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Committee on Sensing and Communications Capabilities for Special Operations Forces Standing Committee on Research, Development, and Acquisition Options for U.S. Special Operations Command Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This is a report of work supported by Contract H92222-07-D-0014, DO #2, between U.S. Special Operations Command and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number 978-0-309-13760-7 International Standard Book Number 0-309-13760-8 Limited copies are available from: Additional copies available from: Division on Engineering and Physical The National Academies Press Sciences 500 Fifth Street, N.W. National Research Council Lockbox 285 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20055 Washington, DC 20001 (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (202) 334-3111 (in the Washington metropolitan area) http://www.nap.edu Copyright 2009 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academyâs purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org
COMMITTEE ON SENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES JOANNE ISHAM, Chair, L-1 Identity Solutions THOMAS BURNS, Vice Chair, SET Corporation KENNETH BOWRA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory REGAN EDENS, Ares Systems Group CHIP ELLIOTT, BBN Technologies CAROLYNE HART, Sandia National Laboratories ROBERT HENRICK, Arbitron PAUL HOFF, BAE Systems (retired) LINDA KATEHI, The University of Illinios at Urbana-Champaign ROBERT McCLATCHEY, McClatchey Associates TAMAR PELI, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory ED PENTALERI, Loral Communications W. DAVID SINCOSKIE, University of Delaware JONATHAN SMITH, University of Pennsylvania L. DANNY TROMP, The MITRE Corporation DAVID WHELAN, The Boeing Company WINSTON WILEY, Independent Consultant Staff CARTER W. FORD, Study Director GREGORY EYRING, Senior Program Officer KAMARA E. BROWN, Research Associate URRIKKA B. WOODS, Program Associate v
STANDING COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND ACQUISITION OPTIONS FOR U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND JACQUES GANSLER, Chair, University of Maryland A. MICHAEL ANDREWS, L-3 Communications KENNETH BOWRA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory LAWRENCE DELANEY, Titan Corporation (retired) CHIP ELLIOTT, BBN Technologies MICHAEL HOPMEIER, Unconventional Concepts, Inc. JOSEPH MANCUSI, Narus, Inc. RANDALL MURCH, Virginia Polytechnic Institute WILLIAM NEAL, The MITRE Corporation ROBERT NOWAK, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (retired) ALTON ROMIG, JR. Sandia National Laboratories PAUL ROSENSTRACH, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory JULIE J.C.H. RYAN, George Washington University HARRY SCHULTE, Raytheon Missile Systems ANNETTE SOBEL, University of Missouri JOHN SOMMERER, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory DWIGHT STREIT, Northrop Grumman Corporation DAVID WHELAN, The Boeing Company Staff MICHAEL A. CLARKE, Director CARTER W. FORD, Program Officer DANIEL E.J. TALMAGE, JR., Program Officer MARGUERITE SCHNEIDER, Administrative Coordinator NORMAN M. HALLER, Consultant KAMARA E. BROWN, Research Associate URRIKKA B. WOODS, Program Associate vi
Preface The U. S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is one of nine combatant commands directly responsible to the Secretary of Defense. As a functional command, SOCOM's primary responsibilities are to organize, train, and equip special operations forces (SOF) provided to the geographic combatant commanders and to U.S. ambassadors and their country teams. Currently, SOCOM has a central role in planning and executing the worldwide campaign against terrorism. Of particular interest to SOCOM are advanced sensors that are able to operate in all environments and that are able to exfiltrate information to overhead platforms and forces in the field. The ability to sense, discriminate forces, locate, and track militarily significant objects has been the goal of numerous science and technology activities since the Vietnam conflict. Emphasis on the need to develop these technologies has not abated and, for SOF to accomplish their mission, this requirement remains important and largely unfulfilled. SOF missions typically involve the insertion of small, highly trained teams into targeted areas, which may be required to operate independently for days to months. Their success depends heavily on situational awareness and the ability to gather information and transmit it to centers where it can be processed and analyzed. Thus, technologies for sensing and supporting communications (S&SC) are particularly critical. Examples include technologies for remotely monitoring the use of clandestine trails and camps or determining the location and movements of high-value targets and then transmitting this information back to those who can use it to make decisions about tactical responses. STATEMENT OF TASK AND COMMITTEE APPROACH Given the rapid advances in S&SC technologies, SOCOMâs acquisition executive, in September 2007, discussed with the National Research Councilâs (NRCâs) SOCOM Standing Committee the need for increased capabilities for sensing and communications that could be used by SOF. The NRC agreed to undertake a series of studies to evaluate those that are most promising and assess their readiness and performance in a variety of environments. The original plan was to accomplish a one-year study with emphasis on 1- year of the most challenging environmentsâtriple-canopy jungle. Later, the sponsor requested that additional emphasis be placed on other operating environments that SOF might face. It became evident to the committee that the need for additional in-depth assessments would require more time. This report offers observations on a limited number of technologies in the jungle environment that the committee has investigated to this point. In this report, the tasks are these: Discuss the unique requirements of SOF for sensing and supporting communications in relevant SOCOM operational environments and provide an vii
viii PREFACE introductory-level discussion of sensing and supporting communications issues and challenges associated with effectively operating in these restricted and nonrestricted (open) environments. Discuss the sensing and supporting communications architecture and the associated capabilities and technologies required for effectively operating in the jungle/triple-canopy environment. Discuss preliminary observations, issues, and challenges associated with sensing and supporting communications in a jungle/triple-canopy environment. Identify additional capabilities and/or technology areas that need to be addressed through additional committee data gathering to support any subsequent reports. The months between the committeeâs last meeting and the publication of the report were spent preparing the draft manuscript, reviewing and responding to the external peer review comments, editing the report, and conducting the required security/public release review necessary to produce this version of the report, which does not disclose information as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(b). It was mutually determined by SOCOM and the NRC that the full report contained information as described in 5 U.S.C.(b) and therefore could not be released to the public in its entirety. The committee thanks all who contributed to this effort, including the individual committee members who volunteered considerable time and energy, the supporting staff of the National Academies, and the many outside experts who provided necessary information to inform committee deliberations. Finally, the committee greatly appreciates the opportunities to interact with the knowledgeable SOCOM representatives, who shed much light on how their forces operate and emphasized the importance of this work to their warfighters. Joanne Isham, Chair Thomas Burns, Vice Chair Committee on Sensing and Communications Capabilities for Special Operations Forces
Acknowledgment of Reviewers This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Councilâs Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Ruth David, Analytic Services, Inc., Neil Fox, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Larry Lynn, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (retired), C. Paul Robinson, Sandia National Laboratories (emeritus), Alton Romig, Jr., Sandia National Laboratories, Paul Rosenstrach, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Neil Siegel, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, and George Sutton, SPARTA, Inc. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by R. Stephen Berry, University of Chicago. Appointed by the NRC, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. ix
Contents SENSING AND SUPPORTING COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES FOR SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES 1 APPENDIXES A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 7 B Meetings and Participating Organizations 13 C Suggested Reading 14 xi