Networked sensor communications for the objective force

Abstract

The US Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) and Objective Force will rely heavily on the use of unattended sensor networks to detect, locate and identify enemy targets in order to survive with less armor protection on the future battlefield. Successful implementation of these critical communication networks will require the collection of the sensor data, processing and collating it with available intelligence, then transporting it in a format conducive to make quick and accurate command decisions based on the latest tactical situational awareness. The networked communications must support both static deployed and mobile ground and air robotic sensors with secure, stealthy, and jam resistant links for sensor fusion and command and control. It is envisioned for broadest application that sensor networks can be deployed in a two-tiered architecture. The architecture includes a lower sensor sub-layer consisting of mixes of acoustic, magnetic and seismic detectors and an upper sub-layer consisting of infrared or visual imagers. The upper sub-layer can be cued by the lower sub-layer and provides a gateway link to the higher echelon tactical maneuver layer networks such as the Tactical Internet. The sensor deployments, networking constraints and reach back distances to Command and Control (C2) nodes will be mission scenario specific, however, the architecture will also apply to tactical unattended sensor, munition and robotic applications. Technologies from the Army Research Laboratory, Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and commercial will be leveraged for this effort.