Investigation of Acoustic Source Localization algorithm performances for Gunshot Localization on helicopters

Self-defense solutions on current aircraft usually handle advanced weapons while most helicopters down or damaged are known to be attacked from ground using rifles or Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG). Although there are ground based localization solutions for Small Arms Fire (SAF) attacks, there are only a few implementations of onboard applications. A simple Acoustic Source Localization (ASL) application employs a microphone array for collecting audio signals, so as to locate sound sources using the measurements from the sound field. The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of Acoustic Gunshot Localization on helicopters by examining domain-specific signal amplitude and frequency characteristics and simulating three different acoustic source localization algorithms' operation under these conditions.