The future? Not a game, but lives lost/saved.

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Wilson, Glenn M." <WilsonG@nima.mil>
To: "Boyer, Kevin" <BoyerK@nima.mil>,"'Janice at
Work'",<JMW3567@BJCmail.carenet.org>,"Wyble, Bryce E."
<WybleB@nima.mil>,"Ratigan, Christopher W." <RatiganC@nima.mil>
Cc: "'Glenn Wilson too (SF)'" <Triphibious@juno.com>
Subject: The future?  Not a game, but lives lost/saved.
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 07:46:16 -0400
Message-ID: <8B9D41BEE275D3119E7E00805FBE64D3022ADD20@stlx4>

http://www.latimes.com/business/cutting/lat_soldier010427.htm#

Friday, April 27, 2001 |  Print this story

                                          War Is Hand-Held on
Battlefield of the
                                          Future

Technology: The Army tests a computer system that could change the nature of
combat.

By PETER PAE, Times Staff Writer

FT. IRWIN,
                                          Calif.--For nearly a
century, the essential
                                          gear for the front-line
infantry soldier has been a rifle, boots, canteen and helmet. Soon, it may
also
                                          include a hand-held
computer linked to satellites. U.S. military officials believe the system,
developed by engineers at TRW Inc.'s research laboratory in Carson, could
alter the way wars are fought by giving soldiers unprecedented access to
battlefield information. It marks a significant step toward the Pentagon's
goal of using information technology to defeat enemies before they have a
chance to threaten American lives. Last week, in the first major demonstration
of the revolutionary concept, about 950 U.S. Army tanks and armored personnel
carriers fought a mock battle here, 31 miles north of Barstow, outfitted with
10-inch
computer monitors that told them instantly where they were, where they should
go and where the enemy might be. Aided by orbiting spy satellites, each crew
was able to view a digital map of the landscape,
including three-dimensional
contours, that gave it a better overview of the skirmish than any general ever
had. Moreover, the commander in the operations center miles from the front
line was able to monitor each vehicle, know its precise location and determine
whether it needed a new supply of ammunition. The commander was then able to
quickly come up with a battle plan before relaying orders to the crew's
computer monitor. Eventually, Pentagon officials plan to outfit infantrymen
with
                                          hand-held personal computer
devices like the Palm, giving each soldier similar capabilities as
the tank crew. The hand-held
                                          devices tap the video-game
skills of young soldiers, enabling them to instantly pinpoint their position,
find enemies and aim weapons.

'Redefining War'
                                               The infantry
traditionally has ranked low on the Pentagon's list of technology priorities.
The Army receives only about 14% of the Pentagon's annual
$38-billion research and development
budget. Of that, $86 million is spent on research into the troops' food,
clothing and equipment. The TRW system could be a huge boost for the soldier.
"We're redefining war," said Col. John F. Antal, commander of the 16th Cavalry
Regiment at Ft. Knox, Ky., which coordinated the military exercise. "We're
demonstrating to America the power of information as an element of combat."
The exercise here demonstrated for the first time the concept of a "digital"
army, a radical new idea TRW engineers are helping to pioneer as the Pentagon
looks to transform the military into a "faster, lighter and smarter" force.
The mantra reflects
                                          post-Cold War realities in
which U.S. troops are expected to fight swift regional skirmishes rather than
set battles with heavy equipment, defense analysts say. Taking cues from the
Internet, the system relies on a complex network of wireless modems, satellite
links and traditional human scouts to compile a computerized overview of a
battlefield. Satellites provide a detailed outline of the landscape, and
unmanned spy planes flying over the battlefield determine the enemy's
whereabouts. The information is fed to computers on the battlefield linked by
wireless modems.

The computers, with

touch-screen monitors,

display a map, showing

blue icons for friendly

forces and red icons for

the enemy. Touching an

icon instantly displays

the identification of the

vehicle and its precise

location. The crew

communicates with the

command center as

well as with each other
                                          via e-mail.
"It has the potential to greatly enhance the Army's ability to fight," said
Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the
                                          Arlington, Va.-based Lexington
Institute. If the system, known as Force 21 Battle Command Brigade and Below,
is approved for mass use, the decision could be a boon to TRW and expand the
role of Southern California's defense industry. The program is led by TRW's
Systems & Information Technology group in Redondo Beach. Raytheon Co.'s
communications group in Fullerton and several other subcontractors are helping
develop the system. Litton Data Systems in San Diego, now a Northrop Grumman
subsidiary, is building the computers. TRW has produced 2,000 units
so far under a $57-million
contract and recently received a
$44-million option to deliver
                                          1,600 systems by year-end. If
it can demonstrate its abilities again in a second exercise later this year,
TRW is expected to begin delivering 2,000 to 3,000 units a year, with a goal
of installing them on 59,000 vehicles, a TRW spokeswoman said. About 300
engineers have been working on the system, which eventually would be outfitted
on every type of combat vehicle from M1A2 Abrams battle tanks and Bradley
fighting vehicles to Humvees and mobile artillery carriers.

Standard Issue If all goes according to plan, the Army wants to expand the
wireless system to include the individual foot soldier using the
                                          hand-held devices. That system
is slated to be tested in November and could help avoid accidental border
incursions like the one that led to the capture of three U.S. soldiers in
Yugoslavia a few years ago, Army officials say. One feature may include an
alarm that would go off on the
                                          hand-held computer if a
soldier on border patrol crossed the line by mistake. A panic button also
could be included for the soldier to instantly signal for help. Because the
devices would be linked
                                          to a global-positioning
satellite system, commanders would know the soldier's precise location. TRW
also is developing a battlefield identification program that could
electronically identify a U.S. soldier or vehicle and instantly distinguish it
from the enemy. Army officials hope that such a system could dramatically
reduce "friendly fire" incidents in which soldiers are mistakenly shot by
their own. For the Pentagon, moving to
the so-called digital force could
mean dramatic changes for the Army's traditional command structure, in which
future battles will occur so rapidly that a tank lieutenant may end up making
the tough decisions usually
                                          reserved for higher-level
commanders. As such, the biggest challenge may not be technical but cultural,
Army officials say. At first, soldiers may not know what to do with all the
information they are getting, and the commanders may be reluctant to
relinquish authority. As more young recruits weaned on computers and video
games join the military and as troops gain experience using the technology,
some of the problems are likely to get resolved. But then the Army may face
another psychological factor that worries the Pentagon. Soldiers could become
too reliant on the computer and less on their own
individual decision-making
process. During limited test runs at Ft. Hood, Texas, last year, some of the
troops spent so much time learning how to operate and fix the computers that
some of their basic skills, such as navigating
                                          with old-fashioned maps,
suffered, according to Army officials. The maps still are critical,
particularly if the computer crashes, (Glenn emphasis) they say. For military
strategists, last week's exercise in California also reflected a new paradigm
for the Army, one in which U.S. forces may never actually face their foes. In
the new "maneuver" warfare, opposing forces would be held at bay by use of
overwhelming firepower and information technology. Soldiers with the superior
battlefield data would be able to attack swiftly
                                          from several
directions--before
the enemy could get off a shot. The new type of fighting would mark a dramatic
departure from the era of "attrition warfare," in which soldiers engage the
enemy directly, similar to that practiced during World War II, analysts say.

Early Problems After four years of field tests, last week's exercise was the
first time the Army has been able to show some success.
                                          Older-model computers tended
to crash. And the General Accounting Office has questioned the way the new one
is being deployed, arguing that more time should be spent testing it. Pentagon
officials acknowledge some initial reliability problems with the system but
insist that with more powerful computers and advances in communication
technology, many of the kinks are being worked out. In one mock battlefield
encounter two weeks ago, a tank crew was able to destroy 15 enemy vehicles
using information gleaned from its computer. The opposing force, known as the
Red Team, was composed of experienced Ft. Irwin veterans who regularly fight
visiting brigades as part of the training
                                          exercise--and typically
overwhelm them. In addition, the opposing force was unable to disable, crack
or jam the system, its primary mission, after nearly two weeks of
                                          head-to-head battles, Army
officials said. Critics have contended that the system could easily be
disrupted. Also, if one of the computers was captured, it could provide
invaluable information to the enemy, critics say. But TRW officials said the
system is designed with security measures that include a
self-destruct button that literally fries a
computer within 15 seconds, rendering it useless. And the systems can be
remotely shut off by commanders. Computers also communicate with specially
designed encrypted links and password protection. Pentagon officials said it
will take months to analyze the outcome of the latest exercise, but supporters
already seemed to gain a morale victory. The 4th Infantry Division's
mechanized brigade from Ft.
                                          Hood--the Blue Team--put up a
"good fight" despite going up
                                          against a battle-tested
"enemy" that knew the terrain. The Red Team did not have the new equipment.
"In the past, we saw them rolling right over the Blue forces," Col. Antal
said. "That didn't happen this time. There were some grinding fights."
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