"This
is a major first step in demonstrating an integrated surface warfare
capability utilizing unmanned vehicles in support of the key engagement
functions of plan, detect, control, engage and assess," said Neil
Baron, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) distinguished
scientist for combat control. "We are working hard at focusing
on the integration sciences to deal with mission engineering challenges
for surface warfare."
Specifically, Baron and his team of Navy scientists and engineers used
the science of integration to make surface warfare systems interoperable
with unmanned air and unmanned surface vehicles, enabling streaming
identification and shot correction data to naval gunnery throughout
the test.
"It's a spectacular example of how scientists and engineers are
enabling new technologies for the warfighter," said Baron.
Surface warfare officers evaluating the technology joined civilian technologists
at the event to prove the Navy can bridge interoperability gaps - known
as the interstitial space - between complex system-of-systems.
"The ability to send a small, persistent unmanned system down range
in hostile territory for real-time gun or missile engagement spotting
and targeting is needed by warships," said NSWCDD Engagement Systems
Department Military Deputy Cmdr. Marc Williams. "The technology
has the potential to be important for surface ships, especially relating
to Aegis weapon system, Naval Surface Fire Support, and surface warfare."
Williams - the surface warfare tactical action officer for the experiment
- ordered a gun engagement on a fictitious threat based on identification
and targeting data he saw streaming from an unmanned surface vehicle.
At that point, the commander used a deployed Scan Eagle unmanned aerial
vehicle's streaming video data to spot, precisely target, engage and
continually support reengagement through gun targeting corrections to
the MK160 gun weapon system operator.
"Scan Eagle has been deployed on guided missile destroyers for
years to provide persistent electro-optical and infrared surveillance,"
said Williams, adding that, "it has been used for Naval Surface
Fire Support spotting to walk gun rounds onto an enemy target, but not
in an automated fashion like in this experiment."
Moreover, Williams used a Navy technology called Visual Automated Scoring
System (VASS) to instantly correct the gun targeting.
The NSWCDD-patented system is an automated, computerized method for
determining gunfire miss distances using video data. With a non-line
of sight weapon system, VASS allows the gunner to adapt gun pointing
angle and converge gunfire onto a target without having to risk the
lives of forward observers.
"This was as much a demonstration about integration as it was about
the three research initiatives being exercised," said Baron.
The NSWCDD-funded initiatives featured a virtual ship called the USS
Dahlgren, VASS adaptive fire control, and new mission engineering efforts
to link surface combatant warfare systems with unmanned vehicles.
Throughout the test, the cybernetic USS Dahlgren responded to reports
of hostile threats by searching intelligence and data across multiple
air and ship control operational systems, maximizing response accuracy
and timeliness.
"The virtual USS Dahlgren is hosting new technological advancements
and platforms for integrated test and evaluation full speed ahead,"
said NSWCDD Technical Director Dennis McLaughlin who watched the demonstration.
"We are providing linkage that ensures our test and evaluation
capabilities can be rapidly adapted to changing warfighter needs."
Bridging the interstitial space between Navy surface combatants, integrated
systems, and adaptive fire control is vital to accomplish key fiscal
year 2015 Navy objectives - proliferating unmanned systems, integrating
unmanned systems into the Navy culture, and developing, fielding, and
deploying unmanned systems in the air, on and under the sea, and on
the ground.
"The science of integration - a relatively new area of investigation
for NSWC Dahlgren Division - hides in the interstitial space,"
said Baron. "We are working hard at focusing on the integration
sciences to deal with mission engineering challenges for surface warfare.
These demonstrations are casting a strong light into the interstitial
space to address naval interoperability and integration challenges and
continue to advance warfighting capabilities into our surface fleet."
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