By Argie Sarantinos-Perrin, U.S. Army Research, Development
and Engineering Command
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2018 — For soldiers, survival depends
on out-maneuvering the enemy. While the Army's current fleet of tanks, infantry
fighting vehicles and aircraft can protect soldiers against near-peer threats,
these vehicles lack the critical technologies to maintain tactical overmatch in
future battles.
To counter these challenges, the Army identified the
next-generation combat vehicle and future vertical lift programs as the second
and third priority in its six-prong modernization strategy.
A cross-functional team was created to support each
modernization priority, including one for both the NGCV and FVL programs. The
teams are developing the blueprint for future technology with teams composed of
subject matter experts from the requirements, acquisition, science and
technology, test and evaluation, resourcing, contracting and cost and
sustainment communities.
How U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command
scientists and engineers are supporting the NGCV and FVL will be the focus of
"Next Generation Combat Vehicle and Future Vertical Lift Modernization
Priorities" Warrior's Corner today from 12:40-1 p.m., at the Association
of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Redstone, Alabama.
Research, Development and Engineering Command's Tank
Automotive Center leads the NGCV effort. The center is developing technology
for the next generation of ground vehicles that are not only more lethal and
survivable, but also much smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient. Key areas
of research and development include: power architecture, protection, vehicle
electronic architecture and autonomy.
Developments in engine, transmission and power generation
for ground vehicles provide scalable power solutions that increase protection
and lethality, while maintaining Soldier mobility on the battlefield. Current
projects include the advanced combat transmission, integrated starter-generator
and advanced combat engine.
Advanced Combat Engine
The prototype ACE, which the center plans to use for future
engines, will not only have more power and vehicle mobility, but also use less
fuel. Lower fuel consumption will reduce the risk of attacks to soldiers during
refueling conveys.
The Army has developed the Modular Active Protection System,
to support the need for better protection without adding weight to vehicles.
The MAPS framework consists of a modular, open-system architecture that
supports an active protection system. The open-system architecture enables new
and evolving sensors, processing and counter-measure solutions to be integrated
into ground vehicles, giving commanders the ability to counter threats as they
change.
"Open architectures in general are designed to allow
for advances in technology, whether it's in autonomous systems, survivability,
or any of the other several fields we develop, to be rapidly integrated onto
our ground vehicles without wholesale redesigns or rebuilds of those
vehicles," said Christopher Ostrowski, the center's associate director for
NGCV.
Other areas of development include a flexible architecture
for vehicle electronics that will meet increasing power demands and an open
architecture for autonomous, tele-operated or driver-optional systems to
enhance soldier safety.
"We're envisioning an autonomous architecture where new
autonomous behaviors or capabilities are enabled through software updates and
upgrades, not unlike how smartphones today get updated," Ostrowski said.
Future Vertical Lift
In response to the need for next generation Army aircraft
with advanced technology, Research, Development and Engineering Command's
Aviation and Missile Center is paving the way to modernize the Army's aviation
fleet. FVL is an Army-led, multiservice initiative, focused on delivering the
next generation of vertical lift aircraft to the joint warfighter with manned,
unmanned teaming.
The Aviation and Missile Center partnered with industry to
develop the Joint Multi-Role Technical Demonstrator, which incorporates
existing and experimental capabilities that demonstrate vertical lift
capabilities for future FVL programs. The Army is using the JMR-TD program to
conduct ground and flight demonstrations to help inform requirements for next
generation Army aircraft.
"The future operating environment demands a capability
that is greater than what we have today," said Dan Bailey, JMR-TD program
director. "We are going to need capabilities for the warfighter with a
rapid acquisition process and the best way to accomplish that is open systems
architecture. Advanced vertical lift capabilities provide the future joint
force ground commander with flexibility and asymmetric opportunities required
in the future multidomain battle."
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The modular missile technologies program is developing
technologies to support future Army aviation air-to-surface missiles. The
program's modular open systems architecture will not only reduce life cycle
costs, but also address lethality gaps for manned rotary wing and unmanned
aircraft systems platforms.
The Aviation and Missile Center has responded to the
increase in unmanned aircraft systems by developing the Next Generation
Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Technology Demonstrator program. The NexGen
TUAS TD is developing unmanned air vehicle technologies and capabilities that
will improve flight performance, survivability and reliability for future
unmanned aircraft systems, which will need to perform a diverse set of missions
in contested airspace against near-peer adversaries in a multi-domain battle.
To support the multidomain battle and the Army's pivot to a
new modernization model, Research, Development and Engineering Command will
continue to provide the research and development to build new capabilities and
systems. These capabilities and systems will leverage the most mature
technologies for soldiers to maintain tactical overmatch in future battles.
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