Future Soldier by Jan Sidorownin

Special issue edited by Civil Defence Revue (Przeglad Obrony Cywilnej)

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wrzesień 09/2012

przegląd obrony cywilnej

2012

Future Soldier 17-19 October Prague

ISW Individual Combat System

For soldiers operating in a group or independently. The aim of the system is to enhance combat capabilities, effectiveness and safety of soldiers by equipping them with inter-operating systems: - weapons and ammunition, - protection and camouflage, - observation and reconnaissance, - communication and command, optimised for the task. The devices and components of the system provide: enhanced ‘situation awareness’ by the use of: - opto-electronic observation-reconnaissance devices - active audio systems to detect and analyse sounds - secure and jamming-resistant short and long range communication system - multimedia information exchange (sound, image, synthetic data) between team members and the command, - systems for exchange and synthesis of external information from co-working reconnaissance devices such as battlefield robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, - specialised ‘soldier-system’ interface. improved fire effectiveness by: - integration of weapons and ammunition with devices for observation, identification and aiming, into an armament system that provides higher precision and effectiveness of fire, - use of smart ammunition, - introduction of modular weapons that allow better adaptation to tasks. Improved soldier security by: - appropriate masking in a broad spectrum of electromagnetic and acoustic waves, - safe IFF system, - highly resistant ballistic covers of special design, - soldier’s health monitoring and auto-assistance systems, - optimisation of the equipment for mobility and ergonomics. System features: - systematic solution – the ISW is a system of cooperating systems that covers with its features all phases of soldier’s life: initial and advanced training, combat operations, resting. It covers the entire life cycle of the product from creation, through operation and maintenance, servicing and consumables, upgrading, to disposal. - ergonomics – optimisation for the needs and abilities of a soldier in terms of ease of operation resulting from the physique, habits, information assimilation, number of actions, mobility, weight, thermal comfort, ease of putting on and off, - flexibility – system composition depending on needs from a set of compatible devices, subassemblies, elements, modules, - modular structure – repeated use of typical modules and elements in various devices to provide higher reliability and reduced production and operation costs, - integrality – all functional subsystems are integrated with the soldier’s clothing and armament, which makes the system assembly natural and traditional, composed of: - headgear: helmet with opto-electronic equipment, - integrated tactical vest with C4I elements, - tactical dress with protective covers and health condition sensors, - armament and ammunition system. www.magazyn-poc.pl

XXI Century soldier

XXI CENTURY SOLDIER

Future Soldier 17-19 October Prague

“If you want to live in peace, prepare for war”, this ancient adage is

Poland is a relatively safe country, and our security is built by political methods and guaranteed by alliances. This means that we, too, have allied obligations, so even the remotest armed conflicts in the world might require our engagement.

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still valid. And although we hope that wars will not affect us, we have to be prepared for them if this is to be true.

In any armed conflict the equipment of soldiers and their training are the decisive factors for their effectiveness and safety. Superiority in the battlefield is decided by the technological superiority of the country. One can say that the battle for it is fought today in universities, scientific institutions and modern production facilities that work for the state defence. Weapons of the future are modern technologies. Many of us ask ourselves what a future battlefield might look like. Trends in technology development suggest approaching the literary visions of ‘robot wars’. Development of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, more and more often armed by their makers with grenade launchers, machine guns etc. turns them into formidable weapons. But regardless of the weapon used, wars will be fought by people and it is their equipment, training and motivation that will decide the effects of the fight. Victory will always be marked by presence of soldiers, who have to be allowed operation with maximum effect at minimum effort or danger. For many years combat systems have been developed in the world that would use latest technologies to provide the soldier with superhuman ability of perception, speed and effectiveness of action and indestructibility. The programmes are covered by a common name of Soldier of the Future Systems. They are mainly aimed at upgrading the equipment of ground forces, particularly of the traditional ‘infantry’, the latter’s operations being more and more inseparably linked with such terms as network-centred environment (simply speaking a cooperation of all services by exchanging information) or cyberspace (that covers operations in the virtual information space, consisting in acquisition, processing, distorting, or jamming the information). www.magazyn-poc.pl

xxi Century soldier

WIML (Wojskowy Instytut Medycyny Lotniczej; Military Institute of Aeronautical Medicine), as well as WB Group companies. The unique consortium combines the enormous potential of Bumar, Poland’s largest national arms supplier, the energy of the privately owned WB Group companies, and the knowledge and R&D potential of military institutes and academies. Currently the consortium is led by Bumar zołnierz (Bumar Soldier). Against an order from the Armament Policy Department of the Polish MoD, in 2010 the consortium has prepared specifications for the development of the system. Although this work has been completed, its members continue to cooperate, developing the concept and components of the system, as they believe that the programme is stimulating for technological development and integrating for Polish scientific-industrial potential. The soldier of the future equipment system development programme is an interdisciplinary development programme that covers all areas and phases of a soldier’s life from recruitment, through selection, training and combat, up to the return into the society. The programme includes

And even though the most spectacular progress has been achieved in systems of observation, communication and command that allow the soldier to see in total darkness, to detect and identify the enemy at substantial ranges, to transmit images or directly control soldier operations from long distance, the up-to-date armament systems result from work of scientists and experts in many areas. Modern armament systems are developed, carbines, pistols, grenade launchers with ammunition that allows precision fire against enemy even behind protective covers. Ergonomic systems of ballistic protection are developed to protect soldiers from projectiles or shrapnel, while maintaining the ability to move quickly. Modern thermoactive clothing with bio-static coat ensure soldier comfort and hygiene, maintaining skin bacterial flora at correct level. The dress starts to play additional roles of monitoring the soldier’s psychophysical condition and automatically providing first medical aid. Camouflaging systems are developed that make a soldier difficult to detect. A system of this kind has also been developed in Poland under the programme code-named TYTAN. Since 2009 the development of the new system has been carried out by an interdisciplinary consortium, which includes companies of the Bumar Group, the WAT (Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna; Military Institute of Technology), WIHE (Wojskowy Instytut Higieny i Epidemiologii; Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology),

Future Soldier 17-19 October Prague

or will include development of, among others, medical packages, food packages, training, clothing, and protection systems, armament and ammunition systems, soldiersystem interfaces, and battlefield robots. This is an enormous enterprise that can have a stimulating effect on the development of Poland’s science and technology. Once can say that a ‘Polish school’ of building a soldier-centred system has been established. It stresses that the soldier is the key element of the system, with his capabilities, abilities, habits and limitations. Ergonomics, flexibility and modularity of the system are features that, according to the system concept, allow improving soldiers’ combat capabilities. This allows to avoid overburdening soldiers with unnecessary gadgets straight from science-fiction movies. According to the specifications the aim is to compose an equipment system from a pre-prepared set of compatible elements and blocks. A significant proportions of the devices in the functional group is built from the same basic modules. This allows minimised production and operation costs.

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www.magazyn-poc.pl

xxi century soldier

and new devices created that can find application in other uniformed and emergency services, as well as in everyday life. Modern observation and reconnaissance components and systems developed by Bumar zołnierz (formerly PCO) can be used by the police, fire-fighters, mining rescue teams etc. Innovativeness of the solutions is an effect of engagement in R&D work carried out in Poland and abroad. As part of the project new power supply sources and methods, secure data transfer systems and methods of information protection and imagery, robots, individual vehicles and transport systems are developed that will find use in many areas of everyday life.

Armament systems are ‘sewn to measure’, literally and metaphorically. Each user of the system is scanned in a special chamber, which allows to make the suit and optimise the protection system. Equipment and systems are customised for right- or left-handers and this allows to customise these (choice and layout of equipment) to individual preferences of a soldier. Elementary and advanced training systems are not forgotten, being integrated with the basic combat equipment, which ensures forming of proper habits and behaviour using the same combat equipment. Virtual battlefield, battlefield simulators with generators of virtual space, war games, all are future training systems to which the individual soldier’s equipment and combat system developed by the consortium is suited. The development of systems for the soldier of the future can bring profit not only to its makers. By development of the soldier of the future programme new technologies are developed

ahead project

AHEAD PRO The project of individual soldierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s combat equipment called AHEAD, developed by the ITWL (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych; Air Force Technical Institute) will certainly prove itself not only with the armed forces, but also with anti-terrorist forces or with security agencies at mass events.

A briefing. Anti-terrorists receive memory cards with the software essential for their action, which they insert in their personal terminals and report readiness to perform the mission. These include, among others, maps of the area, satellite photos and data necessary to accomplish the action. Everybody is connected to the communications system, and a camera fitted on the helmet of one of the security agents or carried together with weapons allows

the action management or the persons who supervise its course to monitor it in real time and intervene in the case of inappropriate or unplanned action that might happen sometimes in the heat of the action when emotions are released and constant tension is present. Until recently we have watched such scenes in futuristic films about James Bond or special forces operations. This kind of tele-IT systems, developed for individual soldier operation, were created for the

Warriors of the future

Wlodzimierz Kaleta

Future Soldier 17-19 October Prague

JECT military, but their designers believe they will equally prove themselves in operations of special police and anti-terrorist forces or even security agents.

Polish Matrix Already in 2008 the ITWL has been invited to the international consortium working for the European Defence Agency on a project of individual soldier’s equipment called AHEAD (Advanced HElmet And Devices for individual protection). The work was coordinated by the Italian Galileo Selex company, and it was aimed at a man’s enhanced capability in a battlefield. The project included, among others, expanding a soldier’s equipment with a broad range of optical, biological-chemical and radiological sensors and with sniper detection, or even health condition monitoring systems. Apart from the ITWL, other Polish participants of the consortium included the WAT (Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna; Military Institute of Technology) and

the Industrial Institute of Automatics and Measurements (Przemysłowy Instytut Automatyki i Pomiarów). The ITWL designers were responsible for development and construction of a technology demonstrator for opto-electronic (IR) sensors. For the AHEAD project they have displayed a sensor integration technology demonstrator. This allowed creation of, among others, the command, location, identification and communication subsystems for a soldier in the battlefield and integration of sensors with a stress on IR imaging. The system allows location and identification of friendly soldiers, as well as commanding and reporting with use of standard messages used in tactical data exchange networks ( Link-16). These allow sending information between networks while maintaining all military procedures without fear of losing or distorting the information. Data can be transferred to an individual terminal via military radio sets with encryption, civil radios, Wi-Fi networks, Tetra radio networks, mobile phone networks, or even SMS. The user’s receiver can be of any type, as the transmission medium for the system customises the software installed in the imaging device. This allows using old radio networks. It is one of major arguments for the ability to use the equipment by police or security agents. Radio transmitters currently used by soldiers, but which may also find their way to other services and agencies, can connect with the HQ that acts as an integrator, cooperating with the superior command system (C4ISR). The faster the transmission medium, the more users can be served, even in excess of 500.

To everyone something they need Multiple sensors can be connected to such command system. For soldiers these can even be radar stations, depending on the integrator used between 8 and over 200, for a policeman or security agent a GPS. www.magazyn-poc.pl

AHEAD PROJECT

GPS precision

In the armed forces such a system makes it possible to connect a patrol of soldiers with fighter pilots on CAS mission, in other uniformed services the system can, for example, connect an anti-terrorist group with co-operating helicopters. They will all work in Link-16 message standard, and the connection will have the same protection clause. Should the clauses be different, the user of the terminal will still be able to provide pilots (higher clause system users) the coordinates of the target. Each user equipped with such command system becomes a sensor. He can mark on the map in his terminal the positions of enemy objects spotted

visually (using binoculars) and describe them in accordance with Link-16 message system, and then send. Without rangefinders, radars, it can pinpoint objects with GPS precision. “The system would prove itself both in the armed forces and security services, and even with security agents at mass events. this is how I see this: the security agency at a stadium has maps of the venue and surrounding area installed in user terminals. When needed, each agent receives commands from his superiors where to go and what to do. And commanders know were their subordinates are and how they can be used. In real time. This command system allows better action coordination, increased precision and dynamics” Dr Jarosław Sulkowski from ITWL’s C4ISR Systems Integration Department advertises the system to prospective non-military users. For the engineers at ITWL the ability to use self-configuring networks of small sensors (acoustic, seismic) dispersed around the posts or bases in such a system is no longer futuristic fiction. These would alert one supervisor (sentry) that something is happening in the area. Users of the system also get the ability to use the advantages of thermal vision, even if only one of them should have a thermal vision sight or camera. It is sufficient for him to provide information about spotted thermal trace or object in the network for everybody to have access to a more extensive tactical situation image. The system is modular, so only those modules that are really necessary should be taken into action. Such as the observation, monitoring of life functions or thermal vision module.

The integrator consists of three modules: an interface for acquisition of data from various sources, bases of data collected to create a picture of tactical situation, and the command module. An ordinary soldier does not access this, though, as it is located at the HQ. Users who take direct part in action have at their disposal the user’s set: means of communication, a power source, a terminal, and sensors. The terminal can be, for example, a PDA or a mobile phone fitted with a memory card with the software installed. The commercial PDA terminal has the advantage of checking the available transmission types, it has built-in Wi-Fi, GPRS and Bluetooth modems. The designers have assumed that the terminal should work in two modes: as a receiver of commands for a soldier under command (the user can see his own tasks and tasks of his neighbours, has situation awareness) and as a commander’s terminal that allows to prepare and send commands to his subordinates. In the demonstrator from ITWL the user can select one of four kinds of tactical situation imaging: maps, photos linked to geographical grid, object diagrams (these can be sent to him as required), relative (showing positions of other participants of the action relative to each other based on own position and those sent in by other users). Photos reaching to the user are ready for use. Cryptographic protection of the system is provided by an encrypting module in the radio set or software encryption in the user’s terminal. Communication is possible between systems of various clauses. Information then flows from a lower clause system to a higher one; the opposite flow will be blocked. Soldiers on patrol need no access to information that is state secret.

PERUN Project by Cenrex

‘PERUN’ Project

Mission and Project objectives

Each future soldier project has similar objectives to provide warfighters with high degree of agility, survivability, interoperability and mobility, yet Special Forces operators could merge all these elements to a most complicated level and then confront it with situations of extreme environments, where not bullets or IEDs are most imminent threats, but… lack of oxygen to breath. Since 1989 Cenrex has been supplying Polish military and law enforcement special forces with equipment and systems ranging from weapons, C4ISTAR, ballistic protection, parachutes and many others. We perfectly understand, that even smallest piece of equipment can have tremendous impact on whole mission. Main IED are now probably biggest threats for soldiers, difference in PERUN moving vehicles (mounted ops) should be with objective is in fact its minializing weight also through fast unloading of basic concept of consiequipment carried by soldiers (ammo, communications, dering soldier and his personal items). Within ‘PERUN’ project we offer equipment and systems advanced vest and dedicated load carrying back-panel in broader perspective. One would be cognitive systems with profiled amortization structures.

Direct cognitive integration (target acquisition) in given situation using laser systems, interacting soldiers-target-systems (beside soldier-target-soldier). Within PERUN project we offer broad range of pointer-illuminator laser systems from BE Meyers.

‘PERUN’ - Polish Elite WarrioRs UNlimited [Capabilities] Project is an answer to the paramount - and still growing importance of military and law enforcement special forces in contemporary architecture of the national security system.

Future Soldier 17-19 October Prague

(personal – soldier centric) – treating users as member of team/squad with particular tasks and capabilities. Second - systematic (layered – system centric) - as element of systems, embracing environment, command chain etc., each having particular features that need assets (controlled directly on non-directly) to respond to them. Another factor taken seriously into account is affordability from perspective of funds, but also time needed to fully and efficiently implement new solution and to manage interactions this could cause to other elements. So that PERUN is to give unlimited capabilities to special forces, where for example sky is neither the limit for soldiers (HALO/HAHO jumping) or systems for communications (OTH reach) from perspective of structural features of organization faced with different and dynamically evolving threats enabling immediate knowledge distribution and selection of means to react.

on combat and/or transport platforms (whether these are on ground, in air or on sea). Elements taken into project embrace also training, operations in low signature regimes (RF, visual, sound), scuba diving, combat search and rescue etc. Almost anything can happen on battlefield and while SF should be ready, we are to develop and provide best solutions so they can protect us and accomplish all missions successfully. ‘PERUN’ is developed gradually and new elements are brought into project mainly as spin-off to previous projects. So that optronics layer would be built around user feedback on rifles and approach to

Challenges and resources Modern battlefield is tricky and very demanding for soldiers, especially those on peace-making and peace-keeping operations, which require first of all intensive use of special forces as the best asset in asymmetric warfare. It requires implementation of broad spectrum of solutions (equipment and processes with high level of mutual interactions) to enable soldiers efficient accomplishment of tasks. ‘PERUN’ is not a project just to digitalize soldiers and command processes as main way to answer different challenges and increase operational capabilities. Beside systems formal, vertical integration (with proxies – communications equipment) ‘PERUN’ vastly embraces also cognitive, horizontal integration (embracing direct perception – warfighters perspective) combining kinetic and non-kinetic interactions aimed to maximize each factor giving decisive superiority on battlefield through full cognitive control over present and potential threats. ‘PERUN’ covers dismounted and mounted operations

www.magazyn-poc.pl

PERUN Project by Cenrex

Data, maps and images dissemination for knowledge sharing (reconnaissance, intelligence and ops support) available globally for users in the field and gathered globally for commanders in the centers. Over the horizon reach ability at lowest level is a cornerstone of PERUN C4ISTAR layer. For the most demanding users we’ve delivered state of the art rugged, man-portable (back pack) VRT-100 BGAN terminals from ViaSat.

tions, vehicles, modular and reliable C4ISTAR systems, counter-IED systems, we hope to continue our role as soldier’s ally not only supplier. And please, don’t think just of actions somewhere on Middle East or Asia, try to guess how many kilograms of narcotics were intercepted recently by brave people from various agencies ensuring daily safety of you and your family..

Offering comprehensive solution with both soldier centric and network centric approach embracing weapons and ammunition, special tactical vests and dedicated load carrying solu-

Extremely hostile environment… with no enemy, because lack of oxygen for normal breathing. Within ‘PERUN’ project we offer broad range of systems for HALO-HAHO jumps from companies CPS, COBHAM, AAD and others.

load bearing equipment resulting from transport in IED attacked vehicle. All that additionally takes into account carrying solutions for voice and data networking devices within MANET featuring system with OTH reach. These elements would be then analyzed from perspective of real combat situations ‘eyes on target versus eyes on display’. Eventually, all challenges and resources to respond to them are concentrated on most important factor – warfighter and his team.

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