technology demonstrator, tentatively scheduled for delivery in 2018. A tech- nology demonstrator is a pre-prototype that is built with existing capabilities as well as experimental capabilities, and it is constructed in such a way that future technologies can be incorporated into it. We are working side by side with indus- try and sharing our S&T efforts to help inform and deliver on FVL technology. Plans for the new FVL include the abil- ity to fly farther and faster, carry heavier payloads, be easier and less expensive to sustain, team with unmanned systems and perform certain optionally piloted missions.
Sarantinos-Perrin: Soldiers rely on the Army’s tactical network to communicate and maintain situational awareness, so maintaining cyber resilience is critical. What research and development projects is RDECOM working on that support cyber resilience?
Wins: While we typically think of elec- tronic warfare in relation to radios and electronic systems, our team at TARDEC is developing cyber resilience in autono- mous vehicles. TARDEC has completed the first trial and will conduct a second one this fall with Australia’s Defence Sci- ence and Technology Group. Tis project, which began last fall, evaluated the cyber- resilience of an autonomously operated vehicle in Australia from TARDEC’s labs in Warren, Michigan. Using a satellite- on-the-move system that was developed in Australia, data was transferred between a control station and the moving robotic vehicle. For the second phase this fall, the team will integrate a weapon system onto the vehicle to test its cyber vulnerabilities. (See “Nobody, Take the Wheel!” Army AL&T, April – June 2017.)
I mentioned earlier how the future network will have to bridge tactical
technologies with commercial technolo- gies, allowing Soldiers to go back and forth seamlessly. Our CERDEC [Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center] team is working on hardware network convergence, which will allow Soldiers to operate in a denied environment and leverage communications from different tiers,
including the ground, aerial and
satellite layers. Te ultimate goal is for a Soldier to use his radio to communicate, without worrying about which network he is using or whether he will be able to communicate at all.
Sarantinos-Perrin: How does your previ- ous service in G-8 and force development inform your view of readiness and your work at RDECOM?
Wins: My previous work in G-8 and the Army Capabilities Integration Center gave me the opportunity to work the full range, from requirements to resources to technology development. I’ve worked on the requirements side as the director of capability development as part of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command [TRADOC], where Army requirements are generally initiated.
I was the first
person to determine if a requirement was written in a way that would pro- vide capability to the warfighter. From there, the requirement moved forward to the Department of the Army to be approved and matched with the appro- priate resources. I learned to appreciate the process, which, of course, often came with funding challenges.
I am now on the front end of the material development side, looking at ways for the technology to be inserted into different capabilities that generally are intended to deliver a material solution. While each team has a different perspective on the technology, the bottom line is how it
will meet the tenets of readiness, how it will provide a capability that empowers, unburdens and protects the warfighter.
Sarantinos-Perrin: Is there anything you would like to add?
Wins: Everything I’ve talked about today is largely possible because of the RDECOM workforce, a team of more than 14,000 people at more than 100 locations around the world. Tis talented team is responsible for developing and maturing technology that enables Sol- diers to do their jobs and support their missions.
Key to all these efforts is integration. 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 com- mand and our partners. We work closely with industry and academia, as well as with key Army organizations includ- ing TRADOC, the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, program executive offices, the acquisition community and Soldiers to identify science and technol- ogy requirements, manage research and testing, then pass the information to industry to develop.
For more information, go to the RDECOM website at
http://www.rdecom.army. mil/ or contact the RDECOM Public Affairs office at 443-395-3922.
MS. ARGIE SARANTINOS-PERRIN,
a public affairs specialist for Huntington Ingalls Industries – Technical Solutions Division, provides contract support to RDECOM. She holds an M.S. in professional writing and a B.A. in mass communication from Towson University. She has 12 years of public affairs experience supporting DOD.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 61
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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