm. The TAPSS system utilizes bullet impact
detection to compensate for bias errors increasing second shot accuracy.
The TAPSS system automated firing sequence will use inertial feedback (as
opposed to video feedback from an operator) to aim all shots after the first. Inertial
aiming of a 50-caliber weapon was demonstrated using pitch, yaw and roll gyros
mounted to the weapon. An aiming accuracy of 60 µrad was achieved using
commercial off the shelf fiber optic gyros. This accuracy would be sufficient for a
fielded system.
Additional system risks such as actuation requirements, engine and turbulence
disturbance attenuation, meteorology sensor requirements, rifle recoil and ammunition
requirements were also analyzed. All analysis and experiments completed for the
DARPA seedling study demonstrated that the UAV Sniper vehicle is feasible.

Summary
Increasingly, conflict scenarios involve the use of force in dense, population-
heavy environments, where the negative publicity of misplaced weaponry could have
profound implications for public opinion and policy. One of the greatest advantages of
the UAV Sniper system is the confidence that it can offer a decision-maker confronted
with using force in circumstances where so-called ‘collateral damage’ would be either
unacceptable or call into question the viability of continued military action. The UAV
Sniper platform will offer the ground commander precision close air support especially
suitable for urban operations where non-combatants or friendly elements are in close
proximity to hostile targets.
Building on the success of the DARPA seedling program, Sagetech is prepared
to continue the development of the UAV Sniper vehicle. The technologies refined
during this process will bring the full capabilities of the UAV Sniper vehicle to fruition.

1
Wahlde, Raymond Von, Metz, Dennis, “Sniper Weapon Fire Control Error Budget
Analysis,” Army Research Laboratory Report number ARL-TR-2065, August 1999.

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