Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (CUAS)
Capability for Battalion-and-Below Operations
Abbreviated Version of a Restricted Report
Committee on Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (CUAS) Capability for Battalion-and-Below
Operations
Board on Army Science and Technology
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
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Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24747
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System [CUAS) Capability for Battalion-and-Below Operations: Abbreviated Version of a Restricted Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24747.
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COMMITTEE ON COUNTER-UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM (CUAS) CAPABILITY FOR BATTALION-AND-BELOW OPERATIONS
ALBERT A. SCIARRETTA, (LTC, U.S. Army, retired), CNS Technologies, Inc., Springfield, Virginia, Chair
JULIE A. ADAMS, Oregon State University, Corvallis
FREDERICK R. CHANG, NAE,1 Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
JAMES A. FREEBERSYSER, BBN Technology, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
J. SEAN HUMBERT, University of Colorado, Boulder
PAUL KOLODZY, Kolodzy Consulting LLC, Falls Church, Virginia
VIJAY KUMAR, NAE, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia2
TERRY P. LEWIS, Independent Consultant, Lomita, California
TODD MURPHEY, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
GABRIEL REBEIZ, NAE, University of California, San Diego3
MICHAEL A. VANE (LTG, U.S. Army, retired), Independent Consultant, Shaver Lake, California
Staff
BRUCE BRAUN, Director, Board on Army Science and Technology
JAMES C. MYSKA, Study Director
NIA P. JOHNSON, Senior Research Associate
DEANNA SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Resigned April 15, 2017. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to participate in the report drafting and concurrence process.
3 Resigned April 10, 2017. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was unable to participate in the report drafting and concurrence process.
BOARD ON ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DAVID M. MADDOX, NAE,1 (GEN, U.S. Army, retired), Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia, Chair
SCOTT BADENOCH, Badenoch, LLC, Southfield, Michigan
STEVEN W. BOUTELLE (LTG U.S. Army, retired), Independent Consultant, Arlington, Virginia
CARL A. CASTRO, Center for Innovation and Research and Military Families, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
DAVID E. CROW, NAE, University of Connecticut, Glastonbury
REGINALD DESROCHES, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
FRANCIS J. DOYLE III, NAM,2 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JULIA D. ERDLEY, Pennsylvania State University, State College
LESTER A. FOSTER III, Electronic Warfare Associates, Herndon, Virginia
JAMES A. FREEBERSYSER, BBN Technology, St. Louis Park, Minnesota
PETER N. FULLER (MG, U.S. Army, retired), Cypress International, Springfield, Virginia
R. JOHN HANSMAN, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
J. SEAN HUMBERT, University of Colorado, Boulder
JOHN W. HUTCHINSON, NAS3/NAE, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JENNIE HWANG, NAE, H-Technologies Group, Cleveland, Ohio
JOHN JOANNOPOULOS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
ERIC T. MATSON, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
ROGER L. McCARTHY, NAE, McCarthy Engineering, Palo Alto, California
MICHAEL McGRATH, McGrath Analytics, LLC, Reston, Virginia
ALLAN T. MENSE, Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona
WALTER F. MORRISON, Booz, Allen and Hamilton (retired), Alexandria, Virginia
DANIEL PODOLSKY, NAE, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
KENNETH M. ROSEN, NAE, General Aero-Science Consultants, LLC, Guilford, Connecticut
ALBERT A. SCIARRETTA (LTC, U.S. Army, retired), CNS Technologies, Inc., Springfield, Virginia
NEIL SIEGEL, NAE, North Grumman Information Systems, Carson, California
MICHAEL A. VANE (LTG, U.S. Army, retired), Independent Consultant, Shaver Lake, California
Staff
BRUCE A. BRAUN, Director
CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager
DEANNA P. SPARGER, Program Administrative Coordinator
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
2 Member, National Academy of Medicine.
3 Member, National Academy of Sciences.
Preface
At the request of the Army Research Office, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine appointed an expert committee to assess the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (CUAS) capability for battalion-and-below. The Department of the Army has determined that the final report prepared by the Committee on Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (CUAS) Capability for Battalion-and-Below Operations is restricted in its entirety under exemption 1 of the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC § 552 (b) (1)) and therefore cannot be made available to the public. This abbreviated report provides background information on the full report and the committee that prepared it.
Copies of the report will be made available to authorized individuals in the government from the National Academies’ Board on Army Science and Technology (BAST). Other requests for the report should be submitted to the Department of the Army.
This study resulted from the recognition by the U.S. Army that a confluence of multiple developments was contributing to an emerging major threat from small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs), particularly to dismounted infantry and lightly armored vehicles. First, the worldwide availability of relatively inexpensive and significantly advanced sUASs, especially small hobby aircraft, has created opportunities for potential adversaries to easily acquire sUASs with impressive and rapidly growing capabilities. Second, these readily available, high-performance sUASs pose a significant potential threat to U.S. forces as lethal weapon systems (carrying conventional or unconventional payloads); reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition systems; and electronic warfare systems. Third, the space, weight, and power (SWaP) needs for most developed or developing counter-sUAS systems make them more appropriate for use on medium and heavy vehicle platforms or for static emplacement in the defense of fixed sites. Almost none of the current counter-sUAS systems fit within the available SWaP of a dismounted infantry unit. Without low SWaP counter-sUAS systems, dismounted infantry and lightly armored vehicles are vulnerable to threat sUASs and will remain so for the near term. Adding to the problem is the fact that dedicated air defense units for brigade combat teams were withdrawn from the Army inventory in the 2000s after a determination was made that no significant air threat existed to maneuver battalions and lower-echelon units due to the demise of the Soviet Union.
I would like to thank the committee for its expertise, dedication, and tenacity; especially in interacting with numerous experts (including 12 U.S. Marine Corps officers and enlisted personnel), assessing the pertinent issues, and addressing the many demands of its statement of task from the Army sponsor (see the Summary). The committee, in turn, is grateful to the many U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security personnel, both military and civilian, who provided much of the information on which this report is based. We also thank Adam Lisberg, DJI corporate communications director, DJI North America, and engineers from the DJI Corporation for their assessment of future commercial sUAS capabilities; and David Rambling, author of Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer the World, for his thoughts on the emergence and potential military uses of swarms of sUASs. We especially want to thank the 12 U.S. Marine Corps officers and enlisted members of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, who discussed their experiences and lessons learned from counter-sUAS experiments held at the training areas at 29 Palms Marine Corps Base and surrounding areas. These Marines provided insightful information, providing the committee with a very thought-provoking user perspective.
The committee and I very much appreciate the expertise and outstanding assistance of Vijay
Kumar, member of the National Academy of Engineering and dean at the School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, for his technical contributions in areas of bio-inspired algorithms for collective behaviors, robot swarms, and especially in collaborative and swarming robotic operations. The committee and I also appreciate the assistance of Gabriel Rebeiz, also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego, for his technical contributions in areas of sensing and communications systems. Both Dr. Kumar and Dr. Rebeiz were part of the original committee membership but, due to circumstances beyond their control, were unable to participate in the report drafting and concurrence process.
Undeniably, the committee and I greatly appreciate the support and assistance of the staff of the National Academies, which ably assisted the committee in its fact-finding activities and in the production of this report. In particular, I thank the staff that supports the National Academies’ BAST, especially James Myska for his programmatic support and sage advice as study director. Deanna Sparger for outstanding support in coordinating meeting logistics for committee members and guests at major meetings in multiple locations, and Nia Johnson for running down information, organizing the study fact-finding library, and assisting in the development of this report. The staff of both the BAST and the National Academies Office of Program Security is to be commended for providing an environment conducive for committee members to accumulate relevant information, generate and collaborate on report content, share expertise, and develop a consensus for the report we present here.
This study was conducted under the auspices of the BAST, a unit of the National Academies’ Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, established in 1982 at the request of the Army. The BAST brings broad military, industrial, and academic scientific, technological, engineering, and management expertise to bear on technical challenges of importance to senior Army leaders. The BAST does not conduct studies; rather, it deliberates on study concepts and statements of task for the expert committees, such as ours, that are formed under rigorous National Academies procedures to conduct a particular study. The BAST discusses potential study topics and tasks, ensures study project planning and execution in conformance with National Academies procedures, and suggests candidate experts to serve as committee members or report reviewers.
Although the BAST members are listed in the front matter of the report, with the exception of four members who were nominated and appointed to the study committee, they were not asked to endorse the committee’s findings or recommendations or to review final drafts of the report before its release. The findings and recommendations are those reached by unanimous consensus of the committee.
Albert A. Sciarretta, Chair
Committee on Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System
(CUAS) Capability for Battalion-and-Below
Operations
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, 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 thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Jonathan Alt, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Analysis Center, Naval Postgraduate School,
James Bonomo, RAND Corporation,
Ruth David, NAE,1 ANSER (retired),
Antonio Elias, NAE, Orbital ATK, Inc.,
COL Ricardo Morales, U.S. Army, United States Military Academy at West Point,
CAPT Brian Morgan, U.S. Navy, Naval Postgraduate School, and
Michael Perschbacher, RonovoTech.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dr. Stephen Robinson, University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Engineering.
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Contents
DISCUSSION OF SELECTED TOPICS FROM THE RESTRICTED REPORT
Concern about Commercial sUASs
Concern about the Emergence of Swarms and Collaborative Groups
Battalion-and-Below Operations
Battalion-and-Below Formations and Assets Considered as Potential Targets for This Study
Study Applicability Beyond the Army
The Challenges for Countering sUASs
Decomposition of sUAS Technologies and Capabilities
U.S. Army versus Committee Definitions for Groups of sUASs
Organization and Scope of Restricted Report
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