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June 2013 Volume 4, Issue 2
Features
Cover / Q&A
SafeGuarding Warriors’ Heads The warrior headgear of choice has come a long way from the steel pots of prior wars. We look at new materials and systems that offer greater protection and advanced comfort for combatants. By John M. Doyle
U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Special two-page pictorial spread featuring HQ leaders and directorates.
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16 Kevin M. Fahey
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Equipping warriors Top-ranked military procurement leaders tell Congress equipment for warriors has improved enormously in the past decade of war, but further innovative advancements are critically needed. BY DAVE AHEARN
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Handheld Comms We look at the latest in communications and how they provide the information edge for warfighters, giving them lifesaving intel on enemy locations and more. By Marc Selinger
Departments 2 Editor’s Perspective 3 intel 4 People 14 Innovations 25 Technology Intel 27 Resource Center
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While it is critical for combatants in transit to maintain situational awareness by scanning the surrounding terrain, the windows they peer through must protect well against incoming enemy fire. We discover how much progress is being made in transparent armor. By Henry Canaday
Logistics support training is just as critical to the mission as the training provided to soldiers for battlefield operations. Step into the boots of a supply sergeant and find out why. BY CALVIN PILGRIM AND KATHRYN BAILEY
Transparent Armor
Logistics Simulation
Industry Interview Kathryn B. Hasse
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Director, Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Program Director, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Lockheed Martin
PEO Combat Support & Combat Service Support
“Two things about the future are certain: Some of the threats will be different, but some of the platforms we have will be the same. Only with a long-term view of priorities, threats, requirements and opportunities can we best make decisions about capability sustainment and modernization investments.” – Kevin M. Fahey
EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE
Ground Combat Technology Volume 4, Issue 2 • June 2013
The Publication of Distinction for the Maneuver Warfighter Editorial Editor Jeff Campbell jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com Managing Editor Harrison Donnelly harrisond@kmimediagroup.com Online Editorial Manager Laura Davis laurad@kmimediagroup.com Copy Editors Sean Carmichael seanc@kmimediagroup.com Laural Hobbes lauralh@kmimediagroup.com Correspondents Dave Ahearn • Kathryn Bailey • Henry Canaday John M. Doyle • Calvin Pilgrim • Marc Selinger
Art & Design Art Director Jennifer Owers jennifero@kmimediagroup.com Senior Graphic Designer Jittima Saiwongnuan jittimas@kmimediagroup.com Graphic Designers Scott Morris scottm@kmimediagroup.com Eden Papineau edenp@kmimediagroup.com Amanda Paquette amandak@kmimediagroup.com Kailey Waring kaileyw@kmimediagroup.com
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KMI Media Group Publisher Kirk Brown kirkb@kmimediagroup.com Chief Executive Officer Jack Kerrigan jack@kmimediagroup.com Chief Financial Officer Constance Kerrigan connik@kmimediagroup.com Executive Vice President David Leaf davidl@kmimediagroup.com Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com Controller Gigi Castro gcastro@kmimediagroup.com Marketing & Communications Manager Holly Winzler hollyw@kmimediagroup.com Trade Show Coordinator Holly Foster hollyf@kmimediagroup.com Operations, Circulation & Production Operations Administrator Bob Lesser bobl@kmimediagroup.com Circulation & Marketing Administrator Duane Ebanks duanee@kmimediagroup.com Circulation Barbara Gill barbg@kmimediagroup.com Data Specialists Raymer Villanueva raymerv@kmimediagroup.com Summer Walker summerw@kmimediagroup.com
Can you imagine Europe without U.S. battle tanks? Feels like only yesterday, but it was 20 years ago when you could see M1A1s on the nightly news involved in the Bosnian War. Ten years ago, there wasn’t a tank in sight when I stepped ashore from the USS Nicholas (FFG 47) for a goodwill visit at Port Neum, Bosnia. That was the first visit to Bosnia by any warship since the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914, part of a period of events that caused the start of World War I. Heavy human tolls led to the heavily defensive tanks debuting in France during World War II, and holding a presence on the continent for nearly seven decades. Europe’s last 22 U.S. tanks left in April, closing another chapter in the end of an era. “For those of us who’ve got a little frost on the roof, that was a big, momentous Jeff Campbell Editor act,” said Special Operations Command Europe Commander Major General Michael S. Repass at the annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. “If you talk to the Europeans and senior U.S. policy folks about what’s going on in Europe, it’s really an increase in three areas,” he said. Ballistic missile defense, cyber, and special operations forces are the three, none of which require slow, heavy tanks. As the weight lightens and the mission shifts, the means for innovative ways to get troops to the fight remains. At the Navy League Sea Air Space Exposition, Marine Corps Commandant James F. Amos cited the expeditionary fighting vehicle as one program that turned out to be unaffordable in these tight fiscal times. “That doesn’t mean that the requirement goes away” for Marines to obtain the capability to get from ship to shore quickly, he said. While much of the focus will be on upgrading existing platforms, some new systems will be obtained, like V-22 Ospreys, which Amos called a “game-changer” for rapid vertical lift transport. In a National Defense Industrial Association Executive Briefing, Major General Kenneth D. Merchant shared a game-changing example where a V-22 was able to retrieve troops under fire in a location that couldn’t be reached in time by helicopter. Merchant, director, Global Reach Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, is responsible for airlift, air refueling, training and special operations programs. He was in his 12th day on the job and so was I. The other thing we had in common then and now is the support of a knowledgeable team. You’re a valuable part of the team—if there’s an aspect of ground combat technology you’d like to see covered, let me know. Whether it’s the evolution of armor as old as helmets or new as handheld communications, let’s explore how government and industry work together to bring our warriors the best solutions to accomplish the mission. Hooah!
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INTEL Army NIE Obtains Enhanced Wideband Networking Capabilities Harris Corp. delivered enhanced wideband networking capabilities to the middle tier of the brigade combat team (BCT) at the Army Network Integration Evaluation (NIE). Soldiers at the NIE were able to stay connected and communicate seamlessly across the tactical network via Falcon III manpack and handheld radios using the latest release of the Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2). The new release supports networks with up to 30 users through new protocols that intelligently identify and allocate available channel bandwidth to meet the Army’s needs at the mid-tier level of the network. Harris developed the new ANW2 release based on direct feedback from soldiers during past NIE events. The increased node count and dynamic channel allocation provides greater capacity and operating flexibility at the important mid-tier layer. This new version of ANW2 will serve as the mid-tier wideband networking waveform for the Army in connection with Capability Set 13, which involves the initial rollout of an integrated tactical network to BCTs.
Abrams Tanks to be Converted for Saudi Arabia General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich., has been awarded a $39 million firm-fixed-price contract to change an existing contract for conversion of M1A2 vehicles to the M1A2S configuration. This new contract is in support of foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia. Work will be performed in Lima, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of January 31, 2014. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The Army Contracting Command, Warren, Mich., manages the contract.
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Missile Excels at Longer Range in Tests The Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Javelin joint venture recently demonstrated the ability of the Javelin missile to engage targets beyond its current maximum range requirements during a series of tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. During the Army tests, the Javelin system acquired and engaged targets up to 4,750 meters. “These tests prove that, under favorable conditions, Javelin can have reliable, solid performance
as a close-combat weapon system well beyond the current maximum range requirement of 2,500 meters,” said Duane Gooden, Javelin Joint Venture president and Raytheon Javelin program director. “There were two direct hits on the threat representative target at the extended range.” Demonstrating Javelin’s extended range performance will further enhance survivability of the dismounted Javelin gunner in combat.
Army to Gain Chemical Processing Plant Modernization The Army has granted BAE Systems a $27 million contract to complete construction of a stateof-the-art and energy-saving chemical processing facility at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The new facility, when finished later this year, will transform and modernize the way acetic acid and acetic anhydride are produced, stored and handled at the plant for manufacturing military explosives. “This is one of the most important projects at Holston since it opened in 1942,” said Jerry Hammonds, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, which manages and operates the plant. “The facility will significantly reduce energy usage and cut other costs, saving money for the Army and for taxpayers.” The Holston plant is an Army-owned, contractor-operated site that produces a range of explosive fills, such as RDX and HMX, for artillery and other munitions. Since World War II, chemicals such as acetic acid and acetic anhydride have been
processed at a 110-acre site located seven miles from the main plant. A rail corridor and a series of pipelines currently carry the chemicals back and forth during manufacturing. The new processing facility, in comparison, will occupy just 10 acres on the main site. It will improve operating efficiency at the plant, decrease production and maintenance costs, and reduce safety and environmental risks associated with transporting and pumping chemicals. The facility, designed by BAE Systems for the Army, will also utilize combined-heat-and-power technology—also called cogeneration—to produce steam from natural gas to process the chemicals. The resulting electricity will be able to power at least 90 percent of the entire plant, a major step forward in meeting Holston’s goal of energy independence. The $27 million contract initiates the final phase of construction, which began in 2011. The total cost of the Army project will be approximately $143 million, the largest single investment at Holston.
Armed Services to Receive Hardware to Deter Friendly Fire Incidents BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration, Greenlawn, N.Y., is being awarded a contract change to provide identification friend or foe gear for U.S. and allied forces. The $8 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract exercises an option for procurement and repair of common (identification friend or foe) digital transponder (CXP) hardware for the Army, Navy, and the governments of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, South Korea and Denmark. Work will be performed in Greenlawn, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in August 2015. This contract combines purchases for the Army ($6 million, 75.3 percent); Navy ($1 million, 13.4 percent); and the governments of Saudi Arabia ($380,568, 4.8 percent); Denmark ($289,314, 3.6 percent); Korea ($203,511, 2.6 percent); and Thailand ($26,682, 0.3 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., manages the contract.
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INTEL
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Army Obtaining More Hydra-70 Rockets General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products recently was awarded two contracts by the U.S. Army including $210.4 million for the production of Hydra-70 airto-ground rockets and $13.5 million for engineering services in support of the Hydra-70 rocket program. The Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, Ala., awarded the contracts. Final deliveries under this order are expected to be completed in early 2015. General Dynamics has been the system integrator for the production of Hydra rockets since 1996. The Army orders Hydra rockets for all branches of the U.S. military and select allies. “General Dynamics has supplied Hydra rockets to U.S. warfighters and to several of the nation’s closest allies for more than 15 years,” said Steve Elgin, vice president and general
manager of armament systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. “Our longheld experience in managing the Hydra program allows us to work closely with the Army to deliver a weapon that is affordably built and dependable in action.” Hydra rockets are composed of two main components: the MK66 rocket motor and the warhead. The rocket’s warhead varies to meet a wide range of mission requirements. The 2.75inch diameter rocket can be mounted on most helicopters and some aircraft. General Dynamics’ work on the Hydra rocket is done from the company’s Camden, Ark., and Springboro, Ohio, facilities, which
have approximately 375 employees combined. Engineering service support and program management are performed at General Dynamics’ technology center in Williston, Vt., which employs more than 300 workers.
PEOPLE
Col. Edward M. Daly
Colonel Edward M. Daly, who has been selected for the rank of brigadier general, commandant, U.S. Army Ordnance School, U.S. Army Sustainment Center of Excellence, Fort Lee, Va., has been assigned as deputy commander, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Colonel Joseph P. Harrington, who has
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Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
been selected for the rank of brigadier general, executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C., has been assigned as deputy commander, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. He was previously announced as deputy commander, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. Navistar International announced the appointment of Dennis “Denny” Mooney as group vice president, global product development. Mooney succeeds Ramin Younessi, who is leaving Navistar to pursue other opportunities. Mooney joined Navistar in 2009 as vice president, global product
development, where he has been responsible for developing a fully integrated global engineering group. General Dynamics announced that David K. Heebner, executive vice president and group executive of the company’s Combat Systems group, has been appointed group executive of the Information Systems and Technology group. Mark C. Roualet, president of General Dynamics Land Systems, will succeed Heebner as executive vice president and group executive of the Combat Systems group. Gary L. Whited, senior vice president and general manager for General Dynamics Land Systems’
domestic operations, will succeed Roualet as president. The appointments are effective immediately.
Award winner, a Federal Computer Week award for bringing change to federal technology.
Raytheon announced that it is consolidating its businesses to streamline operations and that the board of directors has elected Thomas A. Kennedy, Ph.D., to the new position of executive vice president, chief operating officer. Kennedy previously served as vice president, Raytheon Company, and president of Integrated Defense Systems.
Lisa Pauley, senior vice president, human resources and administration, and Andrea Chavez, director of manufacturing and test operations with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., have been recognized by the Manufacturing Institute, Deloitte, University of Phoenix and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers with Women in Manufacturing Science, Technology, Engineering and Production Awards for excellence and leadership in manufacturing.
Lockheed Martin announced that Angela Heise, a vice president with Information Systems & Global Solutions, is a 2013 Federal 100
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Witnesses, lawmakers decry heavy loads carried by combatants. By Dave Ahearn GCT Correspondent
Top-ranked military procurement leaders told Congress that equipment for warriors has improved enormously in the past decade of war, but further innovative advancements are critically needed. In a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) tactical air and land forces subcommittee, both lawmakers on the committee and the witnesses outlined shortcomings such as the crushing weight of 21st-century equipment that makes warriors less agile, the need for armored vests and uniforms tailored for female warfighters, and much more. The HASC panel heard detailed testimony from first-rank acquisition leaders who must attempt to find the best gear for soldiers and Marines, even in a time of intense fiscal austerity at the Pentagon. Those at the witness table included Army Brigadier General Paul A. Ostrowski, program executive officer, soldier; Peter B. Bechtel, director, capabilities integration, prioritization and analysis for the Army; Marine Corps Brigadier General Frank
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L. Kelley, commander, Marine Corps Systems Command; and Marine Corps Brigadier General Eric M. Smith, director, Capabilities Development Directorate for the Marine Corps.
Background Equipment for American combatants has improved steadily from the unprotected deerskin that many Revolutionary War fighters wore centuries ago. The Civil War provided rifles that were vastly superior to muskets. World War I contributed helmets that might deflect an enemy round, and World War II saw those helmets grow to offer protection to the side and back of the head. The Vietnam War contributed the flak jacket, and it improved further in the Gulf War. While additional gains have been seen in the past decade, witnesses at the hearing said far more needs to be done to improve safeguards for those in harm’s way. During the hearing, the discussion covered a wide array of issues, including combatants carrying more than 100
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pounds of gear, adequacy of protective vests, safeguards against enemy rounds and IED detonations, the ability of camouflage patterns to conceal warfighters from the enemy, helmet designs, how to power electronic gear with fewer heavy batteries, lighter-weight ammunition, flame-resistant uniforms, communications, night vision goggles, weapon sights and much more. The greatest concern voiced by both lawmakers and witnesses was the heavy load that warriors must carry. For PEO Soldier, the aim is, wherever practicable, to cut weight burdening warfighters, with Ostrowski explaining an ongoing effort “aimed at lightening that load.” For example, he noted that the old outer tactical vest weighed 33.5 pounds in a size medium, while the improved second lieutenant helps a private first class try on new body armor designed for female warriors, the Generation III Female Improved outer tactical vest is 4 pounds lighter, AOuter Tactical Vest. [Photo courtesy of DoD] even as it provides a better fit. Also, the However, Smith cautioned, no weight reduction can be consoldier plate carrier system eliminates another 8 pounds or so. templated if it entails reducing protection from enemy fire or And field commanders now are permitted to assess the risk of a IEDs. given mission and—if a low risk is perceived—permit warfight“Protection is paramount,” Smith said, adding that he “won’t ers to wear less heavy armor. sacrifice any protection for increased comfort,” whether male or A machine gun is 9 pounds lighter than the former model. female combatants are involved. And PEO Soldier has gone to war against the heavy load of batAside from tactical vests, body armor also has been developed teries that warfighters carry to power gear on an increasingly to protect the pelvic area from weapon blasts, shorts called the electronic battlefield, ranging from laptops to UAV controllers, pelvic protection system. Ostrowski said the system counters and night vision gear to laser range finders. “We are developing blasts that otherwise would affect the pelvis, femoral arteries and ways to provide lightweight power solutions,” Ostrowski said, lower abdominal organs. Some 60,881 sets of the system have been such as a conformal battery that follows the contours of the body fielded to units in Afghanistan, and “the PPS is saving lives,” he for comfort and can provide electrical power for multiple pieces emphasized. of equipment. He also noted that weight on the warfighter can be reduced Rep. Loretta Sanchez of California, the ranking Democrat on with a universal controller for a panoply of unmanned systems, the subcommittee, said placing a heavy burden on a warfighter instead of having a unique controller for each unmanned asset. can “cost us lives,” because that weight makes a combatant less And weight can be shaved off by powering electronic gear with agile when attempting to avoid enemy fire, for example. something other than hefty batteries. Kelley observed that ways There is “a long-term cost with respect to weight,” she told must be found to reduce battery usage. That can involve using the military procurement leaders. “I’m concerned we’re oversolar generating systems, Smith said. loading soldiers,” resulting at times in skeletal injuries. “There is too much weight on the belt, and too much weight on the soldier,” she warned. Female Warriors Bechtel said, however, that solutions are underway, with a 10 percent reduction in weight loads thus far, and a goal of reaching Sanchez said she is concerned that traditional vests, while a 15 percent reduction, focusing on such areas as battery weight. helping to protect combatants against enemy threats, often are ill He also noted that weight on a soldier can be lessened by suited and uncomfortable for female personnel. having some items handled by robotic systems or in vehicles. However, Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) said that the improved Ostrowski said timely logistics can mean resupply of key outer tactical vest, including the vest for female warriors, boasts items is assured at frequent intervals. If resupply is guaraunteed, improvements that are “tremendous.” then an individual warrior may not need to carry as much of a Previously, with the old vest, “it was very difficult for a woman given item on a mission. Smith agreed, saying that “enhancing to raise her arm to fire a rifle,” Tsongas said. “I commend you for the logistics piece does go a long way toward lightening the load” your work” in producing better body armor, citing PEO Soldier on the individual combatant. centers such as the Natick Soldier Center in her state. Likewise, Kelley said that as logistics improves, the weight Ostrowski noted that new body armor specifically made for load on warriors declines. To help spur further weight reducwomen has greatly increased comfort, with a goal of fielding 600 tions, Kelley urged working with industry on research and develsets of the female-design wear by August. And “we will always field opment of lighter weight systems. female body armor” when women deploy to theater. 6 | GCT 4.2
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Kelley said when new gear is developed, it is critical to ensure that it works well, which can be tested by giving it to a Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad to use in real-world situations. This should involve providing the Marines with everything they are likely to carry into combat to see how it all works together, rather than having combatants test just one item at a time, he said. The squad members should be asked how they feel about the warrior gear system when first issued it, and then how they feel when they have finished the test. Smith noted that “a Marine lance corporal is not shy” about providing an honest assessment of how well a piece of gear works. Sanchez also asked whether gear can deteriorate over time, and what kind of electronics engineer with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, holds a polymer conformal battery while shelf life can be expected from various An wearing a soldier wearable integrated power system within a combat vest. [Photo courtesy of DoD] types of equipment that soldiers and Marines use. Weapons, Helmets Ostrowski responded that some items must be replaced over time, and those replacements are made. Just how long a given Sanchez also expressed concern that some weapons may piece of gear may last, he said, “depends on individual soldiers,” malfunction, saying that when warriors were asked about reliand how much wear they put on it. But this issue is carefully ability, “20 percent of them said they had a complete and total monitored. jam of their rifle.” Is it time, she asked, to procure a more reliFor example, to ensure that armored plate inserts worn in able weapon? vest pockets are not deteriorating, plates are X-rayed periodiOstrowski said figures show the M4 has generally been cally, such as halfway through a tour of duty and at the complereliable—a requirement for 600 rounds being fired before any tion of the tour, Ostrowski said. A plate typically “does wear out stoppage has easily been exceeded. In testing in 2010, there were over time,” he added. typically 3,692 rounds fired between failures, he observed. In developing new gear for warriors, it is important not only “We have made over 92 modifications and adjustments to to have Marines test it, but also to ask them what they would that weapon system,” improving its accuracy and reliability, he most like to have, Kelley observed. stressed. “The first thing is, we sit down with the operating force. They That said, however, Ostrowski assured the panel that the indigive us input before we set the requirements” for new systems, vidual carbine competition will move forward. “Absolutely we are Smith said. “They will say their piece.” competing this,” he added. To be sure, “sometimes they don’t get what they want,” but Weapons will be rigorously evaluated, he continued, predictultimately they do get what they need, Smith explained. ing that “accuracy will be compared [with candidate weapons] side by side. Reliability will be compared side by side. Life cycle cost will be compared side by side. Compatibility will be comCamo Uniforms pared side by side.” Another problem for soldiers is the impact on their heads In designing camouflage uniforms that are unnoticed by the caused by detonations of enemy weapons or other causes. Here, enemy, blending into the background terrain, enormous effort Ostrowski said, it is critical to be able to assess just how much has been poured into research, Ostrowski reported. force a warfighter may have absorbed. The answer is the GeneraFor example, “over 120,000 data points” were gathered and tion II Helmet Sensor, which compiles data on injury incurred analyzed, he said. Funding for work on camo advancements in a blast. He predicted that physicians will be able to use data is included in the recently released administration budget for from the sensor to better diagnose and develop treatments for Department of Defense funding in fiscal year 2014, he said. warriors injured by blasts or other events. Some 19,000 sensors One problem with Marine Corps uniforms is that they don’t have been provided to soldiers deploying to theater. O dry out rapidly—a key point when the U.S. military is pivoting to the Pacific, where many nations have tropical or moist climates, Smith continued. For example, he cited the rainy climate on Okinawa. Average monthly precipitation on Okinawa ranges For more information, contact GCT Editor Jeff Campbell from more than 4 inches to more than 10 inches. at jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives Also, Smith stated, it is important that uniforms are flame for related stories at www.gct-kmi.com. retardant. www.GCT-kmi.com
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Military radios lose weight, but gain capabilities and power. By Marc Selinger GCT Correspondent
The new radios are part of Capability Set (CS) 13, a new Army communications network that reflects lessons learned in Afghanistan and Iraq and at the Network Integration Evaluation field exercise held in mid-2012, said Major General N. Lee S. Price, who leads the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). “The advanced communications capabilities of CS 13 will give U.S. forces a significant advantage over our adversaries,” Price said. “For the first time, the troops closest to the fight will have real-time voice and data communications.” Also part of the CS 13 capabilities is the Harris Corp. Falcon III AN/ PRC-152A, which provides simultaneous voice and highspeed data. The 2.5-pound radio was deployed to the first Army brigade combat teams to receive CS 13 equipment, according to Ken Arndt, who manages the company’s line of handheld ISR and accessory First-time Users products. Chris Heavens “In a nutshell, [the 152A] In many cases, troops brings the tactical Internet are getting handheld radios right down to the foxhole,” for the first time. Most disArndt said. mounted U.S. Army soldiers The Army Rifleman Radio currently do not have radios, and Nett Warrior programs forcing them to communicould soon have additional cate with fellow squad memcompetition. Harris expects to bers mainly by yelling or receive government approval using hand signals, said Bill to offer its newest handheld Rau, director of communiradio, the RF-330E-TR, to the cation products for General programs. Dynamics C4 Systems. Bill Rau “The government is openThe Army has begun ing up the program to industry fielding new handheld radios, competition, so basically they’re going to have including the AN/PRC-154A Nett Warrior, a test and evaluation” for additional radio supwhich allows team leaders to communicate pliers, Arndt explained. “If you’re compliant within their units and with higher headwith all of the requirements, then you’re able quarters, and the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman to bid on delivery orders for that program.” Radio, which allows soldiers to talk and text with each other. Both are built by General Dynamics and Thales Communications, More Capability weigh about 2 pounds and can be stored in pouches on a soldier’s uniform. Most war zones lack the kind of wireless “By connecting all the soldiers to [the network infrastructure that supports mobile Army’s communications] network, it’s communication devices in the United States. going to allow all the soldiers to change But makers of military radios and related the way they do their missions,” Rau told equipment said they have found ways to get Ground Combat Technology. around those limitations. U.S. troops on the battlefield want the same kind of voice and data communications technology at their fingertips that civilians have at home with smartphones. But warfighters also need their devices to be more rugged and, in some cases, more capable than what is sold in stores. Companies that make military handheld radios and associated equipment say they have made great strides in recent years in meeting these military requirements. But they acknowledge that their work is far from over, as the military, like the civilian world, is constantly looking for the next best thing. “We’re always bringing out new products,” said Chris Heavens, vice president and general manager of AR Modular RF, which makes amplifiers that boost the range of tactical radios. “The market is demanding in terms of specifications.”
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advanced networks at Raytheon Integrated Communication Systems. “But it needs to work on the move.” Vardakas described MAINGATE as unique because it addresses the need to integrate all the communications that occur in the lower-echelon networks into a common brigade-wide network. The system was successfully tested at the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation field exercise in late 2012, he said. AR Modular RF’s new AR50-T1 radio amplifier, which will be mounted in Special Operations Command vehicles, contains additional circuitry to operate under heavy jamming and prevent radios in the same location from interfering with each other, Heavens said. It also has a bigger “heat sink” or fins to disperse heat generated by the amplifier and therefore allow the radio to send larger and longer data transmissions. To help airmen at remote Thule Air Base in Greenland communicate by handheld radio and other devices, a network of repeaters was installed. The TerU.S. Army 1st Lt. Matthew Laney programs his AN/PRC-152 Tactical Radio for a tactical satellite operation during the first 1st restrial Trucked Radio effort, or TETRA, resulted from Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, H. J. McChrystal Competition at Forward Operating Base Sharana. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Army] a partnership between the Air Force and Greenland Contractors, which operates and maintains the base. “By installing repeaters in well-placed locations, radio coverage For instance, new networking technology allows handheld radios was expanded to cover all of Thule’s defense area with continuous to communicate even when their users cannot see each other. The communication,” the Air Force said. result is expected to be greater reliability. Companies are also installing GPS-tracking devices on handheld “If there are, say, six of us together and we’re all talking together radios to allow different units to see each other with the goal of with a traditional radio, as long as we all see each other or the radio has improving collaboration and reducing fratricide. line of sight, we’ll all hear each other,” Rau said. “But if we’re having “It’s become very important that the Army knows where Private a conversation and you happen to go down in a basement or behind a Jones is every minute,” Rau said. “They want to see a dot on a map building or into a ditch, we might not know that you disappeared. With that is updated where he is. And so when you know where everybody these networking radios, they form their own network and every radio is on the battlefield and everybody knows where everybody else is, it bounces through the other radio, so if there’s a group of us, you might certainly changes the dimension of how you go ahead and fight.” be getting my signal directly from me but you’re also going to hear my To help search-and-rescue personnel find downed pilots and voice as relayed by the other five guys. In the event that one guy loses other isolated forces more quickly, Boeing has enhanced its Combat line of sight to whoever was talking, the other guys will ricochet that Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) handheld radios for the Air Force. A voice around the network and get to him.” software upgrade allows a rescue pilot and the isolated person to text Networking also allows for more robust transmissions, as the message each other securely, the Air Force and Boeing said. Previously, radios share and integrate the voice communications they hear. the isolated person could only communicate with the inbound rescue “The radio gets multiple copies and then it combines them digipilot using voice. This enhancement adds to the current capability of tally so it only plays one stream to the operator,” Rau explained. the isolated person to use satellites to exchange messages with the Networking also helps radios operate in rugged terrain. Unmanned Joint Search and Rescue Center. aerial vehicles equipped with a Rifleman Radio have demonstrated the In addition, a hardware and software upgrade for CSEL allows a ability to connect troops on opposite sides of a mountain in operational rescue pilot to “ping” an isolated person’s radio, the Air Force said. tests, according to Rau. Using onboard distance-measuring equipment, that ping helps the “If I’ve got five guys on one side of the mountain and five guys pilot pinpoint the location of the isolated person. on the other, they’re talking amongst themselves but one group can’t While designing its new SRX 2200 intra-squad communication hear the other,” he said. “If I fly the UAV above them, the UAV sees both radio to operate even in austere environments, Motorola Solutions groups and joins both their networks and connects them together.” found that “the military’s requirements are similar to those of public Raytheon and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency safety,” company spokesman Tom McMahon told Ground Combat developed a system that allows a small group of handheld radios to Technology. “So we included many features that are found in our connect to a larger network and share voice, text and full-motion video radios designed for police, fire and emergency services customers, across the battlefield. The Mobile Ad hoc Interoperability Network such as dual microphones—one on the front and the other on the GATEway (MAINGATE) system places two notebook-sized devices on a back of the radio—to eliminate background noise and enhance audio HMMWV or other military vehicle and provides an “industry-leading” quality.” capacity of 10 megabits per second, or enough to play 27 videos at the Another feature of the SRX 2200 in austere environments is that same time, the company said. More than 100 units are now deployed. the radio can be used as a modem to connect a secure smartphone, “What we provide is the equivalent of what the cell phone industry such as Motorola’s new AME 2000, to military networks. has with their microwave towers,” said George Vardakas, director of 10 | GCT 4.2
www.GCT-kmi.com
“This is particularly useful when warfighters need access to data communications in the field where there isn’t any system infrastructure available,” McMahon said. Motorola also included ergonomic features “such as large controls that are well-spaced and easily located, even when wearing gloves,” he said. “The prominent top display is easy to read at a glance and dimmable for extra security.” The Marine Corps has been using an earlier version of the Motorola radio since 2006.
Less Weight, More Power Like other defense contractors, radio makers spend much of their time trying to make their products lighter and more energy efficient. “Every ounce is king,” Rau noted. “Every ounce that you don’t ask a soldier to carry is an ounce he can use for something else—water or food.” Weight-reduction efforts include using the latest processors and ensuring other circuitry and software operate as efficiently as possible. A smooth-running radio extends battery life, which means a soldier can carry fewer batteries on a mission. Boeing streamlined its Tactical Compact Communications Relay (TCCR) to lighten the device, which is mounted on small unmanned aircraft to extend the range of handheld radios, according to company spokesman Richard Esposito. The TCCR now weighs 1 pound, down from 1.6 pounds. “Internal components were redesigned to share components and take advantage of lightweight technologies, which resulted in the significant weight reduction,” Esposito told Ground Combat Technology. “We were able to lean out the metal enclosure as well.” Aaron Brosnan, vice president of business development at Thales Communications, said his company’s new tactical radios incorporate “state-of-the-art in circuitry and power management designs, thereby reducing power consumption by as much as 20 percent.” Thales expects that its next-generation Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, the MBITR2, will benefit troops who currently have to carry two radios—one to connect to legacy networks and the other for highspeed, networked data—as the MBITR2 consolidates both functions into one device. It uses technologies based on Thales’ narrowband ANPRC-148 MBITR and wideband AN/PRC-154 Rifleman radio. “Coupled with the ever-increasing suite of equipment already being carried by today’s modern soldier, the size, weight and power burden of the additional radio can severely restrict the warfighter’s ability to execute the mission,” Brosnan said. “The MBITR2, in a single radio, provides the interoperability with the legacy nets while also providing the soldier access to the emerging network architecture for critical data and video services.” Accessory makers are putting their products on diets, too, noted Doug Moses, marketing manager for active communications at 3M Personal Safety, which makes Comtac radio headsets. “We look at things like how do we go from double-A to triple-A batteries, how do we use smaller electronics, how do we use lighterweight materials for the cushions around the ears and the headbands,” Moses explained. “Those are all things that we and our competitors in the marketplace are working on.” O For more information, contact GCT Editor Jeff Campbell at jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.gct-kmi.com.
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GCT 4.2 | 11
Maneuver Center of Excellence
Headquarters
Maj. Gen. H.R. McMaster MCoE Commanding General
Col. David B. Haight Infantry School Commandant
Col. Paul J. Laughlin Armor School Commandant
Command Sgt. Maj. James J. Carabello Post CSM
Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy A. Guden Infantry School CSM
Command Sgt. Maj. Miles S. Wilson Armor School CSM
Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Moore Garrison Command CSM
Donald M. Sando Director of Capabilities Development and Integration
Col. Robert Eugene Choppa MCoE Chief of Staff
Col. Jeffrey Fletcher Garrison Commander
Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCOE)
Commanding General Maneuver Center of Excellence MCOE DCG
MCOE HQ Chief of Staff
MCOE CSM
U.S. Army Infantry School (USAIS)
OCOI
G1
G2
G3
G4
G6
G8
Personal Staff
Special Staff
Garrison Staff DHR
Garrison Staff DPTMS
Library
Garrison Staff DOL
NEC Fort Benning
Garrison Staff DRM
Magazine
Museum
U.S. Army Armor School (USAARMS)
NCOA
DOTS
DOT
QAO
DOTD
316 CAV BDE
197 IN BDE IN Functional DSTE
198 IN BDE 11B/C OSUT
199 IN BDE BOLC I I-BOLC III Airborne
CDID Int & Synch Office
OCOA
RTB Ranger
DOTS DOT DOTD CDID
Garrison HQ
Maneuver - SLC
Support Operations Division
Tactics Instr Division MCCC
Training Development Division
Concepts Development Division
192 IN BDE BCT
IN -ALC 11B/11C ALC
Fleet Maintenance Division
Combined Arms Integration Division
Publication Support Division
Soldier Requirements Division
194 AR BDE
AR -ALC 19K/19 D ALC 91A/M ALC
Supply and Services Division
A-BOLC III AR Functional Inter StudentOfc DSTE
19D/K OSUT 63A/M AIT DSTE
Warrior Leader Course
Ground System Material Directorate
— Directorate of Training Sustainment — Directorate of Training — Directorate of Training & Doctrine — Capabilities Development & Integration Directorate
Doctrine and Collective Tng Division Lessons Learned
Mounted Requirements Division
Maneuver Battle Lab
TRADOC Capability Mgr HBCT SBCT IBCT BFSB Soldier Platform B/C Combat ID
INNOVATIONS Sorensen SG 1000V DC Power Supply Ametek Programmable Power
Customized Optical Components Precision Glass & Optics • Specialized for shortwave infrared imaging (SWIR) applications • Designed to optimize shortwave infrared imagery
• Extends capabilities to high-voltage applications Ametek Programmable Power has extended its Sorensen SG Series high-power DC power supply line with the introduction of the new SG 1000V, which can supply up to 1,000V DC for applications such as testing photovoltaic (PV) inverters and electric vehicles. The Sorensen SG Series is suited for a very broad range of applications, including test and measurement for devices such as PV inverters and electric vehicles, semiconductor processing, electroplating, and for imagers such as CT and MRI scanners that are used as luggage scanners for homeland security, according to the company. The new 1000V DC model of SG Series power supplies can provide up to 15 kW in a 3U package. The SG 1000V, for example, can supply up to 15 A in the standard 3U package. Users also can select from 5-kW and 10-kW models. For users who need more output power, up to five 15-kW units can be connected in parallel to supply up to 75 kW.
Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O), optical manufacturers specializing in precision thin film coatings, customizes optical solutions for SWIR imaging applications. Enhanced thin film optical coatings from PG&O are ideal for imaging through environmental conditions such as night time, fog, smoke and water vapor, according to the company. PG&O’s SWIR filters enhance performance to deliver higher-quality images with greater detail than is possible without the use of optimized filters. PG&O designs SWIR optical components to obtain the best optical quality and imaging performance in low-light, moonlight and starlight conditions. The company also provides high-performance turnkey optical solutions for a variety of military, defense, avionics, industrial and biomedical applications. All coatings are manufactured to military specifications, including metal and dielectric mirrors, beamsplitters, filters, antireflection coatings, neutral density filters, transparent electro-conductive coatings, and other hard and dense optical coatings needed for high performance and durability.
Small Tactical Multi-Payload Aerostat System Carolina Unmanned Vehicles Inc. • HMMWV/MRAP-compatible trailer carrier with all equipment • Helikite lifting aerostat • Gyro-stabilized camera payload • Other possible payloads include: • Networked comm payload • Acoustic gunfire detection Carolina Unmanned Vehicles Inc. (CUV) has announced the delivery of the Rev-1 version of the small tactical multi-payload aerostat system (STMPAS), for deployment to Afghanistan. STMPAS combines the ground and airborne hardware 14 | GCT 4.2
from CUV and payloads developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) for the Army Rapid Equipping Force. CUV provided the aerostats and all ground operating equipment and GTRI developed the payloads. STMPAS consists of several optional ISR payloads attached under a small tethered blimp, called a Helikite, and a trailer carrier that stores the Helikite and the required winch, sensors and helium tanks. The STMPAS blimp can fly at 1,000 feet for low-cost, long-term coverage for 24 hours a day for a week or more without maintenance or downtime. It operates for weeks
at a time at a fraction of the cost of comparable aircraft or unmanned air vehicles. Traditional aerostats cannot operate in high winds unless fairly large, typically with 200 pounds of lift or more. This large size makes them unsuitable for deployment to small isolated bases. Helikites have lifting surfaces that generate aerodynamic lift to support the blimp in winds which would drive traditional designs into the ground. With the Helikite, STMPAS can be smaller and more mobile than traditional aerostat systems yet still operate in high winds. www.GCT-kmi.com
Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
PRC-155 Manpack Radio General Dynamics • Two-channel radio successfully completed secure radioto-radio voice and data communications tests through the on-orbit Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite network • Only off-the-shelf radio to successfully demonstrate this capability • Uses same cell phone technology powering commercial smartphones • Secure calls can be made from anywhere in the world General Dynamics C4 Systems has announced that two AN/PRC-155 Manpack radios successfully completed secure radio-to-radio voice and data communications tests through the Mobile User Objective System satellite network, as part of a scheduled MUOS end-to-end system test. The PRC-155 radio is part of the handheld, manpack, small form fit (HMS) family of radios. Using the final version of the MUOS waveform, the two-channel PRC-155 Manpack radio successfully transmitted voice and data communications to the orbiting MUOS satellite, through the MUOS ground station and back to a second PRC-155 Manpack radio. This is the first time that any military radio has communicated with the MUOS space-ground network, which will ultimately extend the reach of the soldiers’ network to even the most isolated locations. “The PRC-155 is the only government-owned, off-theshelf radio to demonstrate this capability. Using the same cell phone technology that powers commercial smartphones, military and government personnel can make secure calls and exchange critical information from anywhere in the world,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. The PRC-155 Manpack radios also demonstrated the capability that allows soldiers to network their communications using the MUOS system, connecting them to one another wherever they are deployed, on foot, from land vehicles, ships, submarines and aircraft. The radios used during the MUOS test were among the first delivered to the Army through a contract to produce more than 3,800 PRC-155 Manpack radios. The General Dynamics-developed, non-proprietary MUOS waveform used for the test delivers high-speed voice and data communications at 16-times greater capacity than the military’s current Ultra High Frequency satellite communications system. The two-channel PRC-155 Manpack radio also runs the essential waveforms from the joint tactical networking center library. They include the soldier radio waveform, which connects dismounted soldiers to the network, and the wideband networking waveform. Using the PRC-155’s two-channel capability, soldiers operating on any of these waveforms on one channel can interconnect with soldiers using another waveform on the second channel. www.GCT-kmi.com
Sense-making System for Robots Aptima • Architecture borrows from neuroscience of human perception and sense-making • Prototype developed for DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Cognitive Robotics team • Expected to lower pre-mission preparation costs, minimize the need for human intervention and increase mission flexibility Aptima has developed Cognitive Patterns, a knowledge-based, collaborative sense-making system for robots to better recognize, adapt to, and intelligently work with their human counterparts in novel situations. First, the high-level knowledge on board the robot is combined with lowerlevel sensor data so the robot can recognize a situation as much as possible on its own, just as humans do. Second, when confronted with ambiguous information or scenarios that don’t match its current knowledge, the system blends existing concepts to generate new knowledge for the robot, akin to the sense-making mind. Networked with the robot, the human operator can adjust how it categorizes objects, people and environments, boosting the robot’s high-level knowledge and its ability to draw conclusions from its sensory data. The ROS-compliant technology is expected to advance a new class of robots with higher-level decision-making. “Even with their state-of-the-art sensors, robots aren’t capable of recognizing what they haven’t seen before, which severely limits their usefulness,” said Webb Stacy, Aptima’s principal investigator for the Cognitive Patterns contract. “They’re designed to operate from the bottom up. If the images hitting its camera don’t match what’s in its brain, they’re unable to understand what would be clear to us, which requires lots of ‘hand-holding.’”
Soldier Systems Battery Panacis Panacis has introduced a new soldier systems battery called SharePack. It features integrated power management, distribution and scavenging functions within a
high energy rechargeable lithium ion battery. The system is designed to power soldier-worn C4I equipment while reducing the weight borne by the soldier and his logistical footprint.
GCT 4.2 | 15
Warrior Equipper
Q& A
CS&CSS Succeeds Amidst Austerity, Urgent Needs and a New Type of War Kevin M. Fahey Program Executive Officer Combat Support & Combat Service Support Kevin M. Fahey was selected for the senior executive service in February 2000. As the Program Executive Officer for Combat Support & Combat Service Support [PEO CS&CSS], he is responsible for all activities necessary to develop, produce, field and sustain tactical vehicle systems and force projection equipment that supports and safeguards our armed forces fighting across the globe. He is responsible for the life cycle management of 350-plus diverse systems, to include all of the Army’s tactical wheeled vehicles [including the family of mine resistant ambush protected vehicles and the joint light tactical vehicle] and critical soldier support systems [force projection equipment, petroleum and water systems, construction and material equipment, tools and diagnostics equipment], across 24 product lines. He oversees the execution of a multi-billion dollar annual budget for combat support and combat service support equipment and develops a workforce of over 1,100 employees. In October 2012, Fahey also assumed duties as the joint program executive officer for the MRAP family of vehicles, which are being transitioned to service-led responsibility throughout fiscal year 2013. During his tenure as the Program Executive Officer for Ground Combat Systems, he was responsible for the life cycle management and systems integration of the Army’s ground combat vehicle programs, leading Army transformation for the future force. His portfolio included the heavy brigade combat platforms such as the Abrams, M113 and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, along with the Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the Joint Lightweight Howitzer Systems. In 2007, he was identified by the Department of Defense to lead the Army’s MRAP program, delivering over 9,000 MRAP vehicles in less than 24 months to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of an urgent combat need. Operating as the deputy program executive officer for ammunition, he was responsible for management of critical Army ammunition programs and personnel. He effectively managed cost, schedule and performance parameters across the Army’s ammunition programs to include equipping soldiers with combat ammunition, and providing fire combat and ammunition training support for dismounted soldiers, combat and tactical vehicles, helicopters, naval vessels and high-performance aircraft. As the senior technical executive, close combat armament systems, Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Fahey served as the research and development director for armament and munitions systems. He was the senior technical expert of smaller, lighter and more lethal 16 | GCT 4.2
munitions which increased mobility and counter-mobility of the Army’s operating forces. Q: What changes have you instituted at CS&CSS recently? A: As the joint force winds down operations in theater, you might think the acquisition team’s work would wind down too, but our team remains incredibly busy for two important reasons. First, the decrease in war procurement is offset by a substantial increase in retrograde and sustainment-related work. That’s a change, but it does not necessarily mean less work. The other driver includes the new defense strategy and the Army’s Capstone Concept, which emphasize new capabilities like the joint light tactical vehicle [JLTV] and more comprehensive approaches in areas like operational energy and contingency basing. As a result, we are working through at least three or four changes. First, last summer we stood up the Joint Program Office for JLTV as a colonel-level project manager and rebalanced a number of product offices across CS&CSS to improve functional portfolio alignment. This created our Project Manager for Transportation Systems to handle tactical vehicles and watercraft, placed a tremendous amount of key support systems into PM Force Projection, and focused us for a successful JLTV engineering and manufacturing development phase. www.GCT-kmi.com
Second, in October 2012, Joint Program Executive Officer responsibility for mine resistant ambush protected vehicles [MRAPs] moved from the Marine Corps to the Army. That’s a second hat I wear in addition to CS&CSS, although the CS&CSS team is certainly essential to all of the MRAP’s life-saving successes and responsible for Army MRAPs. We’re currently transitioning all MRAPs to service-led management, planning for the Army’s MRAP family of vehicles’ future, and preparing to stand down the Joint Program Office by October. Third, we are improving our focus on operational energy and battlefield efficiency. Last year PM Mobile Electric Power [MEP] returned to PEO CS&CSS from PEO C3T. On the modern battlefield, operational energy equates to combat power, and the joint force needs reliable, efficient power soldier assigned to Headquarters “Hammer” Troop, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, checks to ensure proper vehicle wherever it goes. PM MEP’s theater focus Alight function of a HMMWV at Fort Hood, Texas. [Photo courtesy of DoD] and product innovations improve our ability to provide energy to remote and austere held at the vendor’s site. Based on the program’s success to date operations, tailored to the meet the power and force sustainment and feedback from the reviews, it appears that each vendor will demands of individual war fighting units. We are also standing up certainly be competitive. JLTV is the best structured program an office for contingency-basing infrastructure. The joint force I’ve seen, and the benefits we’ve reaped from cost-informed trade needs a standard, rapidly deployable and resource-efficient way analyses and competitive prototyping continue to pay dividends to live in the field, and our team is moving forward to make that for the taxpayer and the future joint force. I am confident that—on happen. our present course—JLTV will leap our automotive performance, Finally, we are fully engaged in the Army’s developing Strateprotected mobility and battlefield network capabilities forward for gic Modernization Planning effort. Two things about the future the joint force. are certain: Some of the threats will be different, but some of the platforms we have will be the same. Only with a long-term view Q: How would the new JLTVs well serve warfighters, and more of priorities, threats, requirements and opportunities can we best generally, why do those who stand in harm’s way have a genuine make decisions about capability sustainment and modernization need for better vehicle platforms? investments—particularly in a resource-constrained environment. By focusing on managing capabilities within and across A: We fielded the HMMWV in a totally different era. In the 1980s, equipment portfolios, the effort underway coordinates planned no one worried about improvised explosive devices threatening investments to prioritize needs, respond to emerging threats our deployed forces. In addition, we expected the enemy’s shape and link science and technology advances to future program and location to be fairly well defined. The battlespace changed. insertions. Spread across a 30-year time horizon, aligning S&T For Iraq and Afghanistan, we modified up-armored HMMWVs, but projects with requirements developers and acquisition leaders is the vehicles weren’t designed to perform with the weight of armor an important step in preparing the Army for the future. and still have useable payload capacity. The MRAPs—and later, M-ATVs—could carry a protected payload, but they were far less Q: In the joint light tactical vehicle program, now that you have maneuverable. JLTV is designed to buy back that protected payseen candidate JLTVs, are you confident that the Army and load in a maneuverable vehicle that also includes improvements Marine Corps will be able to obtain high-mobility vehicles able in maintainability, supportability and performance—and the first to perform well against contemporary threats? vehicle fielded specifically to carry the Army’s network. MRAPs and HMMWVs may be with us for quite some time, but JLTV will A: Yes. During the technology demonstration [TD] phase, we let us best match the right vehicle to the right situation. asked contractors to consider the realm of the possible. The prototypes developed and tested during TD helped us appreciate Q: Are you confident that the JLTV program can move ahead on levels of technological maturity and affordability in order to shape schedule, thanks to proven technologies? the program for success. Focused on efficient, affordable solutions that meet our balanced protection, payload and performance A: Yes. Our cost-informed trades analysis carefully considered criteria, the three engineering and manufacturing development mature technologies, and we do not anticipate any delays. One phase vendors are moving ahead. Each recently completed a major framing assumption that enabled us to shorten JLTV’s design understanding review, an intensive, week-long review www.GCT-kmi.com
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EMD phase schedule from 48 to 33 months was that industry had ready designs that could move into production quickly. Our EMD selection criteria demanded mature designs, and our recent design understanding review results have confirmed that fact. Throughout the phase, the JPO is using separate product director teams for each vendor to ensure regular oversight across competitive prototypes, conducting ongoing performance testing, providing scheduled progress updates to the services and [the office of the secretary of defense] every six months, and consistently focusing on affordability, mature technologies, greater reliability, performance and commonality. I think that the recent design understanding reviews confirmed that we’re on the right course. The three contract vendors already have vehicles and are scheduled to deliver 22 full prototypes this August, and I believe JLTV is well on its way. Q: Will the future JLTVs provide savings in operating costs, versus existing conventional military vehicles, thus helping to reduce outlays in a time of defense funding austerity? A: We intend for the future JLTV fleet to result in a lower life cycle cost and smaller overall logistics footprint than a similarly sized legacy force. In fact, the final production down-select will consider life cycle cost alongside production cost and capability in the selection criteria. The JLTV on-the-move fuel efficiency is equivalent to the legacy fleet, but the JLTV offers greater capability. The JLTV will be more mobile, [able to] carry more payload and will offer more protection than the current armored HMMWVs. In addition, JLTV is improving fuel consumption at idle, which is significant. By building efficient vehicles with a focus on greater reliability, performance and commonality while reducing the maintenance ratio, we are confident that the JLTV program will deliver a leap ahead in tactical wheeled vehicle capability. Q: How are MRAPs doing in theater to protect personnel from IED blasts, and are any upgrades needed for the MRAP? A: We measure MRAP vehicles’ real success by the most important metric: lives saved. We may never know how many lives were truly saved, but there is no doubt that MRAPs made a big difference. We also continued to adjust to changing threats with near-continuous upgrades. As we start to draw down theater operations, these will continue, but we are being very careful to match upgrades to the threat and support priority needs from field commanders. Other upgrades may be done at home, and as the services make more decisions on their MRAP fleets’ future, we’ll be ready to posture these vehicles for future requirements. Q: And what is your assessment of survivability of the M-ATV? Are further enhancements needed here? A: The M-ATV has been an important advancement in protected mobility—able to go where other MRAPs had difficulty but still with impressive protection. It’s been the right vehicle for our current situation, and it’s been a vehicle responsive to new needs. For example, as a result of a joint urgent operational needs statement, the M-ATV team successfully designed an underbody improvement kit in just 30 days. The kit improved the underbody structure of the baseline M-ATV vehicle to better distribute and mitigate the blast effects across the vehicle structure. 18 | GCT 4.1
Further enhancements depend in large part on theater commanders’ needs and service decisions about these vehicles’ future. Again, as we start to draw down, we will continue to make changes, but we are being very careful to match upgrades to the threat and support priority needs from field commanders. Q: With the potential of a further $500 billion of defense outlay reductions possible, in addition to $487 billion already outlined, what cost-saving and efficiency moves have you already instituted at CS&CSS? A: In our business, where the taxpayers entrust us with so many resources, we always make it a point to carefully consider all of our spending actions—from the vendors we select to the way we travel and manage programs. On the program side, the CS&CSS team has led the way in implementing DoD’s “Better Buying Power” and “Should Cost” initiatives and by managing more intentionally within and across each capability portfolio. Some of these ideas seem simple enough, but doing them well can be as difficult as it is important. Take the JLTV program, for example, where key Better Buying Power elements helped us maintain a competitive focus, decrease variants, reduce risk and save $320 million by shortening the EMD phase from 48 to 33 months. Moreover, the Army is the only service to apply “Should Cost”—focusing on the best value through efficiencies—to its ACAT III [acquisition category] programs. We have a large number of these at CS&CSS, and after piloting this for the Army we expect substantial cost savings and cost avoidance in our programs. Q: What are some of the key lessons learned about vehicles that CS&CSS has amassed in the past decade of combat, during the first wars of the 21st century? A: Across the acquisition community, we learned a great deal about quickly meeting urgent warfighter needs; about the importance of maintaining an in-theater presence to understand requirements firsthand; and about the difference the right capability can make— whether an MRAP, a shower system or a reliable field generator. We have also seen the challenges of integrating C4ISR systems and mission equipment onto various vehicles, and the importance of managing these systems in early vehicle design and throughout the life cycle. But I think we’ve also learned about the future. The Army’s Strategic Modernization Planning effort reminds us to look broadly across portfolios and to consider technological maturity, future support requirements, sustainment planning and key science and technology insertion opportunities. Tomorrow’s threats may be different, and we are thinking about how we may use today’s systems down the road. Q: Do you have any closing thoughts about the men and women of CS&CSS who execute the mission each day? A: I could not be more proud of this team. In the face of rapidly changing requirements, urgent battlefield needs and now some substantial fiscal uncertainty, they continue to deliver what our troops need every day. These acquisition, logistics, contracting, engineering and business management professionals diligently ensure the joint force has what it needs from before it hits the field until the moment they all come home. I’m very thankful to be a part. O www.GCT-kmi.com
The quest continues for lighter, but tougher, combat helmets. By John M. Doyle GCT Correspondent
As the U.S. military confronts two challenges—increasing threats around the world and diminishing budgets at home—helmet manufacturers are looking for the key to keeping troops safe, sound and comfortable. Both industry and its government customers are on a quest for an industrial Holy Grail: a combat helmet with more ballistic protection than ever before, but that is lighter than previous models. Experts think the key is a form of thermoplastic resin and composite material, which can be up to 40 percent tougher than aramid fiber protective materials such as Dupont’s Kevlar or Teijin’s Twaron, but also lighter in weight—a boon for today’s troops loaded down with body armor and batteries for all manner of communications and hightech gear. The U.S. military is looking to replace the helmets used by the Army and Marine Corps with an enhanced combat helmet (ECH) that will offer even more protection from bullets, blunt trauma and bomb fragments. www.GCT-kmi.com
Head protection has been improving since the M1 steel pot helmet—introduced in World War II—was phased out in the 1980s. Next came the personal armor system for ground troops (PASGT) helmet. It was the first to utilize the strong, heat-resistant aramid synthetic fiber, Kevlar, developed by DuPont. While DuPont makes the Kevlar fiber, other companies—such as textile firms and garment makers—may form it into products such as body armor vests. The PSGT was replaced starting in 2003, by the Army’s lighter advanced combat helmet (ACH), and the Marines’ lightweight helmet (LWH), which is slightly heavier than the ACH despite its name. The two, made with Kevlar, are otherwise similar. The ECH program is being overseen by the Marine Corps, which awarded a $3 million low rate production contract in March to Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif. Helmets made under the initial order went to both the Army and Marine Corps. Ceradyne was the only one of four vendors to meet all the government requirements, although “there
was some drop-off in performance that the government wanted resolved. We believe the issues have now been resolved,” said Marc King, president of Ceradyne Armor Systems. He said the company expects to go to full rate production this spring. “Right now there is a lot of pressure of budgets globally and in the U.S. We know our customers have pressure, budget constraints,” said Shitij Chabba, DSM Dyneema’s global business sector director. One solution is a resin-free ballistic tape technology which still uses the polyethelene polymer but skips the process of making it into a fiber and then converting it into a unidirectional composite. “We straight away go from a polymer to a tape,” he said, adding that eliminating those manufacturing steps “helps reduce the cost and we pass that cost savings on to our customers.” The tape, manufactured in a 63-inch-wide roll, can be combined with unidirectional composites to achieve “a kind of cost-performance balance” for customers, he said. The tape-based composite has lower ballistic protection than HB80 but it’s still very high, Chabba said, GCT 4.2 | 19
adding that 100 percent tape-based solution can still offer protection, depending on the customer’s requirements. Chabba said Dyneema is taking a two track strategy for developing new products: radical innovation to develop next generation breakthrough technologies and micro innovation to develop products targeted toward the immediate needs of the marketplace. “We have a lot of exciting stuff in the pipeline,” he noted. DSM Dyneema, with production facilities in Greenville, N.C., makes a unidirectional composite material, known as HB80. The HB80 composite, a polyethylene fiber combined with resin and laminated together under pressure, offers users a choice: They can get the same protection currently provided by aramid fiber helmets but at a lighter weight, or they can get greater fragmentation and ballistic protection without increasing helmet weight, Chabba said. Meanwhile, other helmet manufacturers continue to supply the ACH and LWH combat headgear, and the heavier PASGT helmets to some foreign customers. ArmorSource, which supplies ACHs to the Army, is finishing off a four-year contract to supply lightweight advanced ballistic helmets to NATO’s Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA). The Hebron, Ohio-based company also sells to the Italian army and Israel’s border guards. Revision Military, based in Essex Junction, Vt., has won contracts with the Danish and Norwegian militaries to supply its Batlskin Cobra helmet, with an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene shell with a more rounded shape than the ACH. BAE Systems, which also makes the ACH, has a small contract with New Zealand land forces but does most of its business with the U.S. Marine Corps, which buys its LWH through the Defense Logistics Agency. In February, BAE Systems received a $28 million order from the Marines for additional production of lightweight helmets. The order was an option on an existing 2010 contract for the LWH, first produced by BAE Systems in 2012. The cumulative value awarded thus far under the contract is approximately $56 million. “Right now, all of our manufacturing and major contracts are all made with aramid materials,” said Eric Gavelda, director of warfighter protection for BAE Systems. “On the thermoplastic side, we’re going to be using that as we look at the Army’s Soldier Protection System,” an Army acquisition initiative to provide soldiers with head-to-toe protection that is lighter and interoperable. 20 | GCT 4.2
Ceradyne makes helmets for the U.S. Marine Corps and Army, but also in small quantities for overseas customers from Asia to South America. “International customers only buy in small quantities. When they buy large quantities, they buy them from China because they’re cheap,” said King. Revision Military’s founder and CEO Jonathan Blanshay also said there is market growth in Latin America, Africa and to a lesser extent Asia. “Brazil is a very big growth market with the Olympics and World Cup coming,” he said. There are pockets of growth in Asia, such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, “but not Korea or Japan,” he said, because their troops seldom deploy outside their borders or if they do, only do so in small numbers. The lightest helmet BAE Systems makes is the LWH for the Marines. But “we have an active program working on taking weight out of the final … density of our helmet system,” said Gavelda. The Army is seeking bids for a lighter version of its ACH. “The most recent solicitation was 10 percent lighter than their original design. So we’re actively pursuing that now,” he said. “I’m working on a new, lightweight helmet,” said Yoav Kapah, president and chief executive officer of ArmorSource. “My goal is that by AUSA [the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army in October] I will be with a helmet that would be 750 grams [1.65 pounds] total weight, including everything.” He said the new design’s ballistic protection “will be equal, if not higher, than the ACH.” But if a lighter, sturdier helmet is the Grail quest, then providing protection from rifle bullets is the hunt for the Great White Whale. Revision Military’s Blanshay said it is something his company is working on “but it’s not commercial yet. It’s something we will submit to the U.S. Army. The only way to do it and not make the helmet too heavy, he said, is with “polyethylene, not Kevlar—without turning it into 10 pounds.” Face protection, both facial shields and mandible protection for the lower jaw, is being developed by BAE Systems, Revision Military and ArmorSource. But Ceradyne— acquired last year by 3M—is not interested in face plates or shields. “Troops don’t want that. It fogs up, gets dirty, it’s hot and humid. Also, they’d rather have goggles,” said King. Instead, the company has developed the Mohawk helmet that, in conjunction with Wilcox, integrates a removable mandible
along with power supply bar to eliminate the need for a separate power source. Face protection, combined with additional equipment like radios, video cameras and night vision goggles, poses another challenge: integration of all the add-ons without unbalancing the helmet or negating the savings in weight achieved through the use of lighter materials. “In our industry, the big challenge is complete head protection,” said ArmorSource’s Kapah. Imagine a helmet like the one used by motorcyclists that protects the face as well as the head, he said. “This is the first [challenge], and the second one is integrated systems that will provide all the services for the soldier in combat, which include communications, night vision and everything lightweight and integrated in the helmet, without all the adapters and everything that we have right now.” Noting the “huge trend toward integration and lower weight,” Ceradyne’s King said, “It’s great to have new, lighter weight materials, but if all you are doing is lightening the helmet shell and adding all this other junk, are soldiers really better off?” Most helmet makers say their biggest concern for the future is that both military forces and deployments will shrink and there will be less and less need for state-of-the-art helmets. “If no one’s shooting at me, do I need a new helmet?” asked King. “The ACH is fine for training,” he said. Their comments came as the war in Iraq has ended, and the force drawdown is underway in Afghanistan. “The budget is so tight, and most of the armies of the world are holding back the money, but with the first incident, they will want the helmets right now and in huge quantity,” predicted Kapah, adding that it will be tough “to be able to satisfy those requirements. The biggest challenge is how do you plan your production? And what capacity you have? And how quickly can you respond?” “The risks won’t be just for the manufacturers,” said Blanshay. “The industrial base will be hollowed out, and the next time there’s a big need for helmets or other protective gear, there will be fewer players and less capacity and less expertise to do it. So there [are] consequences,” he added. O
For more information, contact GCT Editor Jeff Campbell at jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.gct-kmi.com.
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Transparent Armor Vehicle windows become tougher, while also becoming lighter. By Henry Canaday, GCT Correspondent
Making transparent armor is tough. The ultimate aims are stopping threats from penetrating vehicles while allowing soldiers to maintain situational awareness in all environments, explained Anthony Dolan, leader of the Vehicle Armor Team at the United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). “Most transparent armor solutions consist of layers made from soda-lime glass and plastic,” said Dolan. “Between each layer is a material that bonds the different pieces together after being processed in an autoclave. The number of layers in each solution and their respective thicknesses can be varied to achieve different ballistic protection capabilities.” TARDEC is seeking to improve the overall durability of transparent armor, which must be robust enough to withstand impacts and extreme temperature environments without a degradation of performance. Dolan said major improvements in transparent armor can be achieved through the use of transparent ceramics, which are much harder than glass and provide improved ballistic performance. For example, Technology Assessment & Transfer makes transparent Spinel, a hard ceramic the company has been developing over a dozen years in collaboration with a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, according to President Lawrence Fehrenbacher. “Nobody had been able to scale it up; we have done that now,” Fehrenbacher said. Technology Assessment has also made the Spinel product much lighter and www.GCT-kmi.com
harder, half the weight of glass armor and hard enough to resist sand erosion. “Glass armor is so heavy, you can’t replace it in the field,” Fehrenbacher said. Fehrenbacher argued that Spinel outperforms another transparent ceramic, Sapphire. “We are not as hard as Sapphire, but for a given level of ballistic protection, Spinel is lighter.” Technology Assessment has just finished qualifying Spinel for the Army. “We have a window with Spinel and several backing layers of polymer laminates for stopping armor-piercing projectiles,” Fehrenbacher explained. “We deal with the more severe threat of armor-piercing. That is much harder than for opaque armor, which can put tiles together and stop it.” The Army specifications were very hard to meet, and Fehrenbacher said these specs had never been met before. Technology Assessment had its new Spinel windows on two vehicles in the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles for a durability test that had many tough requirements. The Technology Assessment exec sees plenty of applications for Spinel, both on combat vehicles and as windows for electro-optical sensors, for example on new destroyers. “The Army is looking to uparmor special vehicles now,” Fehrenbacher noted. Lockheed Martin placed a large order for Sapphire for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System years ago. “At that time, we could not scale up. Now we can.” Technology Assessment has made an agreement allowing ArmorLine to
produce Spinel. The company has built a 78,000-square-foot facility south of Charlotte, N.C., and installed a 200-ton press, “the largest in North America,” Fehrenbacher said. “They have just produced 75 windows.” The Spinel product is costly, with the powder more expensive than glass and a requirement to heat it to 3,000 degrees. But Fehrenbacher argued better durability gives Spinel a lower life cycle cost because it will not have to be replaced as often as cheaper materials. But he is not confident that military procurement offices will buy based on lifecycle, rather than initial, cost. What counts is how the virtues of Spinel can be provided in commercial-scale production. “Technology Assessment & Transfer developed the processes to make larger plates than had been made before,” said Lawrence Shaffer, general manager of ArmorLine. “Our mission is to scale it up further and commercialize the product. This and other transparent ceramics have been around for a long time, but they could not be made in the sizes and volumes needed for ground vehicles.” Shaffer’s firm, with $20 million in private equity, is doing just that, for vehicles like the HMMWV or the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT A4). “Several companies knew how to make Spinel, but no one had the equipment to make it in larger sizes. Our investors provided the capital to deliver that capability.” GCT 4.2 | 21
The ArmorLine exec believes he is now in a unique position to succeed. Another firm can make aluminum oxynitride transparent armor with “similar properties, but not as large as we can,” he noted. And he said that there are issues with scaling up Sapphire sizes. “We have the capability to make Spinel plates 30 by 50 inches, big enough for any military vehicles.” Like Fehrenbacher, Shaffer emphasized the huge weight advantage Spinel has. He estimated that Spinel windows are 60 percent thinner and 60 percent lighter than the standard glass and polycarbonate alternative for transparent armor. Cost is the big hurdle. Like all ceramic materials, Spinel is made in a batch process and the cost to produce is directly related to volume. Shaffer noted that the cost of powder, the cost of converting it to plates and then the cost of polishing the plate are the three main components of the total price. “ArmorLine’s unique manufacturing capabilities now offer the lowest-cost option to convert the powder to plates. The other components of the cost will come down with scale and, with that volume, the conversion costs will also come down. It’s a chicken-and-egg thing.” Shaffer estimates that volume will bring Spinel down to three to four times the cost of conventional glass-based transparent armor. But he said that cost difference is justified with significant reductions in overall lifecycle costs for the transparent armor and for the vehicle systems. “Spinel transparent armor is lighter, so vehicles can carry more payload, improve their fuel economy and have more range. It is also much more durable. If used as the strike-face, outer layer, Spinel significantly improves abrasion resistance and the window will last longer in service.” ArmorLine sees prospects for using Spinel in the HMMWV’s possible replacement vehicle, the joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV). Shaffer believes the JLTV procurement has been down-selected to three vendors, and all of them still have weight challenges. “They have used all the conventional methods to get the weight of the vehicle down. We are an unconventional alternative that offers significant weight savings without compromising protection.” Weight is always a crucial consideration in developing transparent armor. Transparent Armor Solutions is a womenowned small business that has recently 22 | GCT 4.2
been funded by TARDEC to develop a modular system of transparent armor for a Class 3a all-temperature solution. This design is a next-generation version of the company’s Gemini armor system. “The current single-laminate Class 3a all-temperature weighs 58 pounds per square foot,” explained David Jungk, director of engineering. “Using advanced technologies, including air-gap, we achieve weights as low as 42 psf.” These solutions use two different constructions for the A-and-B laminates. The TARDEC effort simplifies this approach by using two laminates of the same construction, thus making an A-and-A armor system. This method of using the same construction for both layers reduces part count and logistics burden, thus easing the job of procurement departments. The TARDEC effort has been demonstrated using conventional materials at 50 psf, but TAS now has A-and-A solutions at 45 psf for Class 3a all-temperature and at 52 psf for Class 4a all-temperature. One of the main risks with air-gap technologies is moisture ingression into the air gap. The modular armor system developed by TAS and TARDEC addresses this risk by designing the system for easy maintenance, allowing the two halves to be separately quickly. If moisture does penetrate the seal, then the air gap can be cleaned and the desiccant replaced. TARDEC is currently testing this solution against the Transparent Armor Purchase Document 2352 requirements including ballistics, vibration, humidity and thermal shock. “The Gemini Modular Armor System is ideal for tactical wheeled vehicles that may see a variety of threat requirements,” Jungk said. “Ideal candidates would be the [JLTV], upgraded HMMWVs and even mineresistant ambush protected vehicles.” He also sees them as perfect for Special Operation Command’s ground mobility vehicles. Further developments by TAS in transparent armor include: exterior coatings for abrasion resistance; transparent indium tin oxide coating for deicing windshields and Smart Glass by TAS for on-demand tinting. “The Smart Glass by TAS technology is a recent addition to our capabilities,” Jungk said. “It allows the user to control tinting of the glass from visible to less than 1 percent light transmission.” The primary benefit for armored vehicles would be hiding occupants from potential threats,
but the technology could also be used to minimize solar heating for the comfort of vehicle occupants. Another highly diversified firm that works in this field is PPG Aerospace, which produces transparent armor products for military vehicles, buildings, rail, commercial and industrial applications, explained David Palermo, global segment manager for Transparent Armor and Specialty Products. “PPG Aerospace transparent armor products are differentiated by our proprietary technology, quality, volume produced, robustness and our understanding of customer needs,” Palermo said. “We are also able to offer customers support around the world through our global network of Application Support Centers.” PPG’s transparent armor products are used both by manufacturers of military vehicles around the world and by the organizations that refurbish these vehicles. “The U.S. Army’s quality control programs ensure our products do not deviate in performance,” Palermo said. “These requirements continually validate the robustness of PPG transparent armor solutions against a variety of threats.” PPG exploits its experience in aerospace to make transparent armor with high optical clarity, resistance to de-lamination and light-transmission values that exceed specifications. “These attributes provide soldiers with increased situational awareness across the entire viewing area with normal or enhanced eyesight,” Palermo noted. PPG materials have played an important role in the rock-strike requirements that are being developed in military specifications. Palermo said the intent of these new specifications is to raise the in-field performance standards that must be met by all transparent armor products in order to improve mission readiness of military vehicles. Palermo observed that PPG is now developing holistic approaches to decrease the weight of its transparent armor. It is also working on polycarbonate replacements to improve maintenance of the armor and increase its service life, all while ensuring the armor remains affordable. O
For more information, contact GCT Editor Jeff Campbell at jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.gct-kmi.com.
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Bringing a skilled and coordinated force to battle staff training. By Calvin Pilgrim and Kathryn Bailey
On a November evening, a fires brigade commander in Afghanistan prepares to execute an offensive maneuver. He requests an update on the Army tactical missile system rockets resupply and the maintenance status on the multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). His supply sergeant queries the Battle Command Sustainment Support system (BCS3) for the last location of the convoy transporting the rockets, and also opens a maintenance unit status report for progress on the MLRS repair. Determining that the convoy left two hours ago and the MLRS is still in the shop but all parts are available for the repair, the sergeant then verifies the estimated time of arrival will be six hours for both shipments to the brigade. Finally, an additional query regarding personnel confirms that two additional soldiers are scheduled to arrive one day ahead of schedule. Did this up-to-date fire and personnel support data contribute towards a successful attack? Yes, it did; however, the events described were actually part of a simulated exercise using the BCS3, underscoring the fact that logistics support training is just as critical to the mission as the training provided to soldiers for battlefield combat operations. www.GCT-kmi.com
“Simulations are used to train commanders and staffs in procedures and a wide range of offensive and defensive operations without having to deploy,” said Robert Sears, senior subject matter expert for Sustainment System Mission Command, BCS3’s product office under Project Manager Mission Command. “BCS3 allows sustainment soldiers to gain experience in how they would support the fight from a logistics perspective without going to the field to conduct resourceintensive force-on-force exercises.” BCS3 provides real-time logistical map-based operational capabilities to commanders at all echelons, and includes a logistics reporting tool (LRT) for sustainment status reports, supply and equipment in-transit visibility (ITV), and resource (personnel) asset visibility. It is one of the logistics tools within Mission Command and provides sustainment information in the Command Post Computing Environment (CP CE). The CP CE is one of several computing environments nested inside the Army’s common operating environment, and aims to simplify systems architecture for command-and-control capability development at tactical echelons. “As we began to support simulations in the 1990s, it was necessary to travel to each site to set up a server suite,” said Bill Patteson, lead GCT 4.2 | 23
field support representative for the BCS3 Simulations and Stimulations (Sim-Stim) team. “However, in 2011, the National Simulation Center at Fort Lee, Va., began hosting the BCS3 simulation team and the National Data Portal (NDP). While we conduct many of the 12 major annual exercises on post, the portal allows us to support exercises worldwide from the Fort Lee location, thus affording cost savings to the Army.” Exercises are tailored to unit requests, generally last 10 days and include participation from the active Army, Reserve component and the National Guard. The BCS3 architecture allows an organization to execute a myriad of sustainment operations. In more complex situations, the BCS3 architecture can be expanded to accommodate a greater number of systems, sometimes called BCS3 clients. To ensure the most realistic experience for sustainment support soldiers, the BCS3 Sim-Stim team stimulates the scenarios by injecting data. The injected data test the responses of sustainment personnel. The types of simulations exercised are part of two well-known logistics federations: the Multi-Resolution Federation (MRF) and the Entity Resolution Federation (ERF). MRF uses warfighter simulation (WARSIM) for the combat model and Logistics Federation (LOGFED) for the logistics model. ERF interfaces to Mission Command Systems via the Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation as the combat model and Joint Deployment Logistics Model as the logistics model. The actual scenarios vary depending on the training requirements, so the BCS3 Sim-Stim team closely coordinates each exercise to ensure the exercise meets the command’s expectations. For example, a command may state that it needs to prepare for an upcoming deployment and want their soldiers to learn how to track Class I items (food, water and other comfort items). The simulation then pushes out a supply status to the user’s BCS3 terminal, but withholds Class I updates. “Units determine which classes of supply they want to exercise and the simulation allows them to manually report logistics data via the logistics reporting tool,” said Patteson. The simulated environment begins when logistics data flows from the LOGFED (logistics) server through a gateway to the LOGFED SimStim client, which then feeds to the BCS3 main gateway. The gateway pushes that data down to the BCS3 clients. It is in the Sim-Stim client where the unit task organization and tracked items list, a crucial listing of the commodities commanders deem necessary to complete their mission, are built and passed to the BCS3 NDP and the training BCS3 clients (training audience) via the main gateway. The output is unit basic load (UBL) data from warfighters’ simulation (WARSIM), provided by Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation, and supply point data from LOGFED, which is packaged and distributed to all the BCS3 gateways and client systems in the exercise architecture. The UBL data provides several classes of supply, from Class I through Class IX. This data is sent in the form of a logistics status report message and posts data in the running estimate reports, combat power, as well as the LRT. Using the data from WARMSIM, a unit can use BCS3 to monitor degradation of stocks. For instance, users can set the UBL to send out an alert if fuel supplies reach 75 percent. Or, users can track ammunition resupply by setting an alert to sound after 100 rounds are shot. On the LOGFED side, the simulation teaches users how to track the convoys carrying the supplies. “Convoys are visible on the common operating picture in BCS3, and the ITV information sent from LOGFED can be published to the battle command server so other Army battle command systems, such as command post of the future and command web, can subscribe to 24 | GCT 4.2
Figure 1: link between LOGFED and BCS3 in a simulation environment
them and see the convoys on their common operation picture,” said Patteson. Another popular capability is the logistics factor file, which allows the user to set logistics factors that affect their status in the areas of planning, consumption factors and planning days for supply and status thresholds. This functionality allows unit leaders to weight the aforementioned factors and determine their readiness status to conduct combat operations. Units also request BCS3’s combat power capability for an allinclusive analysis of their logistics readiness to perform their missions. “Combat power for an organization is one of the major capabilities of BCS3. It displays Air and Ground Class VII, Maintenance, Class V, Class III Bulk and personnel status so that a commander can obtain a realistic picture of the organization’s posture,” said John Woyansky, another BCS3 Sim-Stim team member. Training for Sim-Stim operations is available to units, and LRT is the most requested module. Users appreciate that they can use LRT to submit a report from the lowest level and then have the data automatically populate at each echelon based on the unit’s task organization. A new LRT enhancement includes equipment grouping, which allows a user to use a default grouping such as combat, assault and tactical vehicles, and tracked, which contains major combat equipment such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, Bradley fighting vehicles and other assets. The BCS3 Simulation Team continues to improve the system’s interface, and as BCS3 is modernized and migrates into a web-enabled environment they are also migrating the Sim-Stim environment to remain similar to the web-enabled environment. The applications, or widgets, for the new LRT, combat power, in-transit visibility, asset visibility and unit task organization are either already in use or will be by fiscal year 2014. “We will continue to improve on the interface, and as BCS3 changes to a web-based system, so does LOGFED to ensure the training audience has a logistics simulation provider for exercises now and into the future,” said Woyansky. O Calvin Pilgrim is PdD for Sustainment System Mission Command. Kathryn Bailey is a public communications advisor, Project Manager Mission Command. For more information, contact GCT Editor Jeff Campbell at jcampbell@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.gct-kmi.com.
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TECHNLOGY INTEL
Compiled by KMI Media Group Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan
Toy Landmine (or Just What Every Kid Needs!)
Dynamic Protection
Out of Hong Kong— and hoping they mean training—comes a toy landmine. This “comes with everything you see here” claymorelooking “toy” landmine is described as having three primary elements: the main housing, a smoke generating “means,” and a triggering device. The triggering device includes a rammer for striking the container to release the smoke, and a delay mechanism. The sole purpose of the delay mechanism appears to be able to stretch out the smoke release over a longer period of time.
Russian armor has long made use of dynamic or reactive armor. This dynamic protection concept comprises a body, a cover and an explosive. Explosive-filled cartridges of high-strength, ball-shaped steel, fill the body (sometimes referred to as the cartridge) of the unit section. Inside the cartridge is a detonator, sensitive to compression and deformation. The explosive steel balls are arranged in layers within the body, and are activated once the body is penetrated by an armor-piercing or explosively-formed penetrator. The counter explosion is designed to disrupt the penetration ability of the incoming round.
Target Designation and Mobile Control Station
From Russia comes a brief description of a mobile target designation and mobile control station on a wheeled chassis separated into three sections. Far forward is the driver/ operator section, which is fairly standard to the already in-service vehicle. Behind that is the commander’s control section, accommodating the commander primary control station, automated workstations, power supply control hardware, life support hardware elements, cooling and air conditioning systems, signal processing and control hardware for the activepassive radar complex, ground computer-aided control system
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for target distribution among launchers, and communication and navigation hardware complex. The last element is the unmanned rear compartment that accommodates the antenna station (protected by a radio translucent cover). The primary antenna is articulated at the rear wall of the rear compartment and is raided and lowered from this location. The control station roof accommodates the mast, with hardware, for a covert narrowband low-power radio line-of-sight data exchange channel. The Russians report that this design represents expanded operating performances and better reliability.
Hatch Design for Russian 2S19 Self-Propelled Gun A hatch is a hatch, but the size of the side hatches of the 2S19 turret is large enough to require an assist device. Since the doors do not compromise ballistic protection, that also means they are heavy. Uraltransmash claims that this design eases opening while preserving protection levels and the tightness of the seal.
Blast Attenuating Seat Details of a blast attenuating seat from Allen Vanguard have been released. The design relates to a system and method of armed forces vehicle seating which reduces the potential for injury to occupants when the vehicle is subjected to a landmine or similar explosive device. The seats are floor, ceiling or wall mounted and include a trailer arm which allow deflection while providing stability. This arrangement isolates the occupants from the chassis of the vehicle via a pneumatic or other shock absorber. These seats can also be combined with shock absorbing/isolating foot rests, leg restrain systems and an occupant four-point harness to offer a completely integrated system. This integrated system reduces acceleration/ deceleration-related injuries, shock injuries to the lower legs, flailing injuries to the lower legs and internal collision injuries. Other options and alternatives are also described.
GCT 4.2 | 25
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June 2012 Volume 1, Issue 1
Michael J. Fisher Chief U.S. Border Patrol U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Leadership Insight: Robert S. Bray Assistant Administrator for Law Enforcement Director of the Federal Air Marshal Service Transportation Security Administration
Hazmat Disaster Response Wide Area Aerial Surveillance O Program Tactical Communications O P-3
MILITARY ADVANCED EDUCATION MILITARY LOGISTICS FORUM MILITARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MILITARY MEDICAL & VETERANS AFFAIRS FORUM
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The Communication
The Communication
SUE RAL IS PEOs U
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SPECIAL SECTION:
MILITARY TRAINING TECHNOLOGY
CARRIER ONBOARD DELIVERY OPTIONS
Carrier Craftsman Rear Adm. Thomas J. Moore
m www.npeo-kmi.co
U.S. Navy Program Executive Officer Aircraft Carriers
NAVY AIR/SEA PEO FORUM
Patrol Craft O Riverine Partnership Shipboard Self-Defense Development Helicopter O Educational Presidential Munitions O Precision Guided
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GCT 4.2 | 27
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
Ground Combat Technology
Kathryn B. Hasse Director, Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Program Director, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Lockheed Martin Kathryn Hasse is responsible for Lockheed Martin’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) EMD program and production capture. In October 2003, Hasse was named director of advanced concepts, where she was responsible for assessing the tactical wheeled vehicle market and for successfully negotiating a license agreement with HMT Vehicles Ltd for exclusive rights to their high mobility transport vehicles for the North American and associated foreign military sales markets. She later led the successful acquisition of HMT Vehicles Ltd. Hasse has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from Wellesley College. Q: What types of products and services are you offering to military and other government customers? A: When people think of Lockheed Martin, many of them think “airplanes”—but that’s only part of the corporation’s portfolio. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control [2012 sales $7.5 billion] has been in the ground-vehicles business for more than three decades, and we’re responsible for many of the platforms that the U.S. Army, the Marine Corps and numerous allied nations rely upon every day. We produce not only precision-guided ATACMS missiles and GMLRS rockets, but also the vehicles that launch them—the HIMARS and M270-series mobile launchers. We’re the prime contractor on Common Vehicle, an extremely mobile reconnaissance vehicle capable of high speeds across unforgiving terrain, and we also lead the LAV-C2 mobile command-and-control vehicle program for the Marines. We are one of three JLTV competitors in the program’s engineering, manufacturing and development [EMD] phase, and our assembly line has begun producing the 22 test vehicles that we will deliver to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps for evaluation later this summer. We believe our JLTV design strikes a crucial balance between 28 | GCT 4.2
have grave national-security implications. We can’t provide details about how we protect our information, but we can say that we devote very significant amounts of talent and resources to ensure its security. Q: Are you currently developing new products and services relevant to military and government customers that you hope to bring to the market in the future? cost and outstanding overall capability. Q: What unique benefits does your company provide its customers in comparison with other companies in your field? A: Lockheed Martin Corporation is a world leader in high-technology systems and products. Our workforce comprises 80,000 scientists, engineers and information technology professionals who are committed to providing superior systems for those who go into harm’s way to protect our freedom. We are able to exploit that enormous wealth of intellectual capital when we design and field our products. So, not only do we offer systems that often transcend existing technologies—we make things that work reliably. Our ground vehicles are known both for their capability and their dependability. For example, Lockheed Martin HIMARS and M270A1 mobile launchers have achieved readiness rates of 99 and 98 percent respectively. Lockheed Martin’s award-winning experience in managing performance-based logistics programs for ground platforms enables increased system readiness and lower ownership costs. Q: How are you working to strengthen the security of your solutions? A: Nearly every day brings a new headline about an elaborate cyber-attack, international or corporate espionage, or attempts to steal proprietary and classified information. As the world’s largest defense contractor we are hyper-aware of these activities, and we understand that any breach can
A: There are several in addition to JLTV. Our Havoc eight-wheel-drive armored modular vehicle is a contender in the Marine Personnel Carrier competition. Lockheed Martin also is a pioneer in unmanned ground vehicles technology, and there are two current UGV programs that show promise for future applications. We were recently awarded a contract to develop and test the autonomous mobility applique system, which is a kit that can be installed on existing military vehicles to enable autonomous or semi-autonomous convoy operation. Also, we are continuing development of the squad mission support system [SMSS], a six-wheeled, car-sized robot that is demonstrating capabilities ranging from autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance to resupply missions and unburdening soldiers’ heavy packs. The Army has indicated that it is likely to pursue an SMSS-like development contract around the 2016 time frame. Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add? A: I’d like to thank U.S. Army and Marine Corps for their ongoing leadership and cooperation on JLTV. I also want to congratulate our team on their commitment to ensuring that the Army and Marines get the vehicle they want and the vehicle they need. Our team members are laser-focused on controlling cost and getting the technological solution right. We believe we’re offering a great vehicle, and I’m confident that the upcoming evaluation period will bear that out. O www.GCT-kmi.com
NEXTISSUE The Publication of Distinction for the Maneuver Warfighter
July 2013 Vol. 4, Issue 3
Cover and In-Depth Interview with:
Maj. Gen. H. R. McMaster
Commanding General U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence
Features
Tactical Weapon Sights
Check out the latest in tactical weapon sights, including advances to match the greater range of some newer ammo. We focus on the new sights that companies are developing, and on the various types of sights that permit the warrior to take down the enemy at a safe distance.
Night Vision Systems
Slipping up on the enemy in the dark, warriors are invisible. But they can see the enemy clearly, thanks to night vision systems, including newer assets that provide clear black-and-white views instead of the old green scene.
Ruggedized Computers
Warriors on the field of combat can access a universe of data ranging from intel, to aerial video from UAVs, to cartography. But it all has to work dependably in the rough, jarring environment of a combat zone, and that is where ruggedized computers are at their best.
Special Section
Mobile Electrical Power
While warriors once carried just a rifle, some grenades, a canteen filled with water and little else, the 21st-century combatant is an electronic netted node, needing plentiful electrical power. See how that need can be met efficiently and effectively.
Insertion Order Deadline: June 14, 2013 • Ad Materials Deadline: June 21, 2013
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