July 27, 2018 | International, Land
By: Todd South
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — As the Army looks to shrink its battlefield footprint, its researchers and engineers are finding ways to make the nerve center of the battle — command posts — lighter, more capable and easier to set up and tear down.
A recently concluded three-year program aimed to do just that, with everything from the shelter devices used to house a command post's gear, to refitting old and new vehicles, to moving an entirely vehicle-mounted communications system off the truck and into the ruck, cutting its weight by two-thirds in the process.
These are some of the ways that experts with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Communications–Electronics Center are finding to make command posts more mobile, resilient and effective against enemies that can quickly target and destroy massed formations.
Some of the advancements include the Expeditionary Command Post shelter, a 20-foot box with integrated power outlets, air conditioning, network cabling and video distribution system. It's containerized so that it can be hauled on a truck or sling loaded under a helicopter.
A four-soldier team can set up the structure within 30 minutes as the remaining command personnel hook up the computers, radios and other devices inside of the structure.
Jim Bell, operations expert with RDECOM, told Army Times that soldiers with the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team set up the shelter in those time frames during field exercises. And during an experiment at Fort Hood, Texas, soldiers moved the shelter with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.
An even more mobile option that researchers have put together is the Light-Mobile Command Post, a pull-out table and tent combination that is installed in the back of a Humvee. It includes fixed TV monitors, built-in radio networks, cabling and computers.
The system was designed primarily for light infantry units, but a similar configuration has also been installed on tracked command vehicles for armor units.
This post can be voice comm and position location tracking operational within 15 minutes and fully operational in 30 minutes.
Another Humvee-based answer to mobile command is a reconfigured command and control vehicle dubbed the Command Post Platform–Improved. It has a built-in power and cooling system and spots for two cases containing the capacity for six computer servers, enough to run a brigade's worth of data.
The setup includes seven radio nets, HF, UHF, VHF and SATCOM, and links for fiber optic, standard and secret lines of communication.
A small but important feature allows the user to power the systems from either vehicle or external power. The system also has a 15-minute power backup so that the servers can continue to run as power is switched.
Beyond a structure or tent solution, researchers have also outfitted small and mid-size all-terrain vehicles, specifically the Polaris MRZR. The focus of these is to provide airborne or air assault operations with a full-fledged command post in a smaller package.
The smaller MRZR uses a modular system that can be pulled and reinstalled quickly into another vehicle, should the ATV be disabled.
And it has an extra-powerful alternator that can produce 120 amps, double the amperage of a Humvee alternator.
It also includes a first-ever all-around handset that can plug in and communicate whether the speaker is using radio, Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP, and other computer-based voice applications.
On top of all these advancements, the Army also is working on reducing what was 60 pounds worth of gear that previously was only used during mounted operations into a much lighter, man-portable package.
“They were ripping stuff off of vehicles and coming up with a power source,” said Brad McNeilly-Anta, command post consultant for RDECOM. “That wound up with a 60-pound item, and they were jumping with it at the 82nd Airborne.”
Not the most convenient package to haul to the ground.
The expeditionary Joint Battle Command Platform is a line of sight, two-way transmission that includes a tablet, battery, peripherals and a new fueled power source that allows it to run for more than 24 hours of continuous operations.
Adjustments and replacements to the ruggedized computer, power source, transceiver and encryption device have trimmed the weight down to 23 pounds.
Experimenters adapted a 1 L methanol power source to run the system but have also successfully experimented with windshield wiper fluid to run the system, McNeilly-Anta said.
January 9, 2024 | International, Aerospace
The KC-46 was to be the ideal candidate for a fixed-price development program. Instead, it has cost Boeing billions, and made industry wary of such deals.
March 23, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
DÉFENSE En Europe, les industries de Défense se préparent à la hausse des commandes De nombreux gouvernements européens ont annoncé de fortes augmentations de leurs budgets militaires, comme l'Allemagne (+ 100 Md€) et la Suède, qui passera ses dépenses de 1,3% à 2% du PIB et envisage une intégration dans l'OTAN, de même que la Finlande. En France, la Loi de programmation militaire (LPM) 2019-2025 prévoit de porter son effort de 40,9 Md€ cette année à 50 Md€ en 2025 (soit 2,5 % du PIB), à raison de 3 Md€ supplémentaires par an. Cette loi pourrait être suivie d'une programmation plus ambitieuse à partir de 2025, Emmanuel Macron ayant annoncé, le 2 mars, qu'il « amplifiera l'investissement dans la Défense ». La base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) française devrait connaître une forte augmentation des commandes, en particulier Dassault Aviation (Rafale), Airbus Defence and Space (avions de combat et de transport, drones), Thales (radars, sonars, cybersécurité...), Nexter (blindés et armement terrestre...), MBDA (missiles), Naval Group (frégates, sous-marins...) et les milliers de PME et d'ETI qui fournissent les armées. « Nous sommes aux côtés de la France qui poursuit un double effort, à la fois capacitaire et technologique, face à des menaces croissantes et de plus en plus complexes », explique Philippe Keryer, Directeur général adjoint Stratégie, Recherche et Technologie. Conserver les compétences et attirer des jeunes est « crucial », estime Pierre-Eric Pommellet, PDG de Naval Group, qui rappelle que « certains métiers sont en tension ». Pour la première fois, l'Union des industries et métiers de la métallurgie (UIMM) est présidée par un dirigeant du secteur, Eric Trappier, PDG de Dassault Aviation. Le Monde du 23 mars
October 15, 2019 | International, C4ISR
By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has selected L3Harris Technologies to provide ROVER 6 transceiver equipment upgrades in support of the U.S. Army's One System Remote Video Terminal program of record, meant to improve situational awareness for soldiers in the field, the company announced Monday at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual conference. The company did not disclose the value of the award but said it was more than $90 million. The portable ROVER systems deliver full-motion video and geospatial data from manned or unmanned aircraft to enhance reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and general situational awareness on the battlefield. The move comes as the Army envisions advanced manned-unmanned teaming, or MUM-T. Within the last month, the Army acquisitions office for unmanned aerial systems awarded a contract for the Rover 6S and the Tactical Network ROVER2E, a newer version of the man-portable radio. The Army is scheduled to receive its first deliveries beginning in November 2020, the company said at the AUSA meeting in Washington. According to L3Harris, the updated systems expand frequency capability. They also reduce the equipment's size, weight and power needs, as well as add processing resources. They also include Cryptographic Core Modernization. The systems are meant to transform sensor-to-shooter networking and allow increased levels of collaboration and interoperability with virtually all large airframes, unmanned aerial vehicles and targeting pods in theater today. The upgrade included modernizing the waveform the equipment uses such that more users are able to transmit video, according to Kevin Kane, L3Harris' vice president for international business development. “Being able to share that real-time situational awareness more broadly on the battlefield is really what it's all about,” Kane said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2019/10/15/l3harris-to-provide-rover-transceiver-upgrade-in-deal-worth-over-90-million