MORE MODERN MILITARY

As military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drew to a close, the U.S. military began shifting strategies to reflect changing geopolitical climates and technological advancements.

That included an increased focus on competing with near-peer adversaries and preparing for future conflicts that will occur at a longer range and greater speed.

In preparation for these changes, the Army reorganized its research and development labs, outlined modernization priorities and created Cross-Functional Teams.

ERDC has been responsive to this new environment, flexibly leaning into its core competencies to support Army and DOD partners as they establish the future force and maintain technological superiority.

ERDC’s work in this transition has been broad and deep – enhancing efforts to enable Combined All-Domain Operations, regain Arctic Dominance, develop Installations of the Future, improve physical and cyber security, increase Warfighter situational understanding, accelerate prototyping for military platforms, secure reliable installation energy and more.

ERDC is addressing the challenge of outdated geospatial data by developing tools to rapidly analyze new remotely sensed imagery. These tools, part of the Enhanced Terrain Processing effort, allow geospatial engineers to process and analyze current terrain conditions more quickly and accurately. This capability leads to superior situational awareness and operational knowledge for Warfighters.

ERDC researchers have developed a digital map-based environment for remote collaboration in near real-time, enabling faster and more complete military planning to support timely and better-informed command decisions. Joint Planning Services enhances military planning by enabling real-time remote collaboration. This platform integrates authoritative live data feeds, analysis tools, and visualization capabilities for seamless coordination in planning and decision making.

Improving the inefficiencies of current expeditionary structures, ERDC’s 3D printing and additive materials capabilities offer customdesigned solutions using local materials in the field. This innovation saves time (20X faster), money (40 percent cost reduction) and materials (44 percent reduction). Energy-efficient and protective, these capabilities reduce labor and workforce while enhancing strength. With applications in rapid infrastructure, complex obstacles and improved force structures, these technologies decrease Warfighter and logistical needs, advance construction capabilities globally and expedite critical development.

ERDC’s research supports the U.S. Army’s Regaining Arctic Dominance strategy in addressing the challenges of the contested Arctic environment. That research involves developing new tools to track air, land and sea changes; understanding climate impacts, and providing efficient crossdomain mobility solutions. This effort enhances awareness, protection of critical infrastructure, and preparedness for countering near-peer adversaries.

Since the 1980s, ERDC has supported the USACE Civil Works mission in evaluating federally maintained navigation channels using ship and vessel response models in conjunction with tidal circulation and wave models. Now the U.S. Army and Navy are exploring using ERDC’s world-class ship simulation capability as a planning tool for amphibious operations to minimize mission navigation risk and define the optimal axes of assault that maximize the number of Warfighters and material reaching the shore in the least amount of time.

New DOD strategy calls for resilient military installations of the future to generate readiness, project forces and command operations. Commanders will need access to diverse, fused real-time installation data to monitor, recognize and respond to threats rapidly and autonomously. To meet this critical need, ERDC developed the Virtual Testbed for Installation Mission Effectiveness tool, enabling operators to leverage artificial intelligence and isolated data sources to improve readiness while reducing operating expenses and workforce requirements.

The Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) concept guides preparation for a future in which Warfighters will be called on to juggle capabilities in the land, air, sea, cyber and space domains while maneuvering through a contested environment defended by a near-peer adversary. For JADO to succeed, the DOD must modernize how it mobilizes, protects, projects, sustains and trains forces. ERDC is involved with each function at all echelons across the Army, Joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multi-national communities.

Unmanned ground vehicles carry great potential for the Armed Forces. Still, before these systems can be deployed, they must undergo rigorous testing to ensure their autonomy can be trusted under challenging conditions. Since the early 2000s, ERDC has assisted this process by developing modeling and simulation tools that explore how autonomous systems handle diverse challenges that are often difficult to replicate with physical testing.