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2017-07-10

Emerging New Technologies Define Future Security Scenarios

Technological advancements are redefining global security concepts like never before The evolution of warfare and international security is defined by innovative technologies. Rapid advances in technology can drastically tilt power balances, and every nation needs to keep abreast of such developments.

Industry experts at Lockheed Martin have weighed in on some of the technologies, ranging from building blocks that can rearrange themselves to repair a crack, to autonomous ground collision avoidance systems that are changing the security scene.Here, we present their pick of what’s coming, and the technologies you need to know about.

Autonomous Systems

Autonomy is not a new technology—think Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Each of these systems uses autonomous technology to function. It’s no surprise that demand for this technology will continue to grow in 2017 and beyond.

What is surprising is how engineers are “teaching” technology to be more autonomous. Using complex calculations, systems can learn patterns in data to provide reliable results when exposed to new data. This is known as machine learning.

Researchers believe autonomous systems are key to solving many of our most difficult problems — from exploring the ocean depths and deep space, to supporting emergency personnel in medical emergencies and natural disasters.

In its simplest form, autonomy is a machine’s ability to perform a task with limited human input. An autonomous system is one which, once activated, performs a task or function largely on its own.

Imagine if we had small autonomous systems that could monitor adversaries and collect information without placing soldiers at risk.

Beyond improving safety, autonomous technology allows for the execution of new missions—particularly in cyber defense, where decision speed is critical to success.

Advanced robotics technology, including communications and navigation, has enhanced the ability of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to self-guide on missions – at farther distances and in harsher environments. Whether being used by military or commercial operators, UUVs are changing the way we explore beneath the sea.

Unlike their ground and air counterparts, UUVs face a whole new set of physics that requires them to operate with significantly less human control. Navigating undersea environments has a lot of variables that can affect a mission: currents, underwater obstacles, even fishing nets.

Plumbing the ocean depths

The Marlin UUV underwater vehicle uses advanced sensors and high definition video to create 3D models of the undersea environment. Marlin is capable of plumbing the ocean depths to offer quick, efficient underwater surveys and inspections while sailors and commercial operators remain safely above water. Because Marlin doesn’t need a human at the controls, it can explore the deepest ocean, conducting pipeline inspections, bottom debris surveys and underwater facility inspections.

In the future, UUVs could work collaboratively with other underwater vehicles, or team up with unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Together, these systems could provide an eye in the sky and an eye under the sea, to help provide an integrated picture of the environment.

Transforming torpedoes’ abilities

Torpedoes have evolved to a point where these weapons can serve as UUVs beyond their traditional missions. While weapons like the U.S. Navy’s formidable Mark 48 Mod 7 torpedo are known for packing a powerful punch, they also have the potential to behave like UUVs.

The Mark 48 Mod 7 has a cutting-edge guidance and control system that allows it to operate autonomously. In the future, manufacturers are looking to advance the torpedo into a multi-mission vehicle that could be used to collect real-time information, vital for success in undersea missions.

As future undersea missions surface, Lockheed Martin’s portfolio of high-tech unmanned underwater systems will evolve to meet the next generation of commercial and military challenges. These unmanned vehicles will continue to push the boundaries in endurance, power, collaboration and expeditionary capabilities to travel farther, longer and smarter than ever before.

An example of where autonomy is heading is the F-16 fighter jet’s Autonomous Ground Collision Avoidance System. The system is designed to detect when something’s gone wrong and take control of the plane before it crashes —saving the plane, and most importantly, the pilot.

According to the U.S. Air Force, ground collision is the cause of 75 percent of F-16 pilot fatalities, making this autonomic technology one of the most important safety features added to the fighter jet since ejection seats.

Human-Machine Collaboration

As demand for autonomy rises, how humans and machines interact is becoming a focal point for many industries, including automobiles, defence and healthcare. In 2017, we will continue to see a focus on developing technologies that improve the partnership of human-machine teams, specifically designing the right kind of sensors to expand the possibilities.

Dr. Bill Casebeer, Lockheed Martin cognitive scientist, said: “With human-machine teaming, it’s as much about the machine understanding the human’s day-to-day needs as the human understanding how well the machine operates in various contexts.”

For instance, fighter jets fitted with sensors can gather environmental data to help pilots make strategic decisions. But, if pilots were also equipped with sensors, jet systems could monitor a pilots’ neurological activity to assess their performance and physical state, and handle certain tasks that might distract from the mission.

To bring this type of teaming into a combat environment, scientists, engineers and researchers are looking at ways to make sensor technology more durable to perform reliable data collection in the rugged environments where warfighters operate.

Materials Science

A key to building new, innovative products is better understanding the materials that compose them.

As we better understand the fundamentals of materials — through computational methods, informatics and experimentation — researchers can determine how materials can be used in new ways to develop new structures and devices.

The industry currently designs products based on minimum capabilities of available materials. With improved materials science, the field will move more towards tailoring the components of materials to fit specific uses.

Partnerships will play a crucial part in helping researchers continue to evolve the field of materials science. By working with the technology community, researchers will be able to develop state-of-the-art machine learning and informatics tools to rapidly mine complex data sets and help understand and predict the performance of a material.

What will the future hold for materials science 10 to 15 years from now? Dr. Rick Barto, manager of material, physics, and computational technologies research at Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories, believes we will begin to see self-healing materials, that are adaptive to their environments. Just think — one day an object will be able to rearrange its building blocks material to repair a crack.

The autonomous broadband future

Imagine having simultaneous conversations with 15 people, and being able to listen and process information from those conversations at the same time.

That’s essentially what’s being done with the radio frequency spectrum, through sensor technology.

Both autonomous and manned aircraft (and other platforms, like ships, helicopters and satellites) will require new sensor technology to take on new threats confronting them in the battlefield.

While you’ve probably heard of broadband in the context of wireless and internet communications, broadband technology is used now a days to support radar, electronic warfare and communications missions simultaneously.

Sensors could go into a contested environment and listen, detect, process and then deny or divert a potential threat. This type of sensor technology is being driven by the fifth generation wi-fi community, as well as the automobile industry, as self-driving cars would rely on advanced sensors for increased autonomy, too.

Low cost laser weapons

Directed energy is highly focused energy that can be transferred to damage a target — think laser weapons.

Directed energy weapons have a distinct advantage in terms of tracking and hitting targets, as the beam moves at the speed of light. But perhaps the biggest advantage is the supply of ammunition coupled with low cost per shot. A laser weapon can continue to fire as long as it is powered at the cost of a few dollars for electricity.

When you think of futuristic technology, there’s a good chance lasers are part of the picture.

Developments in laser weapon technology have typically been driven by the needs of national security—mainly ballistic missile defense. While we expect to see that trend continue in 2017, expect special attention on this technology as threats – such as rockets, mortars, drones and unmanned systems – continue to increase. Laser weapon systems can turn up the heat and stop land, air or sea targets in their path. And, they can be compact enough and power efficient enough for tactical platforms on the move, providing nearly unlimited “bullets” with speed-of-light response.

Specialising in high energy laser weapon systems, Lockheed Martin has a broad range of expertise and experience with advanced beam control, fiber-based spectral beam combining, specialised sensors, and system integration, including a company-sponsored 30kW Aladin/Athena(Advanced Test High Energy Asset) system, supplemented by current programmes such as the DE RELI/High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL-MD) programme for the U.S. Army.

Air-based laser weapon systems offer flexibility and precision for self defence against aircraft and missiles and weapons on the ground.

Land Based Laser systems comprise mini laser weapon systems for tactical U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps vehicles. The low size, weight and power of this modular, self-contained laser weapon system simplify ship integration.

Expect to see directed energy systems being integrated on existing land, sea and air platforms beginning in the 2020-25 time frame.

Cyber-Hardened Weapons

Transcending geographic and physical boundaries, attacks in the cyberspace realm can have a staggering impact on critical infrastructure in the physical domain. Key government assets frequently targeted by cyber attacks include everything from public services, such as healthcare, utilities and financial infrastructure to military and civilian responders, air and missile defense platforms, and repositories of confidential information.

Take the example of the 2012 cyber attack on national oil giant Saudi Aramco, and several other recent attacks on regional enterprises.

It’s hard to rely on traditional defence mechanisms like armour and shields when it comes to protection from cyber attacks. Armies around the world are focused on “hardening” their cyber networks, platforms and mission systems, by literally making it harder to access and exploit the data.

Anthony L Winns, President, Middle East-Africa Region - Lockheed Martin, said: “A fundamental line of first defense in cyber security involves monitoring systems to detect potential threats. The “Cyber Kill Chain” framework we’ve developed, enables security personnel to identify and anticipate tactics associated with cyber threats and covers seven steps: reconnaissance, weaponisation, delivery, exploitation, installation, command and control and actions on objectives. The Cyber Kill Chain aims to monitor and adapt to the attacker’s actions, ensuring that they are “blocked” at a stage of the chain before completing the attack.”

“Cyber hardening” is another critical area for cyber security, gaining significant momentum across governments and organisations, to prevent adversaries from taking over and deteriorating system performance.

Cyber hardening entails securing various threats and challenges across multiple domains - physical, human, supply chain, engineering and operations. As government platforms become more sophisticated, cyber hardening will need to extend to all systems, including support systems and mission systems.

“Governments will see an increase in autonomous systems, integrating human-machine collaboration and energy efficiency-smart grids. As these interconnected platforms grow, it will be critical for them to adopt a combination of the Cyber Kill Chain framework and cyber hardening, in addition to training the next generation of cyber protectors.

In future, technological superiority could well decide superpower status in military matters.

Often technological advancement pre-supposes economic prowess, though there may be countries that develop military might at the cost of the economic well-being of their people.

Then there is the very effective low-cost ideological warfare of terrorists using suicide bombers, which can be countered only by political initiatives and high-tech internal security measures.

Whatever the scenario, an upper hand in technology will remain a must for countering future security threats.

Reference Text/Photo:

www.lockheedmartin.com

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