sotech 12 5 final

SO/LIC Trailblazer

Michael D. Lumpkin

Assistant Secretary of Defense for SO/LIC

Advancement In Technology O USVsHarsh Weather Warrior Gear O Identity Masking Technologies

June 2014 Volume 12, Issue 5

www.SOTECH-kmi.com

World’s Largest Distributed Special Ops Magazine

leadership insight:

InstItutIonalIzIng lessons learned from Combat

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6 harsh Weather gearSOF personnel are often forced to complete their mission in the harshest of conditions. From the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan to the steaming rainforests of Africa, these harsh conditions pose a range of problems.By Chris MCCoy

10 Unmanned sUrface VehiclesThe U.S. Navy is taking an increasing interest in unmanned surface vehicles. The littoral combat ship program is currently conducting a competition for unmanned boats that would conduct minesweeping operations.By Peter BuxBauM

24 masking Who’s talkingStaying concealed while communicating is vital to successful special operations force missions. This masking of identity can be physical or electronic. For either, innovations promise improvement. Vendors are pushing the boundaries of technology.By hank hogan

Cover / Q&AFeatures

michael d. lUmpkinAssistant Secretary of Defense for

SO/LIC

16

June 2014Volume 12, Issue 5Special OperatiOnS technOlOgy

Departments Industry Interview2 editor’s perspectiVe3 Whispers/people14 Black Watch27 resoUrce center

Brian kellerVice President, Army Strategic Account ExecutiveLeidos

28

21

adVancement in technologiessoCom is always looking for innovative solutions to increasing warfighter survivability, mobility, lethality and connectivity.

leadership insight:institUtionalizing lessons learned from comBat An exclusive interview with Brigadier General Darsie Rogers, commander, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne).

4

“We’re doing great work with upgrading

and recapitalizing

our mobility fleet, ground and air, as

well as fielding the newest capabilities

in information technology, night vision and trauma

medical care.”

–Michael D. Lumpkin

I recently attended the annual SOFIC conference in Tampa, Fla. The show was a great experience and I spent much of my time on the exhibition floor and attending the session meetings held by SOCOM. I also attended a benefit auction onboard a ship that was hosted by the The Green Beret Foundation.

Admiral Bill H. McRaven took the stage at SOFIC for a ques-tion and answer session. He once again touched on the subject of the prevalence of suicide within SOF ranks. Other questions pertained more to acquisitions for SOCOM. SOCOM’s Theater Special Operations Commanders then took part in a panel discussion on important acquisition, requirements, operations and technology issues from the point of view of theater operations.

Maintaining the global SOF network was a common theme to the SOFIC SOCOM sessions. This point was driven home all the more by an international special operations exercise held on the second day of SOFIC.

U.S. and partner nation special operations forces displayed their interoperable tactical capabili-ties during the exercises. The series of specialized tactics that the special operations forces demon-strated featured a MC-130, MH-60 Black Hawks and MH-6 Littlebirds. More specifically, there was a military free fall water jump, helocast and fastrope insertions and the insertion of a Navy SEAL diver team. The tactics demonstrated by the international team of special operations forces were all highly complex maneuvers. They also demanded a very high degree of talent and skill that was evident to everyone in attendance.

An interesting fact about SOFIC is that at a time when so many conferences are being canceled as the military budget is slashed by sequestration and inaction from Congress, the number of people involved in SOFIC is growing. Every year, the number of attendees at SOFIC has increased. This point was made vividly clear via a graphic during one of the SOCOM sessions. Compared to other sections of the military market, special operations is still receiving a large amount of financial support.

As usual, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments for Special Operations Technology.


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Special Operations Technology

Volume 12, Issue 5 • June 2014

Chris McCoyeDitor

eDitOr’S perSpectiVe

Compiled by KMI Media Group staffWhiSperS

Air Force Major General Marshall B. Webb has been nominated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Special Operations Headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Mons, Belgium. Webb is currently serving as commander, Special Operations Command

Europe, and director, special operations, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany.

Colonel Eric T. Fick has been selected for the grade of brigadier general, and will move from his current position of program executive officer for intelligence, surveil-lance, reconnaissance

and special operations forces, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to program executive officer for fighters and bombers, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB.

Brigadier General Michael J. Warmack, deputy chief, operations, Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan, Pakistan, has been assigned as deputy commanding general, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Compiled by KMI Media Group staffpeOple

New Individual First Aid Kit

Chinook Medical Gear, a distributor and manufacturer of tactical medical kits, unveiled the TMK-IFAK, a new individual first aid kit (IFAK) for use in any tactical situation.

Chinook’s TMK-IFAK offers a unique design comprised of a pouch and insert, which can be used separately or combined into one complete system for quick and easy access to TCCC/TECC recommended supplies.

Designed to standard double magazine pouch size specifications, this kit features rapid one-handed deployment and a tether system so that life-saving supplies are always within reach.

The unique design eliminates digging for or dumping contents by allowing for individual deployment of supplies without dislodging other supplies.

Tactical Control System ContractRaytheon Co., Intelligence, Information

and Services, Dulles, Va., is being awarded a $15,844,476 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost contract for non-recurring research and development support for the Tactical Control System (TCS). This effort continues the transition from the TCS baseline into the Unmanned Aerial System Control Segment architecture, integrates modern intuitive controls as identified during testing with fleet operators, automates testing proce-dures in support of future integration and production, and supports the software baseline operating in the field. Work will be performed in Sterling, Va. (80 percent); Dahlgren, Va. (9 percent); Carson, Calif. (6 percent); and Garland, Texas (5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2016. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation and fiscal 2014 opera-tions and maintenance Navy funds in the amount of $4,214,507 will be obligated at time of award, $100,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.

Col. Eric T. Fick

Maj. Gen. Marshall B. Webb

Enhanced Ground Control System and Software for Small Unmanned Aircraft

Lockheed Martin’s Group 1 family of unmanned aircraft systems is migrating to enhanced automation capabilities using its Kestrel “Fly Light” flight control systems and industry-leading mobile Ground Control Station (mGCS) software. The increased automation allows operators to focus on executing the mission, rather than flying various aircraft.

Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin’s Desert Hawk III small unmanned aircraft system demonstrated these enhancements by delivering improved situational awareness to operators. The mGCS enhancements also proved to substantially reduce operator workload through an intuitive interface, user-friendly touchscreen and joystick options, as well as a sophisticated set of operator warnings, cautions and advisories.

“The mGCS is a derivative of our proven VCS-4586 software that focuses on providing capa-bilities to the small unit level,” said Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned solutions at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business. “MGCS is a single, portable system capable of conducting missions that would typically require multiple controllers and federated software applications in order to manage the many different types of UAS.”

MGCS was developed on an open system using commercial off-the-shelf technology that is interoperable with a variety of portable computers, hand controllers, autopilots, data links and sensors. The mGCS software is compliant with NATO’s Standardization Agreement 4586 and also includes a full software development kit to provide other UAS manufacturers the ability to add systems and other capabilities without restriction. This significantly eases integration while reducing support and sustainment costs as well.

www.SOTECH-kmi.com SOTECH 12.5 | 3

leaDerShip inSight

Brigadier General Darsie D. Rogers Jr. was commissioned a second lieutenant from Auburn University in 1987. Following his initial assignment to the 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., he completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and was awarded the Green Beret.

Rogers has commanded Army and spe-cial operations forces at every level, from second lieutenant to his current rank. Notable assignments include the Joint Staff, the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La., and commander of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). He has participated in numerous contingency and combat operations including Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Provide Comfort, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, and five deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, where he commanded Army, Air Force and naval special operations forces. He served as the deputy command-ing general for Support, 4th Infantry Divi-sion and Fort Carson, and most recently served as the deputy commanding general for United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC).

Q: Are there any recent programs or initiatives at USASFC(A) that you can discuss with us?

A: USASFC(A) has two key ongoing ini-tiatives in support of the USASOC com-mander’s Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) 2022 Concept. First, USASFC(A) has restructured one battalion per Special

Forces group to improve the regiment’s ability to execute our primary mission: unconventional warfare (UW). While UW will remain the primary focus of every battalion in the regiment, the 4th Bat-talion’s organization, structure, manning and training will specifically focus on the early phases of a UW campaign. In close coordination with the theater special oper-ations commands (TSOCs) and the joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multi-national (JIIM) communities, the redesign will provide our nation’s leaders a viable UW option when considering national responses to global unrest or aggression against the United States.

The second initiative consolidates Army Special Warfare (SW) elements (spe-cial forces, civil affairs, military informa-tion support operations, SOF logistical personnel) underneath a new, singular command. The primary function of the command is to better synchronize, tailor and scale SW support to the TSOCs. In addition to providing training, readiness and oversight of subordinate units, this new headquarters will also have the abil-ity to deploy up to a two-star level head-quarters to command and control special operations forces during contingency operations. The transformation will insti-tutionalize many of the lessons learned from the past decade of combat operations and provide the Army and TSOCs a readily available, organic, senior SOF command capable of commanding and controlling full-spectrum SOF operations in various environments.

Q: Many Special Forces soldiers have received awards for their heroic actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Opera-tion Enduring Freedom. Can you tell us about your efforts to ensure your quiet professionals are properly recognized?

A: First, we are extremely proud of our Medal of Honor recipients, both past and present. Whether from the Vietnam Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, these Special Forces soldiers represent the very best our Army and nation have to offer.

The inherent creativity, flexibility, training and education of Special Forces soldiers make them uniquely qualified for operations that require an under-standing of the political implications and long-term effects of their actions. Those characteristics often make Special Forces soldiers the primary choice for missions that garner little attention and publicity. While these types of operations do not normally make the headlines, as a command, we work hard to ensure we formally recognize our soldiers for their outstanding service and contribu-tions.

Q: With combat missions for conven-tional forces decreasing in Afghanistan, do you find missions for Special Forces in Afghanistan have also decreased, allowing more time for training, or have additional demands been put on your command in various regions of the world?

Institutionalizing Lessons Learned from Combat An interview with BrigAdier generAl dArsie d. rogers Jr.

www.SOTECH-kmi.com4 | SOTECH 12.5

A: While the number of Special Forces sol-diers operating in Afghanistan has declined, the cumulative demand for Special Forces soldiers across the globe continues to increase—a testament to the effectiveness and performance of our soldiers. Every day we have several thousand Special Forces soldiers supporting operations around the world. Operational/training management remains a delicate balancing act and a key focus of the command, as does the physi-cal and mental health of our soldiers and families. USASFC(A) will continue to ensure that our soldiers receive world-class train-ing and support commensurate with the tasks we levy against them. We owe that to our soldiers.

Q: Are the Special Forces soldiers who have departed Afghanistan able to take what they’ve learned in advising missions and translate that in places like the littorals with the Pacific rebalance?

A: While not all tactics, techniques, pro-cedures and authorities transfer from one geographical region to the other, experi-ences in Afghanistan have helped to syn-chronize systems and procedures across the Geographical Combatant Commands, streamlining the Global SOF Network. Combat operations over the past 12 years have created a combat-hardened force that understands operations in semi-permissive to permissive environments and can lever-age that experience when working with foreign militaries. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have also greatly increased interoperability between SOF and conven-tional forces—a relationship that must continue for the Army and joint force to succeed in future conflicts and engage-ments around the world.

I find it important though to emphasize that Afghanistan or Iraq experience alone does not guarantee success for USASFC(A) soldiers in other theaters. To effectively execute our UW mission, special forces sol-diers must become regional experts, master the language and culture of their opera-tional area, operate effectively in permis-sive to denied environments, and function effectively in the JIIM environment. That amount of expertise requires focus, study and experience in a specific region over a long period of time.

Q: Can you speak to the resiliency of your units? How has Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF) benefitted your com-mand?

A: The POTFF program directly addresses one of our fundamental SOF truths: People are more important than hardware. Invest-ing in the physical, mental and spiritual resiliency of our soldiers and their fami-lies remains one of my top priorities. The Special Forces soldier of the next 10 to 20 years must have the physical, mental and emotional capacity to operate effectively in the most difficult and complex environ-ments in the world. While selection and the special forces training pipeline set the condi-tions for success, truly optimizing a soldier’s potential requires consistent maintenance and investment. As a regiment, we do that partly through advanced skills training and talent management, but we also achieve it through optimizing the individual him/her-self. POTFF programs such as the Tactical Human Optimization Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning Program have paid sig-nificant dividends to the force by preventing injuries and rehabilitating soldiers injured during combat or training.

Q: Technologically speaking, is there a particular piece of kit you’re looking for to help best execute the Special Forces Green Berets’ nine principal tasks?

A: The past decade of sustained combat operations have led to immense improve-ments in the technology Special Forces soldiers utilize to accomplish their missions. From radios to unmanned aircraft systems, these advancements have helped enable the Special Forces soldier to outperform adver-saries on the battlefield. Although I firmly believe that humans are more important than hardware, the advances we have seen in technology over the last decade have posi-tively impacted nearly every aspect of SOF operations. In the SOF community, we fully expect to continue efforts that make the SOF operator more effective and lethal with a focus on a complementary suite of equip-ment rather than a singular piece of kit. Examples of these efforts include body armor and helmets that improve survivability and enhance movement on the ground, target engagement systems to improve lethality

and stand-off and better fully integrated and networked communications systems for more effective command and control during the most complex operations.

Q: In what ways do you see the Special Forces soldier evolving over the next five years?

A: In the next five years, we need a Special Forces soldier who feels as comfortable engaging with an ambassador, foreign civil-ian/military official or senior Army leader as he does fighting in the mountains alongside his Afghan counterparts. We need a soldier who has the technical and tactical skills to operate in permissive, semi-permissive and denied environments in support of the TSOC commanders’ objectives while accomplishing the mission and minimiz-ing risk to the force. As a country, we have a combat-seasoned, proficient, experienced and capable group of special operators. We now need to take that knowledge base and continue to expand our soldiers’ capabilities to meet the demands of the future operating environment.

Q: What final thoughts do you have for the soldiers, civilians and other SOF support-ers of USASFC(A)?

A: First and foremost, I’d like to thank the soldiers, civilians and their families for their continued commitment and sacri-fice to our nation. Their contributions do not go unnoticed and I’m both proud and humbled to lead the outstanding men and women of this regiment. Secondly, [I’d tell them to] embrace the changes occurring throughout the regiment. Special Forces have performed exceptionally over the past decade in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines and across the globe, but we have an adap-tive and resilient enemy and must evolve as an organization to prepare for the future fight. All special soldiers must understand the concepts outlined in ARSOF 2022 and become a master of their profession. We owe that to our nation, the Army and to the individuals on our right and left. O

For more information, contact SOTECH Editor Chris McCoy at [email protected]

or search our online archives for related stories at www.sotech-kmi.com.


SOF are often forced to complete their mission in the harshest of conditions. From the deserts of Iraq to the mountains of Afghanistan to the steaming rainforest of Africa, these harsh conditions pose a range of problems. Luckily, there is a great deal of clothing designed to meet the rigors of such harsh environments. Some of this clothing is even available commercially off-the-shelf to the average American consumer. Often, materials worn by SOF are also sold to hunters, mountain climbers and athletes.

Moisture wicking socks

North Carolina-based Thorlos offers a special line of socks that are primarily made from a proprietary acrylic blend of fibers. Thorlos uses acrylic blends for their ability

to wick moisture away from the foot (there are more sweat glands in your feet than any other part of your body), and their ability to stay resilient provides more cushion. They also utilize Cool Max and some wool when the activity demands.

“When we set out to make a product, we spend an incredible amount of time study-ing all the stresses the foot will experience in this activity. We look at stresses delivered from the external environment outside the shoe and, more importantly, the environ-ment inside the shoe,” said Eric Cody, product line manager, Thorlos Outdoor and Snow. “We look closely at the footwear that will be worn with the product and how it comes into contact with the foot. We take all of these factors into consideration and apply over 30 years of experience in developing

activity-specific foot protection to develop the product.”

Once Thorlos develops a product, they test it on multiple users in the most extreme environments possible. For example, the Extreme Cold Foot Protection sock was tested by climbers ascending to the sum-mit of the tallest mountains in the world. After these tests, this sock was awarded a “Guides Choice” award from the American Alpine Institute as a recommended item. The company also asked several professional sled dog mushers to test the Extreme Cold Foot Protection sock in their activity. They quickly adopted this as their sock of choice and it was worn by Dallas Sweeney, who won the 2014 Iditarod.

“We understand that our heritage is authenticity and real value derived from a

speciAl fABrics And clothing Are designed to enABle sof to function At

peAk perforMAnce.

By chris Mccoy

sotech editor


product that does what it says it will do and that lasts for years,” said Cody. “We take that very seriously. Simply put, Thorlos will make the absolute best foot protection in the world for an activity and guarantee our product. On the package of every pair of Thorlos is a simple money-back guarantee that assures the user that our product will do what we say or we will refund their pur-chase price.”

Thorlos founder Jim Throneburg was a Navy man, having served on a submarine. Before the company became Thorlos, it was a hosiery mill that made socks for various concerns, including the military.

“Our history goes back over 50 years of providing high quality products for the military. Today, we make a variety of prod-ucts for our military customers, from dress socks to anti-fatigue products. A very large percentage of our customers first expe-rienced Thorlos products while serving,” said Cody. “We take great pride in receiving letters and emails from service men and women from all over the world thanking us for providing such a great product for

them. The letters usually speak of how much they took their feet for granted before they were in the service and that after experiencing foot pain, they were grateful for our product protecting their feet, which allowed them to concentrate on their important work.”

Moreover, the company employs numerous ex-military personnel in all fac-ets of the business.

“We are an American company that is extremely proud to honor and help our military by providing them with the best foot protection on the planet,” said Cody.

Merino wool

Armadillo Merino specializes in next-to-skin protective clothing that utilizes the unique properties of merino wool. The garments are constructed for demanding environments using a range of merino performance fabrics that deliver supe-rior protection, performance and com-fort to wearers. The company works with

professionals operating in high risk envi-ronments around the world in occupations such as military, police, fire, ambulance, search and rescue, heavy industry, and other outdoor professions. Armadillo Merino is a brand managed by Ministry of Wool Ltd., a British-based company operating from Der-byshire, England.

“The merino fiber we use has been spe-cially grown by merino sheep and selected for its fineness so that it can be worn next-to-skin and provide superior wearer protec-tion, performance and comfort over a wide range of climatic conditions,” said com-pany spokesman Andy Caughey. “Merino is a superfine quality of wool prized for it softness and strength. The merino is a spe-cial breed of sheep that thrive in harsh, dry conditions. The merino sheep are farmed in many countries throughout the world, but the majority of the high quality wool is grown in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.”

Armadillo Merino garments are being worn as next-to-skin performance garments covering from head to toe when worn as

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beanie hats, neck gaiters, gloves, socks, tops and bottoms. The most significant attribute is that the fabric has no-melt, no drip-properties and is flame resistant up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, the fabric has many other benefits including thermoregulation, so the wearer keeps cooler when it is hot and warmer when it is cold. It manages sweat in both the vapor stage and as liquid perspiration, pulling moisture away from the body and keeping the skin dry. In addi-tion to softness and stretch, it also has the ability to suppress offensive odors when worn for days at a time, reducing the pres-ence of dismounted soldiers.

“Armadillo Merino designs and manu-factures the most advanced next-to-skin garments in the world,” said Caughey. “Our fabric ranges have been manufactured for specific end use applications taking into consideration durability, breathability, heat management, moisture movement and gar-ment styling. These fabrics perform well under a multilayered system, assisting the user to stay stronger for longer because the garments help delay the onset of sweating and reduce the rate of perspiration.”

priMAloft insulAtion

In 1983, the U.S. Army Research Labora-tory commissioned Albany International to develop a synthetic insulation that would be comparable to goose down in weight, compressibility and warmth, but also retain heat while in the presence of moisture. In 1988, PrimaLoft became a business subsid-iary of Albany International Corp. and the PrimaLoft brand was born.

“Since then, we’ve been working hard to constantly shake up the category with the development of our innovative comfort solu-tions that mimic down in dry conditions, but surpass down’s capabilities when wet,” said David Newey, global marketing director, Pri-maLoft Inc. “Almost two years ago, the sub-sidiary spun off from Albany International to become the privately held PrimaLoft Inc. This change has put us in a better position to reinvest in research and development and explore new comfort solution categories, like fleece and fabric.”

PrimaLoft offers best-in-class synthetic insulations that are the highest in per-formance when it comes to wet weather conditions, warmth to weight ratio, quick drying capabilities, breathability, packability, softness, and comfort.

“Our products are currently used in more than 700 brands across multiple indus-tries in addition to military wear, including outdoor, home furnishings, hunting and fashion,” said Newey.

As a generality, PrimaLoft synthetic insulation is made with ultrafine polyester fibers that feature high quality, performance-focused characteristics like incredible light-weight softness, warmth, breathability and compressibility.

“The supplemental materials are depen-dent on the specific PrimaLoft product being made, as we currently offer approximately 25 varieties,” said Newey. “For example, Pri-maLoft ECO is made of 90 percent post-con-sumer recycled fibers from plastic bottles.”

The U.S. Marine Corp Extreme Cold Weather, Special Operations Forces Protec-tive Combat Uniform (PCU)/Naval Special Warfare, U.S. Army Extended Cold Weather Clothing System and the U.S. Air Force all make use of PrimaLoft insulation.

“U.S. Navy Seals first validated Pri-maLoft insulation as an optimum perform-ing product. It allows the user to walk, or ‘cook dry,’ in less than 30 minutes after being fully immersed in water at 33 degrees Fahrenheit, providing a tactical advantage over the enemy under extreme wet and cold conditions,” said Newey. “Nicknamed the ‘happy suit,’ the PrimaLoft Parka and Trouser are crucial to the USMC solider in the field due to the product’s performance and comfort in extreme conditions. To date, more than 1 million sets of PrimaLoft insu-lated jackets and trousers have been issued to U.S. troops.”

Multiple Multipurpose technicAl fABrics

Maryland-based W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. offers a range of products specialized for harsh environments. Best recognized for waterproof, windproof and breathable Gore-Tex fabric, traditionally seen in gar-ments, footwear and gloves, Gore’s port-folio of technologies has expanded to heat and flame protection, chemical and biologi-cal protection, and signature management.

“Gore continues to develop high per-forming fabric technologies for the protec-tion of warfighters in varying temperatures and environments worldwide. Research to deliver increased performance is ongo-ing, with continued focus on areas such as weight reduction, minimizing pack volume, fast dry out and enhanced comfort,” said

Above: The NemesisTurkeyAOR2 file is a signature management product. [Photo courtesy of W. L. Gore & Associates Inc.]

Left: Thorlos’ socks are designed to wick away sweat from the feet. [Photo courtesy of Thorlo Inc.]


Jason Rodriguez, marketing communica-tions at Gore.

Gore Pyrad flame retardant is a new fabric innovation offering protection against arc flash and flash fire threats that makes use of a self-extinguishing technology when exposed to these threats. Gore Pyrad flame retardant is currently being designed in protective garments, and most recently in the USMC Arctic Shelter. Other new inno-vations by Gore include Gore Multispec-tral Concealment materials. This fabric is used to create a unique collection of mul-tispectral concealment products, including garments, covers and hides. The technol-ogy significantly reduces the probability of detection against visual, near infrared, short-wavelength infrared, mid-wavelength infrared and long-wavelength infrared. By providing concealment from multiple con-current sensor threats, the products aid in the infiltration and exfiltration to and from target objectives with minimal detec-tion.

A variety of Gore fabrics are being used in protective gear currently procured by

the Department of Defense. Some of the items include the Level 6 jacket and trou-ser in the Gen III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System, Air Force All Purpose Environmental Clothing System (APECS), Navy Working Uniform parka and trouser, and the USMC Lightweight Exposure Suit.

“Gore continues to work at under-standing the challenges military personnel face in the field and develop performance fabrics that attribute to enhancing mission effectiveness. Existing protective garments currently being used by SOCOM that are designed with Gore fabric include the PCU Level 6 jacket and trouser, the Level 3B jacket, and signature management gar-ments utilizing Gore Multispectral Con-cealment technology.”

Gore’s expertise in working with pro-prietary polymers and fluoropolymer mate-rials has led to the development of fabric solutions engineered to improve perfor-mance and comfort. To ensure quality, Gore requires products to go through a rigorous series of lab tests and field trials to verify the long-term durability of the product.

Key technical parameters from waterproof-ness and breathability to wear resistance and comfort are evaluated.

“This process is part of Gore’s fitness-for-use philosophy, which ensures that end items designed with our fabrics will do what we say they will do. Special opera-tions forces encounter different conditions and challenges in their deployments. As a result, the gear used has undergone significant advancements to ensure they can function at peak performance,” said Rodriguez.

Altogether, Thorlos, Armadillo Merino, PrimaLoft and W. L. Gore & Associates offer a sampling of the clothing and materials designed to allow SOF to function at that level of peak performance in harsh environ-ments. O



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The U.S. Navy is taking an increasing interest in unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). The littoral combat ship (LCS) program is currently conducting a competition for unmanned boats that would conduct minesweeping operations. A number of companies have developed USVs capable of being deployed on a variety of missions, including the gamut of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. Some innovative technologies are being brought to bear on some of these projects for powering the surface vehicles and for other functions.

Common to many of the USVs that have been developed, or that are under development, is their modularity. Thanks to a modular, open architecture, they are able to function as multi-mission, multi-payload vessels—allowing users to quickly deploy any of several payloads, including weapons—which is necessary to satisfy mission requirements such as tow-ing, mine countermeasures, communications relay, unmanned aircraft launch and recovery, and ISR.

“Navies around the world have great regions of ocean they are supposed to be patrolling but few assets with which to do that,” said retired Navy Captain Don Jagoe, director of business development at Liquid Robotics National Security. “USVs will give them the ability to be out there when they are needed regardless of the time of day or weather conditions.” Much of the world’s population lives near the coast, noted Jagoe, making USV operations in the littorals particularly apt.

“Many of the threats the U.S. military is looking at are surface threats,” said Pete Klein, a systems engi-neer at Elbit Systems of America. “The utility of the USV is similar to that of the unmanned aerial system. They can be put into harm’s way without endangering the lives of service personnel. They can be placed in areas where sensors need to collect data for extended periods of time. USVs are better capable of prosecut-ing a target of the surface of the ocean than UAVs. Minesweeping, target detection, and the analysis of

an operational area are some of the functions that can be handled by USVs.”

The Navy’s Program Executive Office Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is developing in its Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office a family of modular unmanned surface vehicles for employ-ment with the LCS. “These USVs will provide a flexible and adaptable platform that can be outfitted with a variety of payloads for different missions while keeping sailors out of tasks that are dirty, dull and dangerous,” said Captain David Honabach, program manager for unmanned maritime systems at PEO LCS.

The first variant of the LCS USV, called the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS), will provide a low-cost, long-endurance, semi-

autonomous minesweeping capability for magnetic and acoustic mines. “It is also expected to form the USV foundation for low-cost capabilities in mine hunting, neutralization and future missions,” said Honabach. “In fiscal year 2014, the Navy initiated investments into Flight 2 minehunting USVs to leverage LCS AN/AQS-20A sonars with a reconfigurable USV.”

The UISS will minimize LCS sailors’ exposure to the minefield while minimizing workload for ship-board personnel. “It is being procured to initially augment and eventually replace the aging manned minesweeping capabilities of the Navy,” said Hona-bach. “It will fill the requirement for rapid clearance of magnetic and acoustic influence sea mines to support operations in the littoral zones, confined straits, choke points and amphibious objective areas.” An influence mine is one that is able to detect the presence of a target vessel without direct contact.

“As an unmanned surface vehicle, the UISS will be capable of operating independently in shallow water regions of the ocean,” Honabach added. “The UISS will achieve dramatic acquisition and especially opera-tional cost reductions compared to current manned sweeping assets.”

reMotely piloted BoAts AccoMplish dAngerous Mission oBJectives without loss of life.

By peter BuxBAuM

sotech correspondent

Capt. don Jagoe (ret.)

Capt. david Honabach


The system will be launched, operated and retrieved from both variants of the LCS. “It is one com-ponent of a system of systems in the mine countermeasure mission package for LCS,” said Honabach. “The UISS will interface with existing hardware, software and communica-tions systems aboard LCS. The UISS acquisition builds upon years of basic and applied research by the Office of Naval Research, and the fabrication and testing of prototype systems by PEO LCS.”

Textron Systems’ Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) is one of the boats in the running for the UISS contract. Textron demonstrated the mine-detection capabilities of the vessel for the U.S. Navy in 2012. “We leveraged the AAI command and control architecture that has over 7,000 hours of combat operations on unmanned aerial vehicles and adapted that to create a maritime platform,” said Bill Leonard, director of unmanned surface systems at AAI Textron. “CUSV has more than 1,600 hours in the water dem-onstrating its abilities to function on multiple missions.”

CUSV is currently in its fourth generation of development. “We have included enhancements that make the vessel more effective and open it up for more mission sets,” said Leonard. “We also part-nered with another division of the company, Textron Marine and Land, to draw on their expertise in vessel design and manufacturing capability.”

Among the recent enhancements to the CUSV are an improved propulsion system that produces higher speeds and better ranges, and an optimized hull structure for better stability and endurance. “One of the key features we think we have that provides a great advantage is the proven survivability of the system,” said Leon-ard. “It can operate in higher sea states and includes an expanded payload bay with the ability to carry more weight and tow more underwater. As the technology has matured we have also rolled in simplified electronics to reduce weight and complexity.”

In a demonstration with the Navy, the CUSV performed sonar mine neutralization operations, ISR capabilities and the ability to deploy some non-lethal weapons. “This kind of vessel is going to improve the Navy’s mine countermeasures,” said Leonard. “We are working with the Navy to understand their road map.”

On the ISR front, the CUSV has already demonstrated the capability to carry cameras, radar, LiDAR and signals intelligence packages. “We have also investigating the possibility of installing a 360-degree camera system that can detect objects and isolate them,” said Leonard.

The LCS UISS requirements set maximum sizes and weights for the USV’s communications apparatus. “The Navy is primarily look-ing for modularity so that they can run their missions on it,” said Leonard. “The CUSV’s electronics and communications capabilities are designed to be compatible with the LSC architecture, but we also designed the CUSV so that it can be adapted beyond the LCS.”

The vessel is adaptable to multiple missions thanks to its modularity. “Multiple kinds of payloads can be swapped in and out,” said Leonard. “We think the vessel can be put to good use in maritime domain awareness operations, harbor patrols, intercept-types of activities and any expeditionary warfare type of mission. The main thing is can it stay out for long periods of time, watch,

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Elbit Systems has developed an unmanned naval vehicle for maritime patrol missions equipped with a weapon station as well as observation and communication systems that is capable of autonomous operation in ranges up to 500 kilometers. Called Silver Marlin, the Elbit USV is designated for ISR missions, force protection, anti-terror missions, anti-surface and anti-mine warfare, search and rescue, port and waterway patrol, as well as electronic warfare.

“The Silver Marlin is a second-generation USV,” said Klein. “While most currently avail-able USVs are remote-controlled, the Silver Marlin is an autonomous USV. The second-generation Silver Marlin is fully capable of performing complete missions independently, such as departing and returning to home port and maintaining an observation point.”

The autonomous system is designed for optimal performance on low-level control activities such as optimal turning rate, opti-mal speed for fuel consumption, and accurate sailing and navigation with cruise sensors and stabilization sys-tems to prevent capsizing. “It has an adaptive feature, capable of self-tuning the control system in response to environmental or mission changes,” said Klein.

Elbit Systems took advantage of mission management systems originally developed for unmanned aerial vehicles and modified them for the USV, to overcome marine-related commu-nication and line-of-sight barriers. Elbit Systems is also develop-ing an obstacle avoidance system for the Silver Marlin and the Autonomous Helmsman system, an expert system using heuristic methods for autonomous high-level decision making. This will allow a completely external intervention-free mission operation. The system also has the capability to support weapons.

The Silver Marlin is equipped with an electro-optical/infrared sensor and a radar system. “The radar system can be used to detect obstacles in water and can be programmed to take evasive action,” said Klein. “The sensors can be upgraded as technology changes.”

Liquid Robotics produces a long-duration unmanned sur-face vehicle whose original purpose was to do ocean testing in very remote areas. The Shark, as the naval version of the USV is known, dispenses not only with the crew, but also with the fuel normally required to propel the craft.

“We us a proprietary methodology that captures the power of waves,” said Jagoe. “As the vertical motion of the waves go by, the system captures that and translates it into forward propulsive power. Waves as small as 1 inch in height can provide one-quarter of a knot of forward speed. There is no fuel on board and it is a completely green product.”

Electrical power is generated by solar panels and stored on board in a lithium ion battery pack. “The electricity is distributed during the duty cycle by a power distribution system that opti-mizes the utility of available solar energy, tops off the batteries, and deploys at night,” said Jagoe.

The company has 400,000 nautical miles in operations on the 200 vehicles it has sold to customers in the oil and gas industry, academic institutions, oceanographic organizations, and the Department of Defense. “We have ongoing work with the Navy and Air Force and we are expanding on both of those areas,” said Jagoe. “Additionally, we do a lot of ISR support work for the intelligence community.”

The satellite communications system Iridium is the standard communications package on the Shark, but, Jagoe noted, “ISR customers frequently go with custom communications packages.”

The USV can support a variety of ISR sensors including signals intelligence sensors, electronic sensors across a range of frequen-cies, and radiological sensors. The Shark, when used for ISR, can be equipped with a capability called Sentinel that allows the vessel to be sent out to a prepositioned point to establish a loitering and patrol area. “There are hundreds of interfaces to provide a real plug-and-play capability for a variety of ISR sensors,” said Jagoe.

This enables the boat to keep close watch on vessel and air traf-fic close to the shore. Its very low profile prevents it from being detected.

“It can pick up an incoming target on the surface by means of radar or radio communications,” said Jagoe. “As it gets closer, the boat can transfer to a passive acoustic sensor that calculates a line of bearing and do a target acquisition analysis, then switch to an electro-optical or infrared sensor to get a good look at whatever is approaching and determine whether [or not] that is something that should be there.”

The autonomous operations built in to the system allow a school of Sharks to be deployed, for example, to patrol a coastline or an entrance to a port, while automatically maintaining their positions and keeping the proper distance from each other. They benefit from a swarming and self-meshing capability that enables them to know their own position and the position of the others in their unit.

The Navy, in conjunction with Spatial Integrated Systems Inc., holds a demonstration of a fully autonomous unmanned surface vehicle at Fort Monroe. A harbor patrol scenario depicts how the USV uses its autonomous maritime navigation systems to patrol and scan designated areas for intruders using onboard sensors and obstacle avoidance software in order to carry out its mission and report back its findings to a command center. [Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy/by Seaman Joshua Nuzzo]


“They are fed with their course and speed and the operator can fire and forget,” said Jagoe. “They can be programmed to return to their home station and the Shark will navigate around any obstacles it may find between its starting and ending point.” Liquid Robotics is currently working to enhance the system by providing an on-board processing capability. This will obviate the need to transmit data to shore for analysis and further instructions.

The Shark also benefits from the ability to be deployed for extremely long durations. “The longest we’ve had one out was two and a half years,” said Jagoe. “After a year, the vessel needs to be cleaned to prevent excessive drag. Realistically, these USVs are good for missions of six months to a year on a regular basis. This far outpaces the abilities of traditional ISR platforms. UAV duration can be measured in days or even hours. Ships can be sent out for 30 or 40 days, but there are crew and fuel constraints and costs to be dealt with.”

For USVs to claim their place in the sun, according to Klein, more work must be done on providing them with higher levels of autonomy, especially when it comes to sensing and avoiding obstacles and innocent traffic on the waterways they will be patrol-ling. The issue may not come up when the USV is on the open water, but Klein sees the best utility for the vessels being deployed in the littorals, as the Navy already plans to do, as well as in or near ports and on local waterways.

“That is where USVs will pay off: close to shore and in harbors and bays where there may be a number of threats inbound to popu-lated areas and where USVs can decrease operational costs. The big-gest obstacle to USV deployment is the capability that would allow the vehicle to make decisions that are deterministic so that the boat will do the right thing and act in a proper manner when deployed in a waterway. Industry is not there yet with respect to a level of autonomy that would allow the boats to operate in a safe manner and with minimal threats to commercial and public activities on the waterways.” In the future, Klein added, USVs will be able to apply artificial intelligence to imagery and data that would allow then to maneuver on their own.

As Klein sees it, USV development has outpaced the definition of requirements for the vehicles by navies and coast guards. “USVs have a lot of capabilities waiting for applications around which to tailor sensor and weapons suites,” he said. “Companies have devel-oped these products, but navies and coast guards around the world have yet to figure out what if anything they want to do with them.”

The U.S. Navy has at least taken some preliminary steps in that direction. The Navy intends to procure up to 52 UISS systems for minesweeping. “By approximately 2025, USVs will be the Navy’s only minesweeping system,” Honabach predicted.

Industry proposals for UISS were submitted in October of last year and are currently being evaluated by the Navy. The Navy intends to make up to two UISS contract awards in fiscal year 2014.

“The Navy is currently in source selection for the competitive award of contracts for design and fabrication of one engineering development model from up to two teams, with options for low rate initial production for up to two systems per year, between 2017 through 2019,” said Honabach. “This will be followed by a full rate production contract.” O

For more information, contact SOTECH Editor Chris McCoy at [email protected] or search our online archives for related stories

at www.sotech-kmi.com.

modular rf Other ar divisions: rf/microwave instrumentation • receiver systems • ar europe The Battle Tested logo is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off. # 3,821,099.

Copyright© 2014 AR. The orange stripe on AR products is Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM. Off.

SOTECH_NewNetworking:Layout 1 5/27/14 9:19 AM Page 1


BlacK Watch

SeMI-autoMatIC RIfleberetta

The Italian-designed, American-

made Beretta ARX100 semi-automatic

rifle is currently in production in

Accokeek, Md., with a manufacturers

suggested retail price of $1,950.

Unlike other third generation

battle rifles currently on the market,

the Beretta ARX100’s multi-caliber

capability is a reality due to the tool-

free, quick-change barrel design

and cold hammer forged barrel.

Operators can go from the standard

5.56 NATO round to the .30 caliber

stopping power of the .300 Black

Out in seconds with the optional

300 Black Out barrel kit available

through the Beretta Pro-Shop. Both

cold hammer forged barrels are

manufactured by Beretta in their

Accokeek facility.

Customizing the rifle to the

needs of the operator doesn’t end

with the barrel and caliber; the

fully ambidextrous controls on the

ARX100 adapt to left- or right-

handed shooters. Operation of the

bolt release, safety selector and

magazine release from either side of

the rifle showcases its ambidextrous

design; however, the ability to

change the rifle’s ejection from left

to right with a push of a button and

swing-through charging handle to

accommodate the shooter’s left/right

preference makes the rifle a game

changer.

MX-10 SuRpaSSeS 10,000 opeRatIonal HouRS onboaRd tHe lynX Mk9a HelICopteRl-3 Wescam

L-3 Wescam announced that the Joint British Forces fleet of MX-10

electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) imaging systems has successfully

logged 10,000 hours onboard the Lynx Mk9A helicopter.

Since its deployment in late 2011, the Mk9A and MX-10 pairing has

effectively demonstrated full mission capability, leading key find-and-escort

roles throughout Afghanistan in support of the United Kingdom’s Operation

Herrick.

“The 10,000-flight-hour milestone is a great reason to celebrate the

tremendous performance of our MX-10 EO/IR imaging system,” said Paul

Jennison, vice president of government sales and business development

for L-3 Wescam “With its battle-proven design and optical capability, the

MX-10 fleet has demonstrated its effectiveness in extreme environments,

with prolonged exposure to sand and temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius

[posing no threat].”

Able to provide positive identifications and accurate targeting

information, the MX-10s have proven to be a force multiplier onboard the

Lynx Mk9A. Complete with 4-axis stabilization, the systems are used to track

insurgent activity and troop movement around forward operating bases in

Afghanistan. This dependable overwatch capability is credited to the long-

range EO and IR imaging sensors that complement the MX-10’s patented

stabilization technology, coupled with the system’s laser rangefinder, laser

illuminator and MX-GEO technologies.

Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, introduced its new mine-resistant

ambush protected all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV) variants at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition &

Conference in Amman, Jordan. Oshkosh is evolving the combat-proven M-ATV family of vehicles

to meet a more diverse range of mission requirements and needs for armed forces in the Middle

East, North Africa region and around the world.

The expanded global M-ATV family of vehicles includes two multi-mission models—the M-ATV

Standard and M-ATV Extended, each with multiple variants. The M-ATV Standard is designed

to provide response and support capabilities for a range of offensive and defensive missions in

off-road environments. The M-ATV Extended delivers increased capacity for additional troops and

equipment to support a wider assortment of mission profiles, such as mounted infantry support,

explosive ordnance support and command-and-control. Variants include:

All M-ATVs deliver industry gold standard off-road performance and feature common

components, such as the Oshkosh TAK-4 independent suspension system, and offer integrated

cab crew protection. Collectively, the family meets a wider range of protection, performance,

payload and transportability requirements for peacekeeping, internal security, border security,

special forces, counterinsurgency and conventional military operations.

new MRap VaRIantSoskhosh defense

• M-ATV Standard Base

• M-ATV Standard Upgrade

• M-ATV Standard Special Forces

• M-ATV Extended Intervention

• M-ATV Extended Engineer

• M-ATV Extended Command


Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

faCIlIty paVeS tHe way foR MoRe RadIo ConneCtIonS of MuoS CoMMunICatIon SatellIteS lockheed martin

The number of end users connecting to the U.S. Navy’s Mobile User

Objective System (MUOS) will grow as radio terminal providers begin

using a testing facility that simulates the satellite network. A team from

Harris recently used the lab to connect the AN/PRC-117G Falcon III radio

to MUOS systems developed by Lockheed Martin.

It’s one of several terminals that are well underway

in testing their connections with the constellation.

Many terminals—from handheld radios to

satellite links on ships, planes and ground vehicles—

can easily integrate this new type of signal, and

Lockheed Martin’s facility helps developers test

those connections. While some terminals are new

products, the lab also helps existing terminals

connect. Enabling access for radios in inventory

means more users can use MUOS without the cost

of all new gear.

“MUOS provides a leap in capability that can

save lives and improve missions, so naturally we

want as many users to connect as possible,”

said Dave Helseth, Lockheed Martin director of

Systems Engineering, Integration and Test for

MUOS. “Over 55,000 currently fielded terminals

could be upgraded for full MUOS capability as

early as 2016. Our simulation lab helps providers quickly complete their

integration work and move forward with government certification.”

According to Harris, the Department of Defense uses more

than 30,000 AN/PRC-117G terminals. With a MUOS update, all

could be ready for MUOS connections pending

government certification. Additionally, the General

Dynamics AN/PRC-155 manpack radio is the

terminal program of record and offers more

connections.

MUOS delivers secure, priority-based voice

and high-speed data to mobile users using an

advanced waveform similar to commercial cell

phone technology. The radio testing facility

incorporates a full ground station, satellite

payload, radio instrumentation and simulators

that emulate radio links in challenging conditions,

such as rain, forest canopy and urban canyons.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale,

Calif., is the MUOS prime contractor and system

integrator. The Navy’s Program Executive Office

for Space Systems and its Communications

Satellite Program Office, San Diego, Calif., are

responsible for the MUOS program.

augMented featuReS foR adVanCed CaMeRa CoRe pRoduCtSflIr

The Tau 2 and Quark 2 now offer

built in temperature measurement for

radiometry, analytics and telemetry.

This is a first in the industry,

particularly for a small, shutterless

long-wavelength infrared camera like

the Quark 2. Users can set isotherm

thresholds in the gray scale to colorize

temperatures of interest (e.g., a people

finder).

Tau 2—Industry leader for UAVs, thermal weapon sights and handheld imagers:

• Increased sensitivity (<30 mK)

• Options for 640/60 Hz frame rates

• Advanced image processing modes

• Temperature measurement

Quark 2—Industry leader in terms of size,

weight and power

• Silent shutterless non-uniformity

correction

• Options for 640/60 Hz frame rates

• Advanced image processing modes

• Temperature measurement

degRaded VISual enVIRonMent SenSoR SolutIontelephonics Corporation

Telephonics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary

of Griffon Corporation, recently presented its VisionEdge

Degraded Visual Environment sensor solution. VisionEdge

addresses the life-threatening challenges associated

with degraded visual environment situations, enhancing

the military aviator’s ability to maneuver through adverse

weather conditions, hard-to-detect wires and other flight path

obstacles.

VisionEdge is a millimeter wave radar sensor that provides

a constant, real-time image of the aircraft’s forward viewing

area via a 3-D visual display. With no moving parts, the small

size, light weight and low power consumption of VisionEdge

enhances overall system reliability and easily integrates with

a wide variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft platforms.

Telephonics’ advanced spatial audio positioning technology,

when combined with VisionEdge, offers an added capability

that provides aural cues and warnings directly to the pilot,

heightening situational awareness.

VisionEdge is a commercial enhanced flight vision system

solution already in development at Telephonics, which can be

leveraged by the U.S. military, providing fiscal benefits in this

constrained budgetary environment.


Michael D. Lumpkin is currently the assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict (SO/LIC), performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for policy (USD(P)).

When performing the duties of USD(P), Lumpkin provides advice and assistance to the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense on all matters concerning the formulation of national security and defense policy and the integration and oversight of DoD policy and plans to achieve national security objectives.

Lumpkin was sworn in as the assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict on December 2, 2013, fol-lowing his nomination by President Barack Obama and confirma-tion by the U.S. Senate.

In his role as assistant secretary (SO/LIC), Lumpkin is the principal advisor to the U.S. secretary of defense on special opera-tions and low intensity conflict. He is responsible primarily for the overall supervision, to include oversight of policy and resources, of special operations and low intensity conflict activities. These activities include: counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, civil affairs, information operations and counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In his role as assistant secretary (SO/LIC), he also oversees the DoD counter-narcotics program, building partnership capacity initiatives and humanitarian and disaster relief efforts.

Prior to his assuming duties as assistant secretary (SO/LIC), Lumpkin served as a senior executive at both DoD and the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs. His previous positions include special assistant to the secretary of defense, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for SO/LIC, and deputy chief of staff for opera-tions at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Lumpkin has also significant experience in the private sector where he served as the chief executive officer at Industrial Security Alliance Partners and executive director of business development at ATI.

Lumpkin has more than 20 years of active duty military ser-vice as a U.S. Navy SEAL where he held every leadership position from platoon commander to team commanding officer. He has participated in numerous campaigns and contingencies through-out the world to include both Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Lumpkin holds a M.A. from Naval Postgraduate School in national security affairs. He is a recognized subspecialist in special operations/low-intensity conflict and Western Hemisphere affairs.

Q: Could you describe for our readers the role of your office?

A: In addition to serving in my Senate-confirmed position as the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-inten-sity conflict (ASD SO/LIC), I am also concurrently performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for policy, which broadens my focus to include all areas of defense and national security policy formulation.

As the ASD SO/LIC, I am the principal civilian advisor to the secretary of defense on a number of functional defense portfolios. On behalf of the secretary of defense, I provide overall supervision, including oversight of policy and resources, of special operations and low intensity conflict activities. These activities include: counterterrorism, unconventional warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, civil affairs, information operations and counter-proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-tion. I also oversee the DoD counternarcotics program, stability operations, humanitarian affairs and disaster relief efforts.

My top priority and focus each day is doing all I can to keep our nation safe from terrorists and acts of violent extremism. I work closely with my interagency counterparts ensuring we have a com-mon understanding of the threat and that we are taking necessary action to disrupt and defeat those seeking to harm us. At the same time, we work diligently with partner nations to build their coun-terterrorism capacity, enabling them to take effective action on

Supervising Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict Activities

SO/LIC Trailblazer

Michael D. Lumpkin Assistant Secretary of

Defense for SO/LIC

Q&AQ&A


their own. My role is making certain our special operations forces are aligned and prepared to face the threat worldwide—not just in the current fight, but in areas of instability that could develop into direct threats to the U.S. our allies and international partners.

There’s no short-term fix to the unprecedented level of global instability we’re experiencing now. Our strategic approach focuses on having the special operations forces and capabilities we need now and in the future. I oversee the development of our SOF budget, working in partnership with my counterparts from the services and other Office of the Secretary of Defense offices, I advise the secretary of defense on DoD’s resource strategy. I interact with Admiral Bill McRaven and the U.S. Special Opera-tions Command leadership team about our special operations resources, making sure we are strategically aligned, our opera-tors are trained and employed to maximum effectiveness, and the welfare of our force is well-managed and safeguarded for the long haul.

Additionally, it is SO/LIC’s job to notify or, in some cases, brief the appropriate congressional defense committees on specific SOF-related activities. I believe it is important that we be responsive to those who make the decisions that affect our operations, plans and organization. I meet with the members, staff directors and staff of all four of our defense committees, ensuring we have open lines of communication and that I have a good understanding of their concerns as we work through various issues.

Q: As the military landscape and budget are changing, it surely impacts SOF. What are the new priorities for your office and how does your office address these changes?

A: DoD is in a time of transition. As we enter the final stages of transferring security to the Afghans and ceasing combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of this year, DoD is also ending the lon-gest period of historic growth in military budgets. We are looking at how to make the most efficient and effective use of the taxpayer dollar. Against this changing political and fiscal backdrop, we are also adapting to an ever changing security environment; overseas threats are taking new forms and arising more swiftly and unpre-dictably than ever before.

My priority is to provide the secretary of defense and the president with the best special operations capabilities possible in this difficult budget environment. We have doubled the size of USSOCOM since 2001, adding new components, such as the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command; introducing new organic capabilities, particularly in the realm of ISR plat-forms; and substantially upgrading our fleet of air and maritime mobility assets, most notably phasing out the venerable MH-53 Pave Low helicopter to field the CV-22 tilt-rotor Osprey. We also developed new ways of employing special operations forces that have led to revised SOF doctrine, revolutionizing the way we think about enemy threat networks. These are just a few of the many enhancements and improvements to our force over this long period of conflict. All of this now needs to be institutional-ized within our force, and properly sustained and adapted to the future environment.

As we complete our transition in Afghanistan, the challenge ahead is balancing our force to sustain a significant level of ‘steady-state’ deployments across the globe, while ensuring we are organized, equipped and prepared for an uncertain future

security environment. The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) for 2014 underscored the imperative to conduct persistent, networked, distributed operations, where SOF are uniquely configured and optimized. We made difficult choices in the last program review, and after a decade of continuous growth we’re on track to level SOF growth by 2015 to an end-strength of 69,700. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, we do not expect future growth. We have to work within this level of resources to have the right mix of capa-bilities across our force—operators, enablers and organic support. At the same time, we are working in concert with the services to align non-organic support, such as ISR, fire support, medical care and strategic mobility, to our steady state and surge requirements in support of the geographic combatant commands (GCC). This will become increasingly difficult as resources are stretched thin; requiring a more deliberate process to ensure we’re moving in sync across DoD.

Q: Are there any new programs or initiatives that you could discuss?

A: Operator survivability dominates our acquisition focus. Across DoD we’re always looking to improve our use of technology to protect our force while enhancing our ability to move, shoot and communicate. Special operations is often at the forefront for devel-opment of new capabilities. Innovation is constant in our commu-nity. Last year USSOCOM executed more than 500 programs and awarded $3.1 billion to acquire new equipment and capabilities. The Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit initiative is the most notable example, and we will continue to press industry to develop the technologies we need to protect our force in the most demand-ing environments. We’re doing great work with upgrading and recapitalizing our mobility fleet, ground and air, as well as fielding the newest capabilities in information technology, night vision and trauma medical care.

Aside from acquisition initiatives, we are making significant adjustments to our force design that will enable a wider range of future operational capabilities. This includes a major reshaping of Army Special Forces to provide a force that can cover the spectrum of SOF missions, from direct action to unconventional warfare. Likewise, we’re resetting our Air Force special operations fleet to balance ISR, fire support and mobility capabilities across the range of operational scenarios we expect to encounter. Our maritime SOF, both Navy Special Warfare and Marine Corps Forces special opera-tions, are fully engaged in rebalancing their capabilities towards the Asia-Pacific region, while sustaining key strengths to continue contributing globally across the geographic combatant commands. On the operational side, the decision last year to shift combatant command of theater special operations commands (TSOCs) to USSOCOM is already paying benefits. The drawdown in Afghanistan allows us to reallocate and redistribute SOF more evenly across the GCCs. The role of the TSOC commanders will become even more critical than in the past.

We’re also revolutionizing how we develop and preserve spe-cial operations personnel throughout their careers. This entails providing better professional education opportunities that equip our operators with the intellectual tools they need to work side by side with interagency and international partners in complex and politically sensitive operating environments. It also includes devel-oping tailored wellness programs for our force, comprised mainly


of career servicemembers who remain in physically demanding jobs for most of their military life, and sadly one that has a dispro-portionate suicide rate.

Q: Are you concerned that SOF can be ‘over-stretched’ in the not-too-distant future?

A: I am concerned, but I believe we have come a long way since early 2011 when Admiral Eric Olson, then the USSOCOM commander, indicated his concerns about the ‘fraying’ of SOF. At that time, we had almost 12,000 SOF deployed around the world when SOF end strength was at 60,000. Today, we’re resourced to grow to nearly 70,000, and our day-to-day operational tempo has declined significantly from the peak periods when we had large numbers of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the rest of this year, we will continue to ramp down as we complete the transition in Afghanistan. Thanks to the outstanding work of Admiral Bill McRaven to identify GCC SOF requirements, USSOCOM is postured to redistribute SOF capabilities in other areas to deal with growing unrest in Africa and the Middle East, while at the same time shifting some of our force to the Asia-Pacific region. We have an overarching plan to manage this at a sustainable level, but there’s always the possibility of surge requirements or contingency operations that can stress the force.

The larger issue is one of balance across the USSOCOM compo-nents. We’ve had time over the past decade to examine and analyze our force structure and make adjustments to relieve the burden on those elements that were being stretched thin. For example, we increased the size of our SOF operator pool by roughly 30 per-cent in the 2006 QDR, and followed up in 2010 by increasing our combat support forces, including aviation, intelligence, civil affairs and military information support operations. We’ve also improved integration between SOF and the general purpose forces so we can more effectively partner with them in a way that reduces overall pressure on SOF.

Q: How can industry better partner with the special operations community?

A: The defense industry remains a contributing factor in mak-ing SOF the superior force it is today, and I believe that a strong, diverse and creative partnership with industry is in our national security interest. I was recently in Tampa, Fla., for the annual International Special Operations Forces/SOF Industrial Confer-ence where our partners in industry showcased their current and emerging capabilities. Throughout the week-long conference, industry learned about SOF’s challenges, trends and interests and how they can help support these areas. USSOCOM’s component commanders, TSOC commanders and senior enlisted advisors pro-vided industry leaders an understanding of SOF’s key acquisition requirements, operations and technology issues in the context of

current component and theater missions. Overall, events like these are great forums for both special operations and industry to con-nect, stay engaged and continue supporting our mutual goals of strengthening the global SOF network.

As we continue operating within budget constraints, the SOF community must prioritize requirements and accurately convey capability gaps in order to get the required deliverables, which requires timely engagement with our industry counterparts. SO/LIC’s Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) is an important intermediary between SOF warfighters and indus-trial organizations. CTTSO’s program managers continuously work to identify the high-priority needs of the combating terrorism com-munity in order to articulate SOF-specific needs and advance our technological abilities.

One area of increasing importance where I anticipate SOF fac-ing challenges is cyberspace. SOF will need to understand cyber technology, such as social media, advanced analytics, hacking and viruses, to accomplish their missions and to protect themselves. This means we will need tactical, user-friendly IT solutions, ISR, secure communications, advanced analytics and other advanced capabilities to operate securely.

Q: What is currently done to protect and maintain the SOF operator?

A: SOF relies upon numerous capabilities that protect our opera-tors, such as improved personal armor, cyber tools, training for force protection and systems that help sustain them in austere environments. These systems improve our capacity to identify and fix the location of our adversaries and provide operators with

U.S. Navy students of the Special Operations Corpsman Preparatory Program prepare to participate in a tactical casualty combat care run on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. [Photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force/by Airman 1st Class Krystal Ardrey]


situational awareness critical to their protection. We’re amassing more data, developing more accurate assessments and delivering information more rapidly to SOF in the field exactly when they need it. Equally important are mobility platforms, air-, ground- or sea-based, that afford increased survivability due to characteristics such as speed, mobility and stealth.

I believe SOF has only scratched the surface with respect to undersea systems and I see room to enhance our capabilities in that domain. We’re also pursuing better ways for operators to communicate with each other and their partners as we respond to the increased demand for SOF from the GCC. This means having systems, equipment, education and training and a mindset that encourages in-depth, country-specific expertise and language skills. We recognize that SOF will need to continue sharpening their proficiency in language and regional expertise, including the political, cultural and military history of regions where they deploy.

Equally important is our need to maintain the SOF operator, which means providing tailored sup-port for post-deployments that consider the unique stresses a SOF career places on one’s family. Admiral McRaven has taken strong steps towards these objec-tives and we fully support his initiatives.

The office of the ASD SO/LIC is committed to working to build our SOF to be the best, most effective force worldwide. In light of the complex environment in which we operate, I am diligently working toward further developing and supporting our SOF com-munity so it continues to be the effective and efficient force that our nation requires.

Q: The ‘tyranny of distance concept’ and the Pacific region go hand in hand. How are SOF mitigating the problem of operating in such a vast region?

A: I don’t believe this problem is as real as it is perceived, at least not for SOF. After more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghani-stan, the U.S. military is devoting greater energy and resources to revitalizing partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region. It plans to do so by widening its scope and deploying forces and energies in a manner more consistent with the deeper economic and geopolitical realities of our time. U.S. military presence in the Pacific, includ-ing approximately 330,000 personnel, 180 ships, 2,000 aircraft, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and five Army brigades, provides unparalleled capabilities. This infrastructure supports our increas-ing role in building partnership capacity and cooperative security relationships, which is a fundamental part of U.S. strategy.

The relationships we build with our allies are key to mutual defense and form the basis for multilateral security arrangements that can strengthen efforts to address Asia-Pacific security chal-lenges. The U.S.-Japan alliance remains the cornerstone of both countries’ security policy in the region, and is where Special Opera-tions Command, Pacific (SOCPAC) under U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) is headquartered, along with the 1st Battalion-1st Spe-cial Forces Group and the 353rd Special Operations Group. SOCPAC maintains a honed, ready capability that can operate as a rapidly deployable joint task force when called upon. Guam’s position in the

western Pacific serves as a strategic hub, and is where Navy Special Warfare Unit One is based. Guam also provides resources to rotat-ing littoral combat ships in Singapore that improve the ability to counter a range of transnational threats in the region.

Additionally, at the request of the Philippine government, SOF, in a non-combat role, works with the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines to defeat terrorists, eliminate safe havens and create condi-tions necessary for peace and stability. USPACOM has expanded combined and joint training and exercises in the region, notably with Indonesia, Malaysia, and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members. We continue using multilateral forums to build partner capacity in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, intelligence cooperation, counter-narcotics, maritime secu-rity, maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity and peacekeeping operations.

Q: Social media is becoming pervasive and geopolitical challenges seem to arise faster now. How do you address these developments?

A: Social media is proving to be a transformation technology that is changing our entire information environment and presents SOF with various challenges.

First is the protection of U.S. information and personnel, what we refer to as information assurance. Across DoD, this is a policy and training issue focusing on how we limit the use of social media sites on government information systems, and how we educate to the efforts of adversaries seeking to gain unauthorized access to our systems. In SOF, we adhere to the same policies as the rest of the department. We further stress with our operators that, regardless of their position and status, they must be mindful of the risks to operational security posed by the use of social media, particularly the posting of information that could disclose sensitive operations, deployments and other valuable data.

Marines with 2d Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command, use their rifle optics to scan the horizon during a patrol through Bala Morghab, Badghis Province, Afghanistan. [Photo courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps/by Sergeant Edmund L. Hatch]


Second is the development of our capabilities to exploit adver-sary use of social media that can be viewed as an opportunity to better understand the information environment and anticipate future threats to U.S. interests. The special operations community is concentrating on understanding this new domain—the totality of physical, cultural, political, social and information environments within a conflicted region.

Third is the necessity to counter enemy narratives that mis-lead foreign audiences to foment distrust and anti-U.S. sentiment among those we seek to assist and protect. A good example of this is the Department of State’s Center for Strategic Counterter-rorism Communications (CSCC), established by the president in September 2011 to coordinate U.S. public communications activities against violent extremists and terrorist organizations, with the goal of using communication tools to reduce radical-ization that threatens the interests and national security of the United States. DoD is an active participant in the CSCC Steering Committee, and our information operations specialists provide resources and expertise to enhance the whole-of-government effort in this domain.

Q: With all that is happening in Nigeria, Congo and the Central African Republic do you see SOF playing a greater role in the future in sub-Saharan Africa?

A: As the president indicated in his speech at the United States Mil-itary Academy on May 28, 2014, the U.S. strategy has to match the diverse threat, one that expands U.S. reach, without sending forces that stretch the military too thin or stir up local resentments. In order to achieve this, the U.S. and SOF need to more effectively partner with countries in areas where U.S. interests and personnel are at risk. I expect there will be times when SOF are called upon to play a greater role in U.S. efforts to build sub-Saharan African security and stability. SOF are a uniquely specialized component of the U.S. armed forces trained to conduct operations in areas under enemy control or in politically sensitive environments. SOF has already expanded their role on the African continent with the creation of the Special Operations Command Africa.

Groups of geographically dispersed, diverse and loosely affili-ated violent extremists are evolving into a threats to U.S. person-nel and interests overseas. In places such as sub-Saharan Africa, there tends to be a lack of strong central government, military or existing infrastructure, which creates a security vacuum ampli-fied by porous borders. These areas provide extremists sanctuary, allowing them to act with impunity. However, not all threats to U.S. interests in Africa are from violent extremist organizations. In the Central African Republic and South Sudan, political insta-bility has escalated into violence requiring international interven-tion, and regional issues such as the effort to eradicate the Lord’s Resistance Army from Central Africa. The volatility of these situ-ations was underscored last December when three of our CV-22 Ospreys took fire while supporting humanitarian operations in South Sudan, wounding four U.S. special operations personnel in the process.

Currently, and in the future, SOF will be called upon to assist our partners and allies through security cooperation. This includes training, equipping, advising and assisting U.S. partners’ security forces. By building partner capacity, our partners and allies are able to conduct their own military operations, provide

for their own security and contribute to regional stability. These efforts are not only cost effective, but strengthen the U.S. national security posture while developing lasting relationships and alli-ances with partner nations.

Q: What is the most important contribution you are planning to make in the world of SOF?

A: Given the current political climate and shrinking budgets, it is extremely important for SO/LIC to maintain an active role in the oversight of SOCOM’s activities to ensure that SOF and SOCOM continue to be structured, resourced and postured to meet current and future demands placed on them. This demands engagement in three critical domains.

First is within DoD, where I personally represent the secretary of defense in a wide range of resourcing and policy deliberations that drive SOF capabilities for the future. I am developing a new process for doing this that will strengthen collaboration and coor-dination across the various elements within the Office of the Sec-retary of Defense, the Joint Staff and with the service secretaries.

Second is with our interagency colleagues. As a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee, I am fully engaged in the formulation of our national security policies, which includes how we deploy and employ SOF to address threats to our nation and to implement our defense strategies. I am committed to working closely with my counterparts here in Washington, D.C., to ensure we are fully synchronized in our planning and execution of operations and activities, which span the spectrum from training to advising, and when necessary, military operations.

Third, but perhaps the most critical in terms of what I can provide as the ASD SO/LIC, are my engagements with Congress. I meet regularly with the leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, and the Defense Appropriations sub-committees. In today’s world, this alone is not sufficient because so much of what we do in SOF affects our Foreign Relations and Intelligence oversight committees that we need to continue devel-oping and maintaining productive dialogue with theses members and staffers. Working closely with colleagues from the Department of State and our intelligence community, I fully support engaging with Congress to help bridge collective efforts to maximize the effectiveness of our special operations forces to protect our nation and personnel at home and abroad.

Q: Is there anything else that you would like to discuss?

A: In a time of unpredictable threats and uncertain budgets, USSOCOM will continue to serve as our nation’s leading force addressing our most difficult national security challenges around the globe. Since its inception, SOF’s purpose has been to con-duct operations in hostile, denied or politically sensitive areas to achieve national objectives by unconventional means. Today, it is crucial that we retain and enhance this unique capability. Our recent wartime experiences have validated what we have long known about the SOF community; it is a key player in any conflict or crises. I am proud to represent the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians of USSOCOM. I thank these individuals for their service, as well as their contributions to the special opera-tions community, and our nation’s security. O


SOCOM has a long-term goal to develop technologies to meet special operations forces mission requirements. The intent is to accelerate the delivery of these inno-vative capabilities to the SOF warfighter. Prior SOCOM studies and analysis have determined that a number of technical challenges exist for SOF equipment that require improvements for future missions. Those challenges are 1) trade space between weight, protection, power and mobility; 2) cost; and 3) system component integration.

To that end, SOCOM’s Special Opera-tions Research, Development, and Acquisi-tion Center (SORDAC) has issued its 2014 broad agency announcement seeking solu-tions providing for the design, construction and testing of SOF related technologies.

Outlined here are the technologies that SORDAC is interested in.

coMMAnd, control, coMMunicAtions And coMputers

• Antenna low visibility and low profile. Antenna designs combining broad banded and performance, such as 1.5 or lower Standing Wave Ratio from 30 MHz-5.8 GHz that have dismounted (lightweight and ruggedized), mounted and fixed site applicability, but are visu-ally difficult or impossible to distin-guish from their mounted platform.

• Conduct secure, low probability of intercept communications. Capability to conduct secure, low probability of intercept communications in line-of-sight (LOS), beyond LOS, and over-the-horizon scenarios.

• Device on a chip. Modular, configurable electronic devices that maximize common interfaces.

Enabling technologies such as advances in semiconductors, field programmable gate arrays, and microcomputers with multiple devices collapsed into a single platform/enclosure that would allow SOF operators to plug and play their modules for varying missions without having to jump between multiple interfaces.

coMprehensive signAture MAnAgeMent

Multispectral signature reduction for the individual soldier and his equipment includ-ing materials or technologies that reduce the likelihood of detection/identification/targeting of SOF operators and vehicles.

fires

• Airburst/Counter Defilade Capability. Proximity and/or bounding warheads in addition to time/turn counting air burst options and enhanced fire con-trol. Maximize the adaptation of cur-rent individual and crew served weapons to incorporate an airburst/counter defilade capability.

• Advanced Sniper Rifle Barrel Technologies. » Applicability of hot hard alloys (e.g.,

H-11, H14, H19) to cold hammer forged barrel making technology and cryocooling to create longer life sniper grade barrels in 7.62 mm NATO, 300 Winchester Magnum, and/or .338 Lapua Magnum. The rifling of interest is 5R and/or 6 land and groove with 1 in 9.5 inch twist in .338 and 1 in 10 inch twist in 300WM.

» Match grade 7.62 mm and .338 caliber rhenium and/or rhenium alloy lined rifle barrels. The rifling of interest is 5R and/or 6 land and groove with 1 in 9.5 inch twist for .338 and 1 in 10 inch twist in 300WM. Six of each type of barrels are to be lapped and mated to M24/M2010 actions in 300WM and .338 Lapua Magnum.

» Other advanced sniper barrel con-cepts, designs, materials and/or processes that significantly enhance barrel life and maintain accuracy.

• Advanced Small Arms Propellant. Advanced propellants for assessment in standard military calibers that have a higher energy density (12-20 percent), temperature stable pressure/velocities from -40F to 160F, and standard deviation velocities of less than 10 feet/second.

• Lightweight RPG-7 Launcher or Trainer. Modernized lightweight (less than 9 pounds) 40 mm rocket propelled grenade launcher or trainer with enhanced fire control that can safely, reliably and accurately fire U.S. and allied produced RPG-7 family of ammunition.

• M4A1 Belt Feed Kit. The M4A1 belt feed kit enables the operator to convert the M4A1 from magazine fed to a belt fed lightweight machine gun. M4A1 belt feed kit desired characteristics include quick change barrels (12 inch, 14.5 inch, 20 inch), lightweight (less than 10 pounds), and accuracy within burst dispersion 50 percent improve-ment over M249 SAW.

• Concealable/Take Down Urban Sniper Rifle (CUSR). The CUSR is a small and

socoM is AlwAys looking for innovAtive solutions to increAsing wArfighter survivABility, MoBility,

lethAlity And connectivity.coMpiled By kMi MediA group stAff


light sniper rifle that can be rapidly dis-assembled for concealed carry and rap-idly reassembled by the operator to engage target. CUSR desired characteris-tics include accurate (one minute of angle at 300 meters), lightweight (12-pound Threshold, 8-pound Objective), fit in small case (12-by-20-inch Threshold, 12-by-16-inch Objective), and compatible with current suppressor or include suppressed barrel.

• Personnel Defense Weapon (PDW). The PDW is significantly smaller and lighter than the M4A1 with capabilities beyond those of any pistol. There are two types of interest, those based on an operator/unit armor modification to a M4A1 car-bine and those based on a unique weapon design, both of which must fire standard 5.56-by-45-mm NATO ammu-nition. PDW desired characteristics include lightweight (6-pound Threshold, 5-pound Objective), concealable (18-inch Threshold, 16-inch Objective), effectively fired in its collapsed configuration, semi/full automatic and rapidly employed from concealed carry.

• 338 Lapua Magnum Anti-Materiel Ammunition. .338 Lapua magnum anti-materiel ammunition that would be fired from the Precision Sniper Rifle at ranges from 500-1,500 meters. Anti-materiel .338 Lapua desired characteris-tics include armor piercing capability to penetrate Level IV body armor (500-meter Threshold, 800-meter Objective), cinder block greater than 12 inches, 10 percent Gel, and stop vehicle/small boat engines.

• Stopping/Disabling Individuals. Technologies that can stop/disable indi-viduals for an extended duration, remain less lethal, and be useable on combatant and noncombatant individu-als. The effect must immediately pro-hibit the individual's ability to perform a useful function at ranges greater than 6 feet.

• Deny Area/Isolate Objective. Technologies that use less lethal pay-loads to prevent combatant and non-combatant individuals from entering a specific area for a specified period of time.

• Precision Guided Small Arms Munitions. Small unit organic muni-tions capable of delivering highly accu-rate kinetic effects on stationary, moving, soft targets, or the interior of

hardened targets at ranges beyond crew served weapons effective range. Potential material approaches may include guided 40 mm tube launched grenades; self-propelled, precision-guided, handheld grenades; guided 84 mm Carl Gustav munitions; and hand-held guided kinetically armed unmanned aerial systems.

huMAn perforMAnce

• Human performance tracking, sensors, monitoring and analyzing in a tactical environment. Physiological status mon-itors/novel applications for remote med-ical monitoring devices. These sensors/monitors must be low power, platform agnostic, provide real time monitoring, and include analysis devices for biosig-nals applicable to medical triage and treatment.

• Databasing tools with algorithmic cal-culation and prediction potential to track and analyze collected information from on-body, proximal and/or non-impeding sensors.

• Capability to provide or determine real-time hydration monitoring for tactical operation.

• Enhanced operator physiological perfor-mance/enhanced resiliency for the tacti-cal operator (physical, cognitive, psychological).

• Novel approaches and aspects to train-ing tactics, techniques and procedures; systems/mechanisms to measure and record baseline performance character-istics (e.g., high speed camera systems/body sensors/accelerometers/software for recording and analyzing collected data).

• Human augmentation devices to opti-mize support and enhance operator performance.

• Holistic analysis of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)/TBI exposure and coun-ter-mechanisms TBI and mTBI expo-sure measurement tools, cochlear implants/optic nerve measurement devices and systems, specific time-released drug delivery systems to pre-vent auditory injury.

• Enhanced neurocognition and ability to be effective under varying and/or extreme neurocognitive loading.

• Electroencephalography monitors for real-time measurement of brain activity and quantification of loading, applicable

technologies to measure/quantify neurocognitive loading, technologies (i.e., nanotechnology/biotechnology), and neutraceutical and/or pharmacological enhancements to increase neuroperformance.

• Modeling and simulation tools to deter-mine physical strain/mental stress of operator under varying conditions.

• Real-time and logging monitors to assess training and events.

• Baselining studies and analysis to deter-mine design parameters of future human performance enhancing devices and mechanisms.

huMAn protection

• Lightweight body armor (less than 5.5 pounds per square feet) able to defeat the following rounds with less than 44 millimeters of backface deformation: » One round of 7.62-by-54R API. » Three rounds of 7.62-by-39 API at

2.5-inch spacing.• Lightweight helmet (less than 2 pounds

per square feet) able to defeat 7.62-by-39 mm rifle rounds with the following backface deformations: » Less than 25.4 millimeters on the

front and back of the helmet. » Less than 16.0 millimeters on the

crown, left and right sides of the helmet.

• Thin, lightweight concealable body armor (less than 0.2 inches thick) that protects against 7.62-by-39 mm mild steel core rounds.

• Non-destructive inspection techniques for body armor and helmets with com-plete inspection times faster than com-puted tomography scans and the ability to evaluate all typical armor materials (and bonding between those materials) better than X-rays.

MoBility

• Noise Reduction of Vehicles During Operations. Acoustic reduction kits consisting of muffler, intakes, baffling, etc., tailored to each specific vehicle to reduce its acoustic signature by at least 30 percent.

• Vehicle Armor » Innovative armor solutions that

reduce weight by 20 percent with same protection capabilities against 7.62-by-63 mm M2AP.


» Reduction in cost for Spinel, ALON and Sapphire ceramic armor.

» Novel manufacturing improvements to produce large format curved transparent armor that protects against 7.62-by-63 mm M2AP.

MoBility sMAll unMAnned AeriAl systeM (suAs) groups 1-3

UAS System Improvements

• Reduced acoustics and visual signature technologies.

• Access sensitive or denied areas.• External/internal bay payload solutions.

Endurance/Power Plant

• Increased endurance.• Improved motor.• Advanced fuel cell/battery propulsion.

Weaponization

• Kinetic engagement.• Advanced integrated day/night fire

control.• Increased electronic attack capabilities.

Reduced Operator Workload

• Common ground control station.• Common digital data link.

Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Exploitation

• Tagging, tracking and locating devices/technologies.

• Advanced micro/nanoscale sensors.• Advanced visual augmentation systems.• Survey, detect, geolocate and collect

radio frequency emitters.• Automated threat detection and cueing.• Advanced antennas.• High bandwidth technologies.• Cyberspace operations-exploitation and

counter-threat technologies.• Military information support operations.• Highly localized weather forecasting sys-

tems/technologies.

optics

• Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, and Disseminate (F3EAD). Baseline improvement in intelligence, surveil-lance, and reconnaissance (ISR)

for F3EAD. Improvements in perfor-mance without increasing size, weight, power and cost. The objective is to improve performance in one or more areas without reducing performance in other areas.

• Increase in image resolution in terms of modulated transfer function, optical transfer function, or phase transfer function. Alternatively increase in image resolution in terms of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS).

• Increase in field of view and situational awareness while maintaining same NIIRS rating and MTF.

• Precise target geolocation to CAT 1/CAT 2 coordinates that is robust to any battlefield situation that degrades geolocation.

• Increase of adaptive multispectral fusion for tactical advantage in all bat-tlefield situations. Digital, analog, hard-ware or software techniques are viable.

• Decrease in latency of ground systems to less than one millisecond from exter-nal activity to viewing by operator. Decrease in latency of ground systems to less than one millisecond from opera-tor activity to external action.

• Full motion video (FMV) technology that is high resolution, high bit depth (16 bit plus), high frame rate (60 to 1,000 Hz), and not truncated through passage of electronic processing or transfer from one point to another.

• Heads up display technology for day or night operations that is low profile (e.g., form factor of eyeglasses/sunglasses), securely and wirelessly imports and exports FMV or data feeds, supports augmented reality, integrated sensors, is configurable with software applications (apps), offers or collects actionable bat-tlefield information, and provides map displays with situational awareness data.

• Low SWaP soldier central processing unit to analyze and exploit ISR, FMV and data feeds, then sends to soldier, small team, or external asset.

• Miniaturization of visual augmentation systems.

• Through-wall imaging/sensing.

power And energy/lighten the loAd (disMounted operAtor)

• Lighten the load for the dismounted SOF operator to the extent that he is

safe and unencumbered while executing the mission, without adversely impact-ing his survivability and ability to com-municate, move and shoot. Reduce the mass and volume of carried equipment.

• Decrease the overall carried equipment mass and/or volume for the dismounted SOF operator (i.e., objective is fighting load plus mission load total less than 45 percent of operator body weight) with no decrease in current capability (i.e., reduce size and/or weight for all non-powered and powered equipment to the extent possible, which includes intelli-gent, efficient power and distribution management).

• Design solutions that incorporate the dismounted operator as a system, with his powered and non-powered equip-ment (e.g., navigation system, radios, antennas, computers, visual augmenta-tion systems, displays, NVGs, combat ID systems, armor, etc.) as subsystems.

• Design solutions that incorporate advanced power technologies and provide: » Centrally wearable power on

dismount. » Intelligent and highly efficient power

and distribution management. » Automatic power charging/

recharging capability. » Seamless integration for all powered

subsystems. » Novel power systems.

power And energy (underseA vehicles/unAttended sensors)

• Undersea Vehicles: Provide safe and increased power and longer endurance for PEO-Maritime undersea operations. Primarily interested in air independent systems, advanced fuel cells in con-fined/inhabited areas, and non-flamma-ble battery technologies.

• Unattended Sensors: Provide safe and reliable power for unattended sensors in both submerged and land environments capable of operating for at least 10 years. Provide significant energy storage capacity and power to transmit data. O




Staying concealed while communicating is vital to successful special operations force missions. This masking of identity can be physical or electronic. For either, innovations promise improve-ment.

Vendors are pushing the boundaries of technology. For instance, the specialty of Baltimore-based Brimrose Technology Corp. is very fast, solid-state acousto-optic tunable filters. Hidden in that mouthful are technologies that could help special opera-tions forces stay out of sight while communicating.

Acousto-optic tunable filters use sound waves to change the optical properties of crystals. As a result, light can be directed where desired without mechanical movement, making switching faster and enabling the deployment of specialized and very capable imaging.

“You can take an image and look at its spectra—red, blue, green. We do that in to the near infrared. Now we’re building crys-tals that can do this tunability into the long wavelength infrared. That opens up a technology called hyperspectral imaging,” said Ronald Rosemeier, president and CEO of Brimrose.

The technique works by creating spectral notch filters, which only allow a small swath of wavelengths through. Moving the notch around and taking successive images at different wave-lengths leads to hyperspectral imaging. With no moving parts, Brimrose technology can handle 16,000 wavelengths per second and can jump the notches around as needed.

Being able to capture the spectra of objects from the visible at about 500 nanometers out to the long-wave thermal infrared at 5,000 nanometers or longer has some advantages, according to Rosemeier. For one thing, it allows taggant technology that works in both broad daylight and at night. The technology can be used to distinguish friendlies from enemies.

Hyperspectral imaging also allows the spotting of snipers and others who desire to remain hidden. Clothing may blend in with the surroundings to the eye or a system with a limited spectral range. However, the difference can be stark when viewed via hyper-spectral imaging.

But hyperspectral imaging presents potential problems. After all, it could penetrate current camouflage, possibly revealing friend and foe alike. What’s more, the present advantage offered by the technology is not likely to be permanent. The history of night vision technology illustrates this point. Increasingly capable ver-sions of what was once a major plus for the U.S. military can now

be purchased in retail stores. Thus, there is a need to address the possibility that hyperspectral imaging may in the future become widespread.

Brimrose is aware of this and is already working on a solution, Rosemeier said. “You use the hyperspectral imagers as an instru-ment to actually find how you hide better.

“You figure out what pigments you put into the material and what natural materials you use. Then you use the hyperspectral imager to discern what wavelengths are sticking out, and how do you blend them in so it doesn’t stick out,” he continued.

The company’s technology could thus be used to ensure special ops forces remain hidden when communicating. It’s a way to mask identity on the physical level.

As for masking ID in other ways, that involves various versions of communication security. For instance, there’s transmission security, or TRANSEC. This can be a particular concern and chal-lenge for special ops forces. They may be operating in the field with no access to secure, wired networks. Also, they could be communicating using battery-powered devices, making low power consumption highly desirable.

“TRANSEC is not just one technology. It’s a family, or umbrella, of different feature sets,” said Karl Fuchs, vice president of technology for iDirect Government Technologies. Known as iGT, the Herndon, Va.-based company offers satellite communica-tion using IP, or Internet protocol, technologies.

One of the features employed to achieve low probability of interception and detection (LPI/LPD) communication is spread spectrum technology, in which communication hops from chan-nel to channel. The channel sequence is known to the transmitter and receiver, but not to others. The signal therefore is harder to detect and the probability that transmitted waveforms will be intercepted drops.

Other measures can improve transmission security. Increas-ingly, data is today transmitted in packets. One issue is that even highly secure systems may send some parts of packets in the clear. For instance, the type of service request field may be transmit-ted in the open, which means an adversary may pick up a large-scale switch from normal priority voice traffic to something else. Encrypting that header eliminates that possibility.

“As part of the TRANSEC offering of our system, we FIPS [Fed-eral Information Processing Standards] encrypt that, using an AES

MAJor AdvAnces in identity MAsking cAn Aid the sof operAtor.

By hAnk hogAn, sotech correspondent


[Advanced Encryption Standard] encryption core. So we do our own encryption,” Fuchs said.

Such care to mask identities and activities is not part of commercial off-the-shelf satellite com-munication offerings. The extra bit of encryption does require a special relationship between hub and remote users in the field beyond what is needed for commercial offerings.

Other elements of transmission security involve masking communication activity itself. Algorithms may randomly distribute traffic and acquisition slots so that there seems to be a constant level of activity. Doing so ensures no change appears at the start or end of an opera-tion, thereby providing a measure of protection and masking.

For special operations and other forces dependent on battery-powered communications, keeping up a constant level of what amounts to white noise runs up against the need to conserve power. Hence, the communications gear for such forces may reduce or eliminate the information-free electronic camouflage. In that case, the statistical nature of the signal when it is actually transmitted hides it to some extent. What’s more, communications from forward operating forces are likely only a small part of the overall network traffic, further masking any transmission that occurs.

A final element of TRANSEC is non-repudiation, according to Fuchs. This ensures that those devices connecting to a network should be doing so and are not spoofing the label of a trusted device. This authentication is done by using encryption keys, which are secure and can be used to positively identify devices in the field.

All of this communication security requires that keys exist and be maintained. Key management is a challenge, as good practice demands that keys be secure and changed on a regular basis. IGT has developed methods to do so automatically and over the air, with no human intervention. The approach brings several benefits.

“It makes it easier on the soldier in the field. They don’t even have to know what TRANSEC means. It’s all done automatically. Keys are updated on a regular basis. They don’t have think about it. They don’t have to worry about it. There’s no ‘Oops, I forgot,’” Fuchs said.

Keeping people out of the key-management loop also improves security, as it eliminates the chance that an individual can cre-ate a breach by revealing keys either inadvertently or on purpose. Transmission security is further enhanced with the use of tech-nologies that zero out compromised encryption equipment, a feature required by FIPS 140-2 certification.

As for the future, identity masking during communication and anti-jamming will both benefit from advances in spread spectrum technology. Dropping the power spectral density of transmission, which is what spread spectrum techniques do, makes it harder to jam a signal. Also, if the power density is low enough, an adversary may not know anyone is broadcasting, Fuchs noted.

A third aspect of identity masking is communication security, or COMSEC. This involves the actual content of a signal, and is an area of commercial interest and activity. Banks, after all, depend upon their communications with one another being secure, as do millions of consumers who shop online daily. Like the military, commercial interests rely on encryption, with the goal of rendering any captured content unintelligible.

SafeNet Inc. of Belcamp, Md., provides a mix of software and hardware encryption products designed to protect data on the

move or at rest, according to Todd Moore, vice president for product management of encryption products. The company has a mix of commercial and government customers.

“There’s a very strong movement throughout DoD to leverage commercial products for govern-ment use,” Moore said.

Discussing using commercial products, he said, “In a lot of cases, we’ll add some features that are specific to the government. But it’s not as many as you’d think. It’s really kind of a plus to the commer-cial product. It’s a little bit of a delta. And we do take

those through the government certification cycle. Quite a few of our commercial products have been certified for government use.”

One benefit of leveraging commercial offerings is it keeps the technology moving forward at a rapid pace. For instance, recommended key lengths are getting steadily longer, in part because computers are getting more powerful. Using longer keys keeps communications security one step ahead of computing advances.

In the commercial arena, a safe bet is to assume that encrypt-ing algorithms are known, according to Moore. That makes it critically important to properly manage encryption keys. They have to be distributed, rotated and destroyed periodically. There also has to be strong authentication, thereby ensuring a device entering a network and requesting a connection is legitimate.

Karl fuchs

w w w . n i g h t v i s i o n e v e n t . c o m

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Some of SafeNet’s products operate at the link level, which means they protect data in motion. Consequently, data moving from point A to point B or even to many points looks like any other traffic, important for ID masking in a special operations use case. In such a scenario, an image may be encrypted before transmission and then travel over a variety of networks, some commercial, before arriving at a destination. Transmission security keeps an adversary from gleaning any information by being able to detect a difference in the special ops-related traffic.

As for commercial trends, a strong one is virtualization, in which a remote device runs software at a distant server. A ben-efit is that it makes available a lot of computing power though some small devices, including handhelds. It does, however, make demands on communication security.

“When people work in a virtualized environment and a vir-tual machine, they don’t necessarily know what infrastructure they’re running on. It could be in a local data center or it could be halfway around the world in a public data center. Security is very important there so that you’re protecting the data as you’re working in that virtualized environment,” Moore said.

While such technology may be a trend, it does require a con-nection of sufficient bandwidth back to the server. That may be the case for any work done in most of the United States. For forces in the field outside the United States, connections of proper qual-ity may be hard to achieve.

The communication needs of special ops forces are changing, noted Joe Ford, a solutions engineer with the federal team at Den-ver-based Accuvant, a company that provides information security services and solutions to enterprises across North America.

Twenty years ago, forces operating the field would go out with a photo and could possibly transmit back the same. Today, for-ward operating forces receive and may send real-time full motion video, along with a host of other rich media. Fortunately, there has been an explosion of mobile devices that have the computing horsepower and display necessary to handle this data. There are custom software builds for some of these that support NSA Suite B cryptography, making them suitable for unclassified and some classified information.

The January 2014 approval of the 802.11ac wireless standard promises mobile units with connection rates approaching a half a gigabit per second or higher, three times the speed of the cur-rent 802.11n mainstay. Coverage will extend further than current technology. When combined with Suite B encryption, devices using 802.11ac should make it easier for special ops forces to securely transmit and receive the data they need, including full motion video.

Accuvant is in cybersecurity, working with the data pipes that connect devices together. Granular control of what’s allowed to connect to—and communicate over—a network can make it pos-sible to render devices effectively invisible.

“If you’re controlling who can talk to whom, you’re masking all that traffic and everything that’s going on,” Ford said.

He added, “The other component to that is encryption. Obvi-ously you can only decrypt what you have the keys to decrypt.”

Technologies under development would take these concepts a step further. They would, for example, hide devices on a network,

making the devices visible only to other devices that have suitable authentication certificates. In theory, this would make it possible to conduct communications across public networks, enabling drone and other traffic to travel without detection. Someone looking at the network would see the traffic but would be unable to tell what it was being used for or who was using it.

Another area of attention is the development of mesh networking in full encrypted fashion. Mesh networking offers advantages in forward operations as it can be more robust than point-to-point or

one-to-many configurations. But one challenge is encryption key management, particularly when attempting to keep data secure at both rest and in motion. Solutions to accomplish this exist, but the bandwidth consumed by encryption is probably still a bit much for forward deployment, according to Ford.

That fact highlights the point that most of the thrust in the consumer space is for devices with bigger screens or that are faster. For forward deployed units, the demand is for technology that is smaller and more compact. A commercial firewall may need to be able to handle 150 gigabits per second throughput, something that would be overkill for a unit operating in the field.

“We need a firewall that can be the size of a pack of cigarettes and have much more limited capabilities,” Ford said.

Because of this need to fit within a more constrained size, weight and power envelope, some of the best-of-breed commer-cial technology is not a fit for forward-deployed military. The list includes firewalls, intrusion prevention, anti-malware and other solutions. However, the introduction of networked devices into forward operations and the battlefield makes these elements of cyber defense and warfare important.

Finally, an important trend is the proliferation of mobile devices. As noted, there are software solutions for these that enable them to be used more securely and thereby enable ID-masking communication.

Some of these mobile friendly solutions come from SafeLogic Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company offers Suite B and FIPS 140-2 compliant encryption solutions for mobile devices, appli-ances and the cloud.

Ray Potter, SafeLogic CEO and co-founder, noted that the flow of technology from the commercial to military sector is a reverse of the traditional direction. The military benefits from this, as it gets technology that’s been proven effective by millions of con-sumers and businesses.

This is true in some of the very technology used to mask com-munication. Suite B, for example, is used to encrypt a significant amount of military information, using algorithms deployed in mobile products and proven daily by civilians on a massive scale.

As Potter said, “Suite B is the designation of a collection of commercial algorithms deemed acceptable for processing data in classified environments. Examples of the latter include AES and SHA-256/512.” O

Joseph ford

For more information, contact SOTECH Editor Chris McCoy at [email protected] or search our online archives for related stories

at www.sotech-kmi.com.


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Q: After the split from SAIC, what is Leidos focused on?

A: Leidos is serving three large addressable markets—national security, health and engi-neering—with a successful track record and scale in each. We see growth opportunities across the board. One example is data analyt-ics and cybersecurity. We developed our capa-bility in national security, but it’s increasingly important in managing natural resources, energy infrastructure and the environment.

Q: What solutions does Leidos offer the mili-tary and special forces, in particular?

A: Leidos integrates, operates and supports as many as 35 multi-INT aircraft. These aircraft are outfitted with a wide range of unique sensors that target IED manufacture and employment. We have also integrated capa-bilities for persistent surveillance enabling long dwell observation, patterns of life devel-opment, and the tracking of high value indi-viduals (HVI). Our aircraft have been directly tied to the capture of hundreds of HVIs and the detection of significant number of IEDs and IED materials.

Leidos is the prime for the NATO SOF Training and Education Program and sup-ports the NATO Special Operations Head-quarters with special operations analysts, instructors, and support personnel. As a subcontractor supporting the NATO SOF HQ Medical Branch on the NATO SOF Medical Development Initiative program, we also provide medical experts and curriculum developers for resident and distance learning courses.

Q: What unique benefits does Leidos provide its customers?

A: We’re leveraging capabilities across the full breadth of Leidos. Several years ago the processes to detect our enemies making and assembling IEDs would take nearly 48 hours. By working with military and government partners, we refined the processes, tools, tac-tics and procedures for targets detected with high confidence; this timeline is reduced to under an hour.

Q: What are some interesting new programs or initiatives at Leidos?

A: Today’s target specific environment demand warfighters have tools that identify and locate the enemy. We developed XRT (eXpeditionary RT), a scalable system that distills real-time, context sensitive situational awareness from vast quantities and disparate sources of data. It is a high-performance computing platform that conducts data warehousing, performs data enrichment, and executes advanced ana-lytics all in a small form factor. Leidos works with NSHQ to meet training priorities, includ-ing the development of a professional military education course for mid-level officers and non-commissioned officers; a special opera-tions component command core deployable capability; and an air development program.

Q: What is Leidos doing to position itself for the future in uncertain business times?

A: Our country faces the challenge to reset, modernize and smartly maintain our military to support future missions and meet new world threats. The split has enabled us to have a very competitive cost structure. Leidos is well positioned to tackle the biggest chal-lenges in our markets and enable new levels of performance for our customers.

Q: How is Leidos positioned in the market for expansion?

A: We’re able to leverage our entire base of technical capabilities and rapidly develop and deliver innovative solutions across the markets. We have a unique opportunity to horizontally integrate our success in develop-ing mission-critical systems with our rap-idly emerging technologies in cyber defense, together with our demonstrated solutions in

big data analytics, to deliver the next genera-tion of information-enabled environments.

Q: Can you provide a few success stories?

A: Leidos supports the U.S. Army multi-functional teams (MfTs) with their first true crew-served weapon. Our work enables the MfT to deliver tactical commanders access to many theater and national intelligence capa-bilities through on-board sensors that provide precise, real-time data en route to an objec-tive, while enabling pursuit and exploitation, precision maneuver and immediate triage/site exploitation during actions on the objective. Leidos was also the lead systems integrator for a U.S. Air Force’s near-real-time, multi-intelli-gence QRC (quick reaction capability) system.

Q: We are almost halfway through 2014; what are Leidos’ objectives in 2014 for the military market?

A: The military is shifting resources and strate-gic focus to regions like the Pacific, and we’re expanding our support for those evolving mis-sions. Leidos supports a government program (ACTUV) for the design and construction of a vessel originally designed for an anti-subma-rine warfare mission. The unmanned vessel will track quiet diesel-electric submarines months at a time with minimal human input. Leidos is also a subcontractor for Combatant Craft Medium Mk-1.

Q: How do you customize solutions?

A: One example is AIMES, a next-generation full-motion video imagery exploitation tool we developed through internal research and development efforts aligned with ISR trends. It enables motion imagery, geospatial data, snapshots, and mass of associated data in near real time.

Q: Any final thoughts?

A: Leidos works to address evolving needs across the spectrum, including intelligence, communications and logistics. Our solutions are distinctively designed to fulfill SOF opera-tional and mission requirements. O

inDUStry interVieW Special Operations technology

Brian KellerVice President, Army Strategic Account Executive

Leidos


July 2014Volume 12, Issue 6next ISSUE

Compact Communication SystemsSimple no-nonsense communications systems are an indispensable tool to the SOcOM community.

Full Motion VideoFull motion video is an intelligence rich iSr asset. part of the problem with the technology, however, is its bandwidth costs.

InsertIon order deadlIne: June 17, 2014 | ad MaterIals deadlIne: June 24, 2014

SpeCial SeCtion

night Vision Reviewindustry leaders discuss their greatest advancements in night vision systems for the special operations warrior.

CoVeR and in-depth inteRView with:

Recon Rotary wingaging helicopters have their critics, and the large companies that build them are banking on future U.S. military orders for replacements.

Rugged Computersindustry leaders discuss the latest technologies and advancements in ruggedizing computers for combat.

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SOFIC 2014 V3_Layout 1 27/05/2014 19:15 Page 1

sotech 12 5 final

Documents

minesweeping operations

masking of identity

information technology

innovative solutions

interoperable solutions

boundaries of technology

institutionalizing lessons

satellite systems