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Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier (1997)

Chapter: 2 Requirements and Needs

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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
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2
Requirements and Needs

This chapter reviews the Army's requirements and needs (or unstated requirements) that are an outgrowth of the proliferation of electronic systems on the battlefield. The chapter discusses the Land Warrior program and new electronic systems that will affect power considerations for the dismounted soldier; the soldier as a system; the impact of digitization; relevant operational factors; and future initiatives and trends.

The individual soldier is the Army's ultimate weapon. In addition to being a live weapons platform, the soldier is also a source of battlefield intelligence and a vital link in command and control communications. Advances in technology have increased not only the capabilities of traditional weapons systems, but also the potential of individual soldiers to function as shooters, sensors, and communicators.

The Army's concept of the soldier as a system provides a good framework for analyzing this increased potential in terms of the individual soldier. The soldier system is comprised of systems in which all requirements can be placed in five functional categories: lethality, mobility, command and control, survivability, and sustainment (Figure 2-1).

The Soldier Systems Command (SSCOM) was established by the AMC (Army Materiel Command) exclusively to coordinate the fulfillment of soldier system requirements. SSCOM responds to the needs of soldiers in various specialties (such as artillery, tank-mounted, airborne, rear-echelon, air cavalry, and dismounted infantry), but perhaps the command's most visible undertaking is the Land Warrior program, which focuses on collective requirements of the dismounted combat soldier.

Advances in communications, computers, and other electronics technologies have spurred the Army to develop systems that will dramatically increase the effectiveness of the dismounted soldier. All of these systems will consume energy, which must be provided by human-portable sources. Therefore, the Army needs both improved energy sources and more efficient energy use.

The Army Force XXI Land Warrior program, which is administered by the SSCOM Project Manager-Soldier, at Fort Belvoir, Virginia has the highest potential impact on energy for future dismounted soldiers. This program combines the engineering and manufacturing development of the Land Warrior ensemble

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

FIGURE 2-1 Requirement categories of the soldier system. Source: Doney, 1996.

for the dismounted soldier with a science and technology development program (earlier known as the Generation II Soldier program), which is managed by the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Center (RDEC) in Natick, Massachusetts. Advanced concept technology demonstrations (ACTD) and advanced warfighting experiments (AWE) involving new power sources and electronics, many developed by the Army Communications-Electronics Command, at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, are being conducted in concert with the Land Warrior program.

The Army's acquisition of systems is normally accomplished in phases. During the engineering and manufacturing development phase, the contractor seeks to meet objectives with prototype systems until a final system design is approved by the Army Project Manager. The next phase is the production and fielding of systems built to final design specifications. To accelerate the fielding

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

of Land Warrior, an open, modular system design has been adopted, which allows for advanced subsystems to be inserted into fielded versions of the ensembles after they are developed by the Natick RDEC.

Candidate subsystems to be developed and inserted into the Land Warrior design have already been identified and are listed in Figure 2-2. Higher priority improvements slated for insertion include a wireless weapons interface, integrated sight, integrated navigation, enhanced soldier radio, system voice control, combat identification functional integration, and an upgraded helmet-mounted display. Lower priority enhancements being considered for development include a hand-held color display, a head orientation sensor, and interfaces for a personnel status monitor, a portable mine avoidance device, and a chemical agent detector.

The Army provided the committee with estimates for power requirements of subsystems approved for the Land Warrior system, as well as for several subsystems being considered for insertion. These power requirements (listed in Table 2-1) provide a baseline for comparison with achievable future systems for the dismounted soldier. The Land Warrior design assumes that standard military batteries will be used as the energy source for all of the subsystems.

Table 2-1 shows that the computer in the computer/radio subsystem has the largest power requirement, followed by the two radios. In spite of this, neither a more energy-efficient computer nor an advanced terminal, which might consolidate the functions of computer and radio, is being developed for insertion into the Land Warrior system. The committee also noted that the general-purpose personal computer architecture on which the soldier computer is based has much more computational power than necessary to accomplish the specified functions; presumably the extra power will be available for added functions and capabilities. The Natick RDEC is considering an advanced computer architecture as a possible "revolutionary operational enhancement" to Land Warrior in the future, but implementing it would require deviating from the Army's approved command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) technical architecture (Army, 1995).

The Land Warrior system was designed to meet the operational requirements of the dismounted soldier as defined by the Infantry Center in a detailed Operational Requirements Document (TRADOC, 1994a). The Infantry Center estimated power requirements for each of the Land Warrior capabilities by compiling "operational mode summaries" for a variety of typical missions. The process used to estimate power requirements for the laser rangefinder capability is described in Appendix B. The Land Warrior system design will undoubtedly change in the near term in response to new requirements identified for Force XXI operations on a digitized battlefield.

IMPACT OF DIGITIZATION

The Army Digitization Master Plan defines digitization as "the application of information technologies to acquire, exchange, and employ timely digital

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

FIGURE 2-2 Land Warrior subsystems. Source: Doney, 1996.

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

TABLE 2-1 Power Requirements for the Land Warrior System

 

Functional Operating Power (W)

Computer/Radio Subsystem  

Computer

14.800

Hand-Held Flat Panel Display

6.400

Soldier Radio  

Receive

1.400

Transmit

6.000

Squad Radio  

Receive

2.000

Transmit

12.000

Global Positioning System

1.500

Video Capture

1.000

Subtotal

45.100

Integrated Helmet and Sight Subsystem (IHAS)

Laser Detectors

0.600

Helmet-Mounted Display

4.900

Imager

0.100

Subtotal

5.600

Weapon Subsystem

Laser Rangefinder

0.050

Laser Aiming Light

0.075

Digital Compass

0.350

Thermal Weapon Sight

5.525

Subtotal

6.000

TOTAL

56.7

information throughout the battle space, tailored to meet the needs of each decider (commander), shooter and supporter … allowing each to maintain a clear, accurate vision of the surrounding battle space necessary to support both planning and execution" (Army Digitization Office, 1995). Digitization is the horizontal and vertical integration of operating systems on the battlefield to create an interlocking network for exchanging information. This network allows friendly soldiers to have a common picture of the battle space that includes information on both enemy and friendly situations in near real time. Ideally, the high-speed data exchange will correlate, fuse, and display intelligence information at all levels.

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

For the first time, a shared vision of the battle space will allow soldiers at all levels to visualize operations simultaneously (TRADOC, 1994b). Thus, the dismounted soldier will be more empowered than ever before to take independent action.

Digitization provides for the evolution of technology on the battlefield, and operational concepts must be developed to ensure that new tactics and doctrine make effective use of information technology. Figure 2-3 shows that a change (''delta") in military tactics, techniques, and procedures is produced when doctrine, training, organization, and support systems are enhanced by information technology. Conversely, as the arrows in the figure show, the "delta" also affects the Army's doctrine and operational concepts. Compared to the traditional evolution of military doctrine, digitization represents a revolution in military thinking.

A recent Task Force XXI AWE conducted at Fort Hood, Texas, used prototype computers and radios operating in a "tactical internet." The experiment was designed to study the capabilities enabled by digitization technology and will lead to changes in organizational structures and doctrine for the Army's first "digital" units.

The impact of digitization on the battlefield in general, and on the dismounted soldier in particular, raises two issues. On the one hand, the soldier in

FIGURE 2-3 Model for introducing technology and digitizing the battlefield.

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

the twenty-first century will have access to data from a variety of battlefield operating systems, which will provide a shared vision of the battlefield and a combination of means to engage the enemy. On the other hand, the soldier's equipment will be heavier because of the new systems themselves and the batteries needed to power them.

The problem of weight has been studied for many years. One of the principal objectives of the Land Warrior program is to reduce the soldier's load (TRADOC, 1994a). A study by the NRC found that the combat soldier was 50 to 110 percent overloaded (NRC, 1993b, p. 20). The Army Infantry Center estimates that an Army platoon radio-telephone operator equipped with a field radio carries just over 150 pounds. The dismounted soldier system tested during the AWE at Fort Hood weighed more than 100 pounds with batteries (Griggs, 1997). The goal for the Land Warrior ensemble is 40 pounds, resulting in a 75-pound "fighting load."

OPERATIONAL FACTORS

Operational factors will determine the amount of energy available and the energy consumption of the Land Warrior system. Many operational factors are products of warfighting doctrine and are inherent, by specification, in the equipment. Other operational factors are determined by battlefield organizational structures, individual soldier operating procedures, and military channels of communications.

Traditionally the Army has assumed that enough power can be supplied to support each operational capability. Therefore, the adequacy of compact power sources has not been a factor in determining warfighting doctrine. But the Force XXI experiment demonstrated that the Army is prepared to change to accommodate new technologies. It is already apparent that the new electronics systems complicate battlefield logistics support by increasing the types and number of batteries required, which makes increasing the energy capabilities of compact sources a necessity.

Rising energy densities and the more detectable electronic signatures of devices, such as laser rangefinders, infrared detectors, computer displays, and radios, also threaten the soldier's survival by increasing his or her electronic profile. The battlefield requirement of minimizing the likelihood of detection by the enemy will become increasingly important as the doctrine for waging information warfare is developed.

Electronics systems used by the dismounted soldier will require that multiple power requirements be satisfied simultaneously. In the Generation II Soldier development program at the Natick RDEC, power was treated as a limited resource, the merits of different battery characteristics were analyzed, and trade-offs between battery and equipment weight were considered. In developing requirements for the Land Warrior system, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) compiled operational mode summaries to establish upper

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

demand and then using those demands to define a specification for the overall system. This system approach also allowed for allocating power among electronic subsystems and, perhaps for the first time, provided a means for the Army to consider energy characteristics in the overall design.

The ideal of developing a single power source to support multiple capabilities has driven extensive efforts to optimize energy storage characteristics and to reduce the number of power sources that must meet the more stringent military standards. Work has been spurred by a growing awareness of the logistical costs of storing, distributing, and disposing of the immense array of batteries that support large-scale operations, such as Desert Storm and unit training at the National Training Center. A recent policy decision to increase the use of rechargeable batteries in order to reduce operational costs has focused even more attention on what is becoming an urgent research priority (AMC, 1996). This decision indicates a growing awareness in the Army that there are limits to the number and variety of systems that can be supported by batteries.

Although new requirements will continue to surface, all but one of the requirements already identified have power requirements of less than 100 W. The one exception is the "cool suit," a proposed system capable of providing microclimate cooling for the soldier in case of a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack. To operate untethered from a power generator, a cool suit would require a new compact source capable of delivering more power than any battery yet developed.

Even with a new compact energy source, probably a fueled source, the Army must find ways to lower the demand side of the energy equation. Power management techniques, both internal and external to electronic subsystems, can increase energy efficiency. External controls can be exercised over the distribution of energy to multiple subsystems. Controls internal to the subsystems, such as "sleep" modes or power regulation software, can also help reduce energy consumption.

Like fuel and ammunition supplies, the energy supply should be considered operationally. Energy discipline, however, is not mentioned in Army doctrine or literature. To all appearances, the Army requires 100 percent operational capabilities, that is, constant communications, continuous distribution of data, and uninterrupted energy supplies for portable equipment. The availability of sufficient energy is taken for granted, and the dismounted soldier has not been conditioned to exercise discipline or restraint in the use of energy during operations or training.

THE ARMY AFTER NEXT

The dismounted soldier outfitted with the fully-developed Land Warrior ensemble is expected to be an integral part of the "digitized" Army of the early twenty-first century. Building on experiments at Fort Hood and the National Training Center, a division of troops will be outfitted with the electronics and

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

other equipment needed for digitized operations, and dismounted soldiers in the first "digital" division will be the first to receive the Land Warrior ensemble. Other divisions will follow, depending on funding for modernization. At the time of this study, 34,000 Land Warrior systems were scheduled to be fielded to Army units by the year 2003. Using past acquisition life cycles as a guide, the Army expects that Land Warrior systems will be in service through the year 2015.

What lies beyond Force XXI? To prepare for the more distant future, the Army is attempting to visualize an "Army After Next" (AAN) to identify strategy, required capabilities, and enabling technologies 30 years from now, focusing on the 2025 time frame. In characterizing the AAN, TRADOC predicts that the art of war as practiced today will remain valid and that revolutionary changes in capability will be brought about by the integration of technology and effective organizational structures. Future organizations will probably be "flatter," that is, "cellular" rather than "hierarchical" (Killebrew, 1996). Because Army requirements for the AAN have yet to be defined, the committee was free to conceive of advanced concepts for providing and using energy in 2025 based on the projections of current trends in applicable technology areas.

Trends in technology can be described from at least two perspectives. The first perspective considers enabling technologies for meeting the needs of the dismounted soldier with soldier systems like the Land Warrior system. Moving forward in time, for example, the most obvious trend is that the percentage of energy required for the computer subsystem will decrease in relation to other subsystems. Other trends upward or downward can be used to project the characteristics of future dismounted soldier systems and to estimate future energy consumption.

A second perspective considers issues surrounding the enabling technologies. For the AAN, TRADOC highlighted four technology trends for 2025, including the following (Killebrew, 1996):

  • Procurement agility will become a strategic issue.

  • The information revolution will continue, and a "power" revolution is a necessity.

  • New sources of battlefield energy will have revolutionary consequences.

  • Strategic and operational mobility must be increased.  

These trends indicate a trend for Army capabilities and enabling technologies, especially those with the potential to affect electric power for the dismounted soldier.

FINDINGS

The energy requirements of the dismounted soldier are reflected in the power requirements for each Land Warrior subsystem. By analyzing operational concepts for each subsystem, the Army estimated battery requirements for the

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×

system. The Land Warrior program does not include the development of an alternative to batteries as an energy source, and subsystems in the ensemble will not have been designed with energy efficiency as the foremost consideration.

Energy requirements for the dismounted soldier will change with the insertion of advanced subsystems as the Land Warrior system design evolves to support operations on the Force XXI digitized battlefield. Evolutionary operational enhancements to the Land Warrior program and revolutionary changes in dismounted soldier operations envisioned for the AAN (after 2025) may add to these requirements.

The committee considers the continuing effort by the Army to realize the full potential of electronics, computer, and information technologies on the battlefield as the primary basis for all future power requirements. This means that the dismounted soldier will require more than improved energy storage. Future soldiers will require a combination of energy sources and energy drains that will extend the range and duration of operations with substantial reductions in weight and bulk. At the same time, new sources and systems must not make the dismounted soldier more vulnerable to detection by the enemy. The Army has traditionally considered electric power for the dismounted soldier as an inexhaustible resource, but the growing number of portable electronic systems and the associated battery requirements have motivated the Army to investigate energy-efficient technologies that will increase energy availability and reduce demand.

Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Requirements and Needs." National Research Council. 1997. Energy-Efficient Technologies for the Dismounted Soldier. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5905.
×
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This book documents electric power requirements for the dismounted soldier on future Army battlefields, describes advanced energy concepts, and provides an integrated assessment of technologies likely to affect limitations and needs in the future. It surveys technologies associated with both supply and demand including: energy sources and systems; low power electronics and design; communications, computers, displays, and sensors; and networks, protocols, and operations. Advanced concepts discussed are predicated on continued development by the Army of soldier systems similar to the Land Warrior system on which the committee bases its projections on energy use. Finally, the volume proposes twenty research objectives to achieve energy goals in the 2025 time frame.

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