All Weather Sniper Scope

The Global War on Terror continues to present US Special Operations teams and conventional infantry units with force protection and counter-insurgency challenges requiring precision long-range sniper capability. Extending this capability to degraded visual environments (fog, haze, night) would provide an important added combat feature. The All Weather Sniper Scope (AWSS) Program will develop and demonstrate a sniper sight that enables shooters to see through fog and haze and provide increased range, accuracy and lethality in low visibility conditions. The AWSS program will leverage unique new image processing techniques to enhance low contrast images, and will develop a prototype rifle-mounted sniper scope that provides real-time image enhancement in degraded visibility conditions, and extends the effective combat range for the shooter. The AWSS image enhancement and range extension performance will be demonstrated with both visible and thermal sights. Initial experiments will use brass-board configurations with real-time image processing, to demonstrate basic feasibility of a factor of ten improvement in effective combat range in degraded visual environments. This will be followed by repackaging and productizing the brass-board systems into two rifle-mounted prototype systems, which will be used in full performance testing.