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2017-01-09
Technological supremacy of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles
The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has become an essential feature of land operations. This widespread technology is now systematically used by the militaries of almost all countries.
Modern UAVs were used for the first time on a larger and more systematic scale by the United States (US) during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. While this was not immediately followed by rapid growth, we can clearly see not merely a linear, but an exponential increase in military investments in UAV development when we look at the growth curve.
Similar growth is expected to occur in the Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) market.
It is relatively easy to imagine remotely-controlled or semi-autonomous vehicles helping people as a means of transport, such as carrying the squad’s supplies.
Combining different UGV’s and UAV’s will create better situational awareness, provide more information for precision targeting, and even predict the movement of enemies on target. Altogether, this will create supremacy on battlefield for whoever possess it. Even more efficient are such solutions in different ambush scenarios.
But the ethical question is: do we really want it and who is going to pull the trigger? Will humans make the final decision or are we ready to trust a robot with decision-making tasks?
In the long term, the technology itself will not be the limiting factor. Instead our ability and willingness to use technology, will set limits to our actions. The question is not just ‘what for’, but ‘whether’. It is the question whether we want to minimise the involvement of humans in war and do we actually understand the consequences.
During the next dozen years, smart unmanned ground systems (UGS) will start to replace soldiers on the battlefield, concludes a study published by the Estonian defence solutions provider Milrem together with esteemed academics from several countries.
“UGSs can promise greater effectiveness and efficiencies as they do not need sleep and cannot experience the horror of war, with its inevitable emotional impact,” writes James Rogers, one of the authors of the book and the Director of the Department of Political and Strategic Studies at the Baltic Defence College.
Codenamed DIBS or the ‘Digital Infantry Battlefield Solution’, the study analyses how UGSs will affect future warfare. The first book of this study, concentrating on background analysis, was published recently. Milrem, the developer of the first fully modular hybrid unmanned ground vehicle THeMIS, was the initiator of the DIBS study.
Milrem has been working on an unmanned platform that can be used for very different applications starting from simple transportation tasks to reconnaissance and fire support missions.
Milrem’s unmanned ground system THeMIS can carry a payload up to 750kg and can be outfitted with small and large caliber weapons, different sensors, EOD devices, and similar. The different payloads can be easily changed via a simple plug and play system.
“The continued development and fielding of UGSs, especially armed and automated UGSs connected to a network and capable of operating in a synchronised fashion will radically transform the future of warfare,” writes Dr. Janis Berzins, Director of the Centre for Security and Strategic Research at the National Defence Academy of Latvia.
The aim of DIBS is to gain a better understanding of the possibilities UGSs can be used in the battlefield and therefore which solutions should be used while developing the THeMIS.
“Target acquisition and detection systems in combination with seamless data transfer and weaponised robotic systems will create a very efficient and powerful combat unit while reducing the risks to the soldiers,” explains Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem.
Milrem has already successfully tested the THeMIS as an unmanned weapons platform together with the Estonian Defence Forces and ST Kinetics, one of Asia’s leading land systems companies.
UGVs – Classification And Characteristics
Contemporary UGVs are no longer slow wire-controlled devices used for very limited tasks. Currently they are remotely controlled by operators sitting in safe locations, they are armed and ready to operate over extended periods of time, preserving full readiness to act.
UGVs are multirole platforms as they could be configured for a specific mission at short notice. They do not possess features specific for soldiers which could stop them from performing any risky missions and a number of variants limited only by human imagination and technological boundaries – disappearing with every new discovery.
The classification of UGVs based on US Future Combat Systems (FCS) methodology is as follows: small/light (14–180 kg or 31–400 lbs), small/medium (181–1130 kg or 401–2500 lbs), small/heavy (1131–9000 kg or 2501–20000 lbs) and heavy (over 13500 kg or 30 000 lbs).
Another classification was prepared to guide industry concepts as follows: soldier UGV (small soldier-portable reconnaissance and surveillance robots); mule UGV (1-ton vehicle suitable for an RSTA or transport/supply mission) and armed reconnaissance vehicle (6-ton vehicle to perform the RSTA mission, as well as a fire mission, carrying a turret with missile and gun systems).
The Committee on US Army UGV Technology recognised another categorisation closely related to progress in creating more autonomous vehicles. It divided UGVs into four classes:
1.Tele-operated ground vehicle (TGV) – a human operator controls a robotic vehicle from a distance and he is to conduct all cognitive processes. TGV has sensors and communications link to visualise its location and movement. They come in all sizes.
2. Semiautonomous preceder-follower (SAP/FUGV) – could be in all shapes and sizes and they have advanced navigation capability minimising operator interaction. It can do cognitive processes to select the best route to traverse a selected objective.
3.Platform-centric autonomous ground vehicle (PCAGV) – can be assigned a complex task/mission and will execute it acquiring information from other sources. It is responding to additional commands from a controller, but without requiring further guidance. It could deliver lethal weapons and requires fail-safe interrupt mechanisms.
PC-AGVs should be able to carry out assigned missions in a hostile environment and should have survivability and self-defence approximately the same as similar manned vehicle sent on the same mission.
PC-AGVs should be able to carry out assigned missions in a hostile environment and should have survivability and self-defence approximately the same as similar manned vehicle sent on the same mission.
4.Network-centric autonomous ground vehicle (NCAGV) – their level of autonomy is sufficient to operate as independent nodes in a net-centric warfare model based on information from the communications network. They can incorporate data in their mission execution and respond to appropriate information requests and action commands received from the network, including resolution of conflicting commands. They should be the equivalent of manned systems and could be similarly tasked.
The focus has been on primary metrics as endurance, mobility, and payload fraction. This is followed by secondary ones as airdrop-ability, robustness to crash, reliability, signature, and cost.
Worldwide use of UGVs
United States of America
RAND’s ‘Talon Sword’ robot – armed with a machine gun – was tested in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its upgraded version, MAARS (Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, is an even better armed robot (M240B machine gun, four 40mm grenade launcher tubes). It was tested by the Marine Corps in July 2016 and one of advantages is that it is simple to operate and it ‘keeps warfighters at a safe distance away from enemy fire. All the projects are funded by DARPA along with heavy UGV concepts using tanks and other combat vehicles.
France
In Europe, an example of a UGV is the first French operational combat robot ‘SYRANO’ (Système Robotisé d’Acquisition pour la Neutralisation d’Objectifs), designed to acquire and destroy targets. It has been developed by consortium of CAP Gemini Corporation, SAGEM Company, GIAT Industries based on request from the French Direction générale de l’armement (Government Defence Procurement and Technology Agency). The robot has been built using combat vehicle ‘Wiesel’ AWC and is designed mainly for an urban environment with small size, good armour protection and a variety of sensors, enabling effective terrain surveillance. It is considered that ‘robots and drones appeal to French political and military leaders as a less expensive, more dependable means to enhance military effectiveness. As such, it is not surprising the France is home to a number of the largest robotics and UAV producers in the world’.
Russia
Russian NITI ‘Progress’ company has developed a prototype of a tracked robot ‘Platforma-M’ which is remotely controlled, mobile armed platform with own opto-electronic observation systems. It could be used for gathering intelligence, for discovering and eliminating stationary and mobile targets, for firepower support, for patrolling and for guarding important sites.
Other armed prototypes are ‘Wolf-2’ mobile robotic system, the ‘Shooter’ (‘Strelets’) having a machine gun fixed atop a tracked chassis. A 10-ton ‘Uran 9’ robot tank is heavily armed with ‘a machine gun, 30mm cannon that fires 350 to 400 rounds per minute, a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun and a battery of supersonic guided missiles.’ It is ready to be deployed in line with infantry to deliver fire support having ‘cutting-edge laser warning system, target detection, high-tech identification and tracking equipment.’
It is followed by a heavy UGV based on BMP-3 named ‘Strike’ and it will have even more combat power. The projects are still under development as they are supposed to enter service in 2018 or later but those are presenting Russian tendencies toward future UGVs.
It is followed by a heavy UGV based on BMP-3 named ‘Strike’ and it will have even more combat power. The projects are still under development as they are supposed to enter service in 2018 or later but those are presenting Russian tendencies toward future UGVs.
South Korea
The unmanned ground systems are also used for other purposes replacing people in all weather and terrain conditions in day and night. An example is the security system covering the demilitarised zone on the Korean Peninsula as ‘South Korean forces have installed a team of robots along the border with North Korea.’
Implementation of UGVs
It is not only about building them but also about developing doctrines and procedures to make them operational in the combat environment, which is more complex every year. The reason is that proper tactics is supporting full exploitation of emerging capabilities.
The UGVs are mainly used to support land forces by fulfilling variety of tasks ahead of and within units’ formations. However, their growing autonomy is offering new options. The advanced autonomic systems are well suited for new net centric warfare concepts by employing ‘swarm tactics’.
The tactics is allowing single vehicles to be located in a distance from each other but when a high value target is identified they on order could attack simultaneously. It is making them less vulnerable as of their dispersion and is allowing an operator to deliver devastating synergy effect and next to disperse again into standby mode. The units will be able to communicate with other ground and aerial ones sharing information. Network capabilities allow for the full control of all assets and an enemy would have a challenge to see any concentration of units and even if one is destroyed it is not harming the ‘swarm’ as a whole. Such studies are under consideration in the US in relation to Future Combat Systems.
Also, small armies are looking for such solutions to mitigate the limited funds and size of their forces. For example, the Australian Defence Force is ‘developing innovative networked sensor technologies, and testing autonomous unmanned vehicles to offset the small size of their military.’
The challenges could be related to magnetic spectrum and electronic warfare capabilities as those could have an effect of unmanned vehicles causing them to be non-operational if affected.
Conclusion
The development of UGVs and other ground systems is occurring across different vectors but there is a general trend to invest in such technologically developed solutions for military purposes. It is not only linked with combat functions but also to enhance combat service and support capabilities of the land forces. This trend will likely continue and a variety of possible platforms will influence the way future operations will be conducted.
The tempo of technological change is growing, supported by education and science, giving an advantage to developed nations, particularly the US. Other nations, such as China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom, will continue to invest in military industry and education to develop their own concepts and not to rely on reverse engineering of US designs. In general, US armed forces will influence future battlefields more than their possible opponents.
It is possible that ‘autonomous, networked and integrated robots may be the norm rather the exception by 2025.
Reference Text / Photos:
DIBS study -published in collaboration with Estonian National Defence College, Latvian National Defence Academy, Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Riga Technical University and The University of Tartu.
www.army.mil
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