We are past the time in history when one part of RDECOM can develop a major capability without the help of some other part—or many other parts—of the command and our partners.
war by giving us a lethal capability, as well as a logistics capabil- ity, but we aren’t really sure about its full potential or how it can be fully applied in a military setting. (See “Decades to ‘ZAP,’” Page 149.)
We have to work the whole range of RD&E now if we want new technologies to build new capabilities for the future fight. If we stop working toward all of those horizons, gaps in capability will occur. Soldiers of the future will turn to us and we won’t have what we need to create the capability they need. Tat’s the day they walk into a fair fight, or perhaps when we’re at a disad- vantage. We can’t let that happen.
Once we identify that need, we need people who can not only master the scientific and technological disciplines we know today, but who can also identify and pioneer the ones that have yet to emerge. And the same is true of the facilities and tools they’ll need. With that talent, we have to provide the best environment in terms of labs, equipment and knowledge so they can perform.
Consequently, managing talent and infrastructure is a big focus of our internal campaign plan for this reason. Just as the Army realizes you need good trainers and good training facilities to make good Soldiers, we realize you need good scientists and engi- neers in world-class facilities to create world-class capabilities.
Sarantinos-Perrin: Speaking of the future, are there any research programs that you’re especially excited about that may not be fielded for many years?
Wins: Quantum effects holds great promise for the future. For example, when we can make quantum communications work, we will be able to communicate without worrying about our messages being intercepted. Tat will potentially be a revolu- tionary shift from today, when we put so much time and effort into protecting the network. Of course, our competitors are working on this as well. What will it mean when both major parties of a conflict can communicate at the speed and in the volume we do today without worrying about their adversary intercepting their communications? What will that do to the
rest of the battlefield? To signals intelligence? What will we have to give commanders to allow them to dominate that battlefield?
Artificial intelligence [AI] is another area where we are exploring the use of autonomous or semiautonomous technology to con- trol combat. By using AI, there is the potential for the Army to engage the enemy at a greater distance and keep them off guard.
We are also looking at ways to better protect Soldiers in a multi- domain battle, which includes the cyber domain. All domains will be contested, so we have to be able to throw the enemy off by attacking from different domains, which will require more capacity and [more] lethal and resilient systems all around.
Soldiers will need to know which network will give them the right effect, which will more than likely not be the network that we have today. Te future network will enable Soldiers to perform uninterrupted command in a contested environment— with the ability to scale down to a degraded mode, if necessary, then back up to a robust mode—and it will be self-healing, resil- ient and allow Soldiers to communicate over extended distances.
Sarantinos-Perrin: Can you walk us through the development of a recent prototype? What is it, how was it conceived, how was it developed and where is it going?
Wins: Our team at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Research, Development and Engineering Center [AMRDEC] created the Multi-Mission Launcher [MML] prototype, which is the first government development of a major acquisition pro- gram in more than 30 years. Truly a team effort, the MML was developed by more than 150 subject matter experts across the AMRDEC enterprise and representatives from five directorates and more than 20 functional areas, as well as 85 industry part- ners who assisted in designing and manufacturing.
Te MML program is part of the Indirect Fire Protection Capa- bility Increment 2 – Intercept [IFPC Inc 2-I] system, which is a mobile, ground-based weapon system designed to defeat unmanned aircraft systems, cruise missiles, rockets, artillery and mortars.
Te project began in 2012 when the IFPC Inc 2-I product office approached AMRDEC to determine if an MML was feasible from an engineering standpoint. Working together, our AMRDEC engineers and the IFPC Inc 2-I product office moved the project forward, and two prototype MMLs were delivered in 2015.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 59
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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