NetworkEnabled C4ISR

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Network-Enabled C4ISR
Splinter Group C Plenary Session Back Brief
Swarming Workshop 13 January 2003
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Splinter Group C
Issue Should Swarming become a Tenet of
Transformation?
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Shared Understanding of Swarming

• Swarming is often tactical, occasionally
  organizational or operational, and rarely
  strategic
• Can be a mixture of human and machine as well as
  autonomous and semi-autonomous (ie SOF units in
  Afghanistan)
• Swarming not limited to offensive targeting
• Appications include Reconnaisance, Surveillance,
  Targeting Acquisition, (RSTA), flock based
  systems
• Outcomes are more than just offensive in nature
  incudes development of Situational Awareness
• Millions of missions that can be done with
  swarming not only military (Drug trafficking
  monitoring)

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Swarming is not a tenet..But it is an Approach

• Swarming is not a tenet but it is a potential
  strategy to be considered for transformation
• Swarming is a useful approach - Dependent on the
  mission
• It exploits the benefits of Network Centric
  Warfare
• Enabled by some technological capabilities but
  transformation now working to maximize
  effectiveness of traditional hierarchical command
  structures not replacing it
• Swarming should not compete with transformation
  but work in complimentary fashion as an overlay
  when needed
• Supported by development of networks systems
• Swarming is an organizational option that
  transformational strategies should consider in
  addition to other methods of organization

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How NCW Enables Swarming

• Network Centric Warfare will accelerate swarming
  - Not till 2010-2011
• Makes Swarming more capable - Supported by the
  technologies
• Expands Swarming - Makes it efficient - Can also
  develop alternative forms of organizations
  (integrated AOC, IAMD)
• May not develop network to optimize swarming
  unless we conciously plan to do so
• Technological constraints outside the realm of
  information also hamper swarming (ie weapon
  system detonation)
• Decision making element of Swarming and Network
  Centric Warfare - Swarming supports self
  synchronized fires
• Can be machine driven (Pre-programed ROEs,
  targeting), or human based (SOPs, Tactics,
  Decision making)

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How NCW Enables Swarming (cont.)

• Shared information does not equate intelligent
  action
• Hampered by human interpretation
• Swarming does push down the concept of shared
  awarness - Needs more investigation and
  experimentation

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How NCW Enables Swarming (cont.)

• Swarming is a reaction, non-informational based
  system which cannot leverage complex knowledge
  available despite its ability to adapt
• Does not take advantage of our capability for
  collaboration, knowledge sharing capabilities
• Swarming is dependent on the other piece of
  Network Centric Warfare which provides these
  capabilities
• Will support swarming with technologies
  (communications) - Need interaction to fully
  integrate swarming tactics with Network Centric
  Warfare
• Swarming should be looked on as a way of doing
  autonomy
• Assumed that transformation will include autonous
  capability

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Advantages Disadvantages

• Advantages
• Agility - Faster Decision Making
• Sharing of Inforamtion
• Operational Options
• Reduced Manpower - More autonomous systems
• Safer - Humans farther from the battlefield
• Increased Situational Awarness
• Increased Coverage of Battlefield (UAVs, UUVs,
  Space Assets) - Standoff assets
• Decentralization equals less vulnerability -
  Large, dispersed network cannot be entirely taken
  down
• Force protection increased due to lower density
  of forces with swarming
• Better match for current threats (Counter
  insurgency, Terrorism, Peacekeeping)
• Increases speed of forward deployment

• Disadvantages
• Decentraliation equals more vulnerabiity -
  Network has many points of vulnerability
  (mitigated by
• Increased Legal Problems - Military necessity vs
  Civil necessity (Issues ROEs, Soverignty, Civil
  Liberties)
• Capability vs Authority of pushed down decision
  making - Effects conduct of war and removes power
  from NCA
• Command and Control Chalenges
• System AI not developed to support Swarming
• Metrics Ill defined
• Stochastic - Unable to predict results
• Swarming less capable against highly adaptive
  adversaries?
• Runs the risk of greater friendly casualties -
  Controlling friendly fire
• Tradeoff of armor vs Situational Awarness
• Growing interdependence among these systems for
  missions - System vulnerabilites hard to mitigate
  over time
• Adversary leapfrogging developed technology to
  defeat our primary systems in terms of NCW and
  Swarming
• Requires increased Bandwidth and Information
  Management
• Not always implementable when in Coalition
  partners

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How Would You Implement Swarming Into the
Transformation Strategy?

• Swarming is a justification for transformational
  tenets such as NCW
• Tighten link between operational forces, the
  technical community and the acquisition strategy
• Better understanding of best applications
• Better understanding of optimal missions
• Better understanding of the impact on the
  acquisition strategy
• Continue RD - Havent scratched the surface of
  swarming capabilites
• Define experimental issues and initiate
  experimental strategy on emerging RD

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How Would You Implement Swarming Into the
Transformation Strategy?

• Need to bridge gap between interagency and
  coalition actors - Bigger than a DoD issue
• Move from the operational engagement area to
  explore swarming methodology for other
  missions/applications
• Protection of Networks, Counter Terrorism
• Systems to support this include (UAVs, UUVs,
  UCAVs, Micro UAVs, Computer Network
  Defense/Attack Systems)
• Combat Unit orgnaizations/training to support
  (Halt scenario, Anti ethnic cleansing) -
  Non-linear dispersed based operations
• Need to work on the new requirements for ROEs -
  Need to be much more exact and flexible for
  system programming (Ship based gattling gun) -
  Human trust of the computer
• Advance and clarify discussion of Swarming
• Require precise definitions to ensure common
  understanding

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What Impact Would Swarming Have on DOTMLPF?

• Doctrine Must establish a doctrine - Either
  machine, human based or both
• Doctrine must be developed jointly, service,
  interagency and coalition base - Dependent on the
  intended application (Who is intending to use it
  and for what
• Organization Potential changes to the
  organization itself
• Changes command and control organization of
• Tactical, operational and potentially strategic
  command units
• JTF construct
• Interagency and potentially HA structure
• Large scale adoption of swarming will impact
  different services and organizations in different
  levels (Army heavily impacted, Navy/AF less so)
• Effects personnel in terms of numbers and tasks
• Will require greater jointness (C4ISR, Fires)

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What Impact Would Swarming Have on DOTMLPF?

• Material Move toward joint acquisition process -
  This is a big issue not just in implementing
  Swarming but C4ISR and other transformational
  strategic implementation
• Changing approach in material development from
  factory to foxhole
• Require own organization to support material
  independent of military organization
• Training If human based will require new
  training behaviors in support of decision making
  requirements (Strategic Sergent)

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What Impact Would Swarming Have on DOTMLPF?

• Leadership Big paradigm shift - decentralized
  leadership
• Interoperability in command and control -
  supported by COTs and traditional ingeneuity
• Higher ranking officers commanding small units
• Personnel Smarter, more skilled personnel - But
  tradeoff is need for less personnel
• More special operations type forces
• Facilities Dependent on the service however
  trends are
• Forward deployed and increased reachback
  capability
• More prepositioned
• Better Just in Time logistics