Difference between revisions of "Advanced Army Warfighter"

Revision as of 20:40, 8 March 2007

Overview of Advanced Army Warfighter Programme

CG Mockup of AAW systems, showing MOLLE armour, AX-10 Helmet, Multicam and RAMPART

Key to the 2007 Armed Forces Update, brought on by the 2006 Autumn Strategic Review, is the culmination of the Advanced Army Warfighter Programme, which was instigated in 2001 to bring the army into the 21st century and give it ‘overwhelming superiority’ over the enemy forces it would face. The AAW programme had a number of requirements and key systems that would have to be brought into service before the programme could be considered as having achieved its goals. As of February 2007, this has now been achieved.

The AAW is more than a physical manifestation of soldiering; it is a concept, a way of working for the Roudland Army that is near-impossible to come back from. The new way of fighting, involving a networked army and ‘joined-up’ forces on the battlefield is something that all other nations are aiming towards; it is the natural progression of armed forces into the 21st century and beyond. With the technology, funding and support available to the Roudland Military (and Army in particular), it was easier for Roudland to move towards the new way of war than others.

In 2003 the Archer Communications Network was brought into service, enabling high-speed encrypted data to be transmitted between units in the field. This sort of joined-up comms system was similar to the RomNet system of the SRSC, but was focused more on actual land movements and orders than intel and recon. This changed in 2005 with the addition of Battlefire CrossCommunication devices that were integrated into the Archer Network. The new Archer-Battlefire Network meant that units could not only identify and communicate effectively in the field, but that they could share intel, enemy positions and video feeds from an early version of the standard AX-10 service helmet. However, even with these advances, the vision of a fully situational-aware soldier, joined to all levels of the command structure was not yet realised. With the advances made since 2005, this vision, of the Advanced Army Warfighter, has come to completion, and now can be sustained and built upon for many years to come.

Key systems, networks and equipment

The Archer-Battelfire CrossCommunication Network

The Archer Network, as it is known, provides a secure, extremely high-speed network for all services to transfer voice, visual, video and textual information. It is the foundation of the networked military that Roudland hopes to achieve and sustain, and is used by all areas of the armed forces, from specops units to armoured regiments, aircraft carriers and logistics corps. The network itself is ‘smart’, and has programmed compatibility and integration software to enable swift transfer of data across the system, along with rapid connection and integration of personal and unit systems into and out of the network. What this means for soldiers is that, most of the time, the network will ‘guess’ what they are trying to do, and will attempt to passively speed up the process by pre-preparing firewalls, connection protocols and other networking tools for the soldier to exploit.

As was stated, Archer is a network built to enable multiple data types to be captured, transferred, and shared. This is only able to happen thanks to the hardware supplied to the soldiers to enable efficient handling of the data across the system. These are detailed below:

ARC-PAD (Archer Wrist-Mounted Communications Pad)

The Arc-Pad is the core of the Archer system, using a very sophisticated Bluetooth-related technology to detect, connect with and control other Archer Networks technology within its radius (which is between 2-5 metres). The Arc-Pad is an 18cmx12cm (1 inch thick) ruggedised touch-screen, that enables the soldier, airman or sailor to effectively manage the Archer systems in the immediate vicinity. What this means in reality is the management of data for the individual soldier, though for the radioman and squad commanders, this Arc-Pad enables them to manage wider network connections and data communications. The Arc-Pad is powered by a small fuel-cell, and has day and night-light display modes to enable effective operation in any light. It is also waterproof, shockproof and ambidextrous, needing only to be unclipped from its present location and moved to the opposite wrist. It features screen-within-screen video streaming, enabling commanders to see up to four separate video streams at once in HD output. When coupled with the AX-10A3 helmet, the Arc-Pad becomes a data queuing device, with a 10Gb internal memory, and a seamless connection with the AX-10 that gives the soldier the ability to receive multiple data streams and watch them one-by-one on his HUD Monocle with the knowledge that he/she can re-watch them when finished. The Arc-Pad also manages outgoing data, as well as giving the soldier situational awareness of the local and wider battlefield networks in place; the soldier can send data received even from another unit back to a Network Hub for analysis, with the network itself ensuring that the subsequent analysis makes its way back to all those who need it. The Arc-Pad, as said, is the core of the Archer Network, and, though it can be used as a stand-alone device, it functions best when used to coordinate other systems, primarily the AX-10 helmet.

AX-10A3 Archer Networked Helmet

CG Model of AX-10 design; on the right of the helmet is the laser designator, on the left the HD Camera

The AX-10A3 (referred to simply as the AX-10) is the standard combat helmet worn by those in the Roudland Military. Designed as an integrated communications suite for the wearer, whilst providing excellent ballistic protection, the AX-10 has very efficient ergonomics, as well as protection against 5.56, 6.8 and 7.62mm rounds at medium range. The AX-10 has a number of core systems; chief among these are the HUD and the Monocle. The HUD is the full-display system sitting over both eyes. Primarily a set of combat goggles, providing protection against mud, rain and dust getting in the wearer’s eyes, the HUD is also a means of transmitting data to the soldier whilst on the move and in combat. By using a semi-transparent setting (that can adjusted for bright or low light conditions), the HUD can transmit data such as textual orders, enemy position markers, a digital waypoint marker and compass and also ForF tags. The HUD functions in such a way as to make it easier for the individual soldier to complete their objectives; by providing data like text orders to the whole squad at once, the squad leader needs only to ask that everyone has read the order, and needs not relay it to the entire team. The waypoint marker and compass are also a vital system element, allowing squads to ascertain each other’s position without uttering a word or wasting time with comms chatter. The Monocle is far more specialised, and more geared towards an individual soldier’s needs. Situated over one eye, it provides real-time visual data in several different ways. By using the Arc-Pad to choose data streams, the soldier can view video reconnaissance footage from a UAV, IFV or other vehicle, as well as tapping into the data stream of a known friendly position; the soldier is able to either watch the camera feed from the HD camera fitted on the left side of an ally’s AX-10, or literally look down the scope of a gun thanks to the new HD Camera scopes. In addition to this low-level tactical display, the AX-10 Monocle can receive video feeds from commanders, such as ad hoc briefing intel, and can be used to watch the live feed of a news report or some other such media. Perhaps the most useful feature of the Monocle though, is its ability to provide the soldier with a real-time surveillance feed from a military satellite or orbital asset, complete with marked enemy positions, waypoints, allied units and the wearer’s own position, thanks to GPS beacons within the soldier’s Arc-Pad and AX-10 that link up. This gives the soldier breathtaking situational awareness far and beyond that of enemy units. The soldier can, using his Arc-Pad and AX-10, mark enemy positions spotted through satellite and UAV surveillance, which are immediately stored in the network and transmitted to all units within the AO (Area of Operations). By doing this, coordinated attacks can be planned and executed with minimal comms chatter, and utilising forces that may not even be able to see each other with their eyes (but instead with surveillance feeds). The other aspects to the AX-10 are the twin-sighting devices; the helmet has a High-Def Digital camera on its left side, and a low-power personal laser designator and rangefinder on the right. These two devices give the wearer the chance to not only mark targets for airstrikes, but to assist allied units in the same AO by sending pertinent enemy locations and scouting information quickly and easily.

Archer Backpack HubSuite

The HubSuite is the roughly foot-long by half-foot long module that radiomen and squad commanders wear on their MSB/07 backplate. It enables them to boost signals coming to and from the squad’s position, as well as providing a larger memory and processing source for the more complex information relayed to the commander in particular. The HubSuite also monitors the interfacing between Archer systems, and ensures that weaker elements are not lost, and that the system’s local network is secured from intrusion.

These three elements have provided Roudland’s fighting men and women with perhaps the most advanced communications and data streaming network available to any nation on earth. The Archer Network forms the foundation of the AAW programme, by enabling warfighters to be connected to all the units and data that they need to complete their objectives, as well as making top-down orders and coordination of cross-service forces simple. However, the Archer technology is by no means the limit to the AAW programme; there are numerous personal systems that have been introduced, and there follows descriptions of the key items.

MSB/07 (Military Body Suit 2007)

The MSB/07 is the new range of clothing available to the Roudland Army, replacing ABS-87 and MSB/90 respectively. It comprises vests, shirts, combat tunics, trousers etc based around an entirely new digitised camouflage pattern line known as ACUPAT, Multicam and CADPAT. The clothes themselves are fairly ordinary, save the internal liquid temperature adjustment system on the torso pieces, particularly the combat jackets. MSB/07 was designed with the ‘go anywhere, fight anytime, anyway’ mantra that the AAW programme was founded upon. MSB/07’s fluid system has up to 30 degrees Celsius heating/cooling range, with a small fuel-cell powering the device. The system itself is incredibly thin, with all combat clothing appearing normal-sized at first glance. The liquid system allows the wearer to stay cool in hot temperatures and warm in colder climates; soldiers feel comfortable and able to fight when the enemy is not, giving them less restrictions on how and when to fight.

MOLLE

The MOLLE system integrates with MSB/07, RAMPART and Archer Networking technologies, providing a lightweight, durable load-bearing system that enables almost limitless modularity to suit the wearer’s needs. The MOLLE system of small nylon straps and buckles is worn both as a harness over the soldier’s clothes, and on the surfaces of the RAMPART armour itself, with no degradation in performance of either product. What the system enables is the ability for the wearer to customise their load configuration; a sniper can move the magazine pouches off their chest in order to lay flat, whereas a grenadier can move some utility pouches to their back and sides to make room for more grenade and magazine pouches on their chest. Furthermore, MOLLE enables Archer systems such as the HubSuite to be moved around and mounted easily, as well as backpacks for heavy loads to be worn with little effort. The advantages this system gives to the Advanced Army Warfighter are massive, with increased load-carrying space on the body, as well as ease of use and modularity to suit any mission profile; the MOLLE system can actually ‘mount’ a sniper suit over the top of it.

UAVs

Soldier with Honeywell UAV backpack during Operation Stormcloud

There are two personal UAVs that are crucial to the AAW project; a hovering area surveillance UAV, the Honeywell, and a flying forward observation/recon UAV, the Scan Eagle. They are both controlled by a joystick module that links wirelessly with the soldier’s Archer personal network and gives them control over the movement of the UAV, the camera feeds being displayed and the designation of targets through those feeds. UAVs are plentiful in the Roudland Army, and will be issued to a squad on a mission-by-mission basis. They are powered by small, high-powered fans, and both sport a regular high resolution HD digital camera, an infra red camera, and a night vision camera. All these cameras can be tilted somewhat, and their feeds can be simultaneously displayed on a soldier’s ARC-Pad. The Honeywell is larger than the Scan Eagle due to its hovering ability, but also incorporates a laser designator to enable remote-ordered airstrikes.