This paper addresses the problem of engineering energy-efficient target detection applications, using unattended Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) with random node deployment and partial coverage, for long-lasting surveillance of areas of interest. As battery energy depletion is a crucial issue, an effective approach consists in switching on and off, according to proper duty cycles, sensing and communication modules of wireless sensor nodes. Making these modules work in an intermittent fashion has an impact on (i) the latency of notification transmission (depending on the communication duty cycle), (ii) the probability of missed target detection (depending on the number of deployed nodes, the sensing duty cycle, and the number of incoming targets), and (iii) the delay in detecting an incoming target. In order to optimize the system parameters to reach given performance objectives, we first derive an analytical framework which allows us to evaluate the probability of missed target detection (in the presence of either single or multiple incoming targets), the notification transmission latency, the detection delay, and the network lifetime. Then, we show how this “toolbox” can be used to optimally configure system parameters under realistic performance constraints.