Conventional C 4I networks have been built on top of military communications systems, linking sensors, weapons and command posts. Recent developments in the technology that improve its ease of use, coupled with the increasing digitization of the battlefield, however, are extending the capabilities and benefits of C 4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) down to individual soldiers.
U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will soon have a new tool in the ongoing effort to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Defense Dept. announced last month that it has awarded two contracts totaling $145 million to EDO Corp. and its subsidiary Impact Science & Technology (IST), for 1,100 CREW 2.1 anti-IED units. CREW is an acronym for Counter Radio-controlled IED Electronic Warfare system. EDO's contract is valued at $88 million, while IST's is worth $57 million. Each suitcase-size CREW unit fits in a vehicle and is powered by the engine alternator.
French naval shipbuilder DCNS is in discussions with a number of navies to test the market for its SMX-23 littoral submarine design that was unveiled in October. The company believes there are navies in the Middle East, South and East Asia, South America and Northern Europe that either do not operate submarines today or will seek a more affordable submarine capability through the next decades.
Two years ago, the threat from improvised explosive devices in Iraq prompted the U.S. military to begin hauling more war supplies by air. This plus recent "surge" operations have exacerbated problems with aging tactical airlift fleets. The aging process will accelerate because of plans to increase Army and Marine Corps strength by more than 90,000, leaving fewer aircraft to support more troops.
A recent development on surface combatants is the integrated mast, which combines antenna arrays for radar, electronic warfare and communications in one module. The mast enhances a ship's stealth profile while reducing or eliminating problems typical of multimast topsides: electromagnetic interference between transmitters and receivers, and blind areas in sensor coverage. Europe's largest shipbuilder, DCNS of France, will use the integrated mast on Gowind/Fastwind missile corvettes.
A consortium of South African companies led by Saab Avitronics is developing an active protection system for land vehicles that, by 2009, could be available in a version capable of defeating rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. The system may even be able to intercept 120-mm. tank rounds by 2010, company officials claim.
The U.S. Justice Dept. in March fined ITT Corp. $100 million for illegally sending classified components of night-vision goggles to China, Singapore and the U.K. for assembly. The violation took place between March and August 2001. The action makes ITT the first major defense contractor to violate the U.S. Arms Export Control Act. Half the fine will be a "deferred prosecution penalty," which the company can pay down over five years through company-funded R&D to improve night-vision technology for U.S. forces.
The United Arab Emirates wants to acquire two frigate-sized surface combatants with substantial anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Together with six 72-meter (236-ft.) Baynunah-class missile corvettes currently under construction, these will become the backbone of the country's future blue-water capability.
Space is a vacuum that's rapidly filling with junk-at least near Earth. Hundreds of satellites launched into orbit since Sputnik lifted off 50 years ago have disintegrated, creating a field of debris that affects the ability of scientists to track orbiting platforms and detect missiles and other threats. Experts are developing techniques to sort through the clutter.
Swarming Success British defense company Qinetiq has proven that it’s possible to fly several unmanned aerial vehicles together like a swarm of bees—a long-sought capability in UAV development. Close-formation flying requires a level of control and autonomy not yet seen in UAVs, and is an achievement that’s considered significant.
Biometrics Brigade The Office of the Secretary of Defense is asking Congress to fund its first biometrics program under the deputy undersecretary of Defense for science and technology. If funded—$8 million for Fiscal 2008, rising to $15 million in FY 2013—the program could focus on new biometric markers such as subdermal vascular patterns (i.e., veins), DNA sampling, voice recognition, gait recognition and even ear patterns. Tom Dee, director of Defense Dept.
A week into the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Terry Ferrell, commanding a squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment belonging to the 3rd Infantry Div., was ordered to advance on an Iraqi tank battalion that was under attack by coalition warplanes. The difficulty of remote battle-damage assessment meant that putting soldiers on the killing field was the best way to know if the air raids were working. But after a solid week of combat, only a tiny force could be spared to assess the raids.
The Pentagon has made official an important change of direction in the way that it wants software designers to build the Defense Dept.'s information systems and support its move toward network-centric military operations. A technical document called the Dept. of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF), in its newly released 1.5 version, pushes developers toward the use of "service-oriented architectures."
Features hybrid subs 24 Air-independent propulsion extends performance and stealth of diesel-electric boats. big and bad 28 The infantry fighting vehicle muscles up to meet new battlefield demands. fast craft 33 Pentagon sees potential in high-speed vessels, yet they remain mostly experimental. hard landing 36 A joint tactical airlift program makes sense for U.S. forces, but can't outfly interservice differences.
Performance on Demand The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has plans to test an adaptive engine by 2012 that would enable aircraft to switch from high-speed combat maneuvers to long-range persistence mode. The move is significant given the U.S. Air Force’s focus on developing a long-range bomber. AFRL issued a broad agency announcement in January to demonstrate this revolutionary engine under the program name Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology, or Advent.
An incorrect dateline was listed on the Global Dispatches article "Changing Planes" (DTI March, p. 15). David Axe reported and wrote the story from Washington.
The Italian army begins operational testing of its new Future Soldier concept by midyear, having completed evaluation and acceptance trials of a technology demonstrator kit developed by a consortium led by Finmeccanica Selex Communications, with Galileo Avionica, Beretta, Sistemi Compositi and Aero Secur. The demand for enhanced soldier equipment is pushing the Italian defense ministry to accelerate the program. Some 100 full kits are being procured to complete operational testing and qualification of the system by the end of the year.
Robot Morphology Robots can do amazing things such as disrupt improvised explosive devices, explore caves for bombs and bad guys and carry hefty payloads over rugged terrain. What they can’t do is change shape and slither through spaces smaller than themselves. Now, however, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is asking, “All sorts of animals, insects and undersea creatures do this, why can’t robots?” The agency reached deep into its bag of novel ideas when it announced the new Chemical Robots program in March.
A drastic rethinking of operational doctrine, along with new ways of using troops, weapons and information, will be necessary if the West is to be successful in fighting asymmetric adversaries. The battlefields on which Western armies wage war against ideologically driven, stateless enemies are fluid, multi-dimensional and without boundaries or borders. To dominate in this changing era of warfare, forces must embrace new tactical and strategic concepts and be mindful of the role opinion plays in determining which side wins and loses a conflict.
Three years ago, a U.S. Defense Science Board panel told then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that "the global war on terror cannot be won without a Manhattan Project-like" program capable of "tagging, tracking and locating" suspects worldwide. That same year, the Defense Dept.'s Biometrics Fusion Center created the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to collect suspects' photographs, fingerprints and iris scans.
Israel deals with daunting challenges in guarding against seaborne threats. Its coastline is only 190 km. (118 mi.) long, which puts it in close proximity to hostile neighbors, and to bases that serve as launch sites for terrorists or destinations for weapons smuggling. When suspicious activities are detected, response time is short--commanders usually have less than five minutes to track, assess and react to threats. Spending constraints, moreover, limit the amount of equipment and manpower available to the navy and other units for coastal defense.
The U.S. military continues to experiment with catamarans and other fast vessels for a variety of missions, from short-range transport to mine warfare and even Special Forces support. But rising costs and a squeeze on the Navy's shipbuilding budget, plus the Army's and Air Force's heavy investment in aircraft performing many of the same missions, have perhaps softened enthusiasm to transition the "Joint High-Speed Vessel" concept into a procurement program.
Defense Technology International is on the move. We welcome a new Editor-in-Chief this month, veteran aerospace writer and defense industry observer Bill Sweetman. Bill introduces himself and his goals for DTI on p. 50.
Tracking Evacuees A new web-based product converts military methods used to track U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan into a homeland security device for evacuees from natural and man-made disasters. The Evacuee Tracking Application, or ETA, by Washington-based SPS, is a rugged handheld computer that provides bidirectional information flow between emergency operations centers and field personnel with broadcast messaging, e-mail and cellular communications.
