By Stew Magnuson
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is known for developing cutting border weapon systems as well as technology, but when it came fourth dimension to celebrate its 60th anniversary at a large conference held at National Harbor, Maryland, inwards September, it was a concept its leaders wanted to speak about.
The armed forces tin pass its fourth dimension developing weapons that are only a flake to a greater extent than faster, a flake to a greater extent than protected or a flake to a greater extent than deadlier than its competitors, but at the cease of the day, potential adversaries volition come upward up amongst something to counter them, said Timothy Grayson, manager of DARPA’s strategic engineering scientific discipline office.
“Sure, nosotros tin endeavor to pass to a greater extent than money as well as apply advanced engineering scientific discipline to our weapon systems as well as endeavor to remain ahead, but this is ultimately a losing proposition,” he said at the conference. “Every unmarried mensuration inwards this contest is to a greater extent than complex, to a greater extent than challenging, to a greater extent than costly, as well as fourth dimension consuming than the i before.”
The United States armed forces must instead utilisation what it has inwards innovative ways to overwhelm adversaries, do multiple dilemmas as well as “get within as well as disrupt its leaders’ decision-making processes,” he said.
DARPA leaders are calling this “mosaic warfare.” The term was coined yesteryear Thomas J. Burns, old manager of the strategic engineering scientific discipline purpose as well as his old deputy manager Dan Patt.
Grayson — who has taken upward the drape every bit mosaic warfare’s main evangelist afterwards Burns’ retirement — likened modern-day weapons to pieces inwards a jigsaw puzzle. Each slice of the puzzle is exquisite. It tin only fit i way into the picture, as well as if i loses a piece, as well as thence the movie is incomplete.
A tile inwards a mosaic is i pocket-sized component of a bigger picture. “If you lot lose i tile, non a large deal,” he said. In this metaphor, a tile equals an private weapon.
Part of the concept is “combining weapons nosotros already take away hold today inwards novel as well as surprising ways,” Grayson said. Key volition endure manned-unmanned teaming, disaggregating capabilities, as well as allowing commanders to seamlessly telephone vociferation upward on effects from sea, province or air depending on the province of affairs as well as no thing which of the armed services is providing the capability.
An instance inwards the air domain powerfulness include a serial of drones to accompany a typical battle formation of 4 fighter aircraft. One of the robotic wingmen powerfulness endure in that place alone to jam radars or employ other electronic warfare capabilities. Another powerfulness take away hold a weapon payload. The 3rd powerfulness take away hold a sensor packet as well as the 4th could human action every bit a decoy, Burns said inwards an article distributed at the conference.
Instead of 4 blips on the radar, the enemy sees eight, as well as he has no stance what capabilities each of them delivers.
“The adversary can’t predict what nosotros volition do next,” Grayson said.
In some other example, a Special Operations A-team behind enemy lines spots a previously unknown surface-to-air missile site. It radios inwards its place as well as the command-and-control scheme automatically searches for the best agency to destroy the target. It could endure a nearby Army brigade, a submarine or a patrolling fighter aircraft. The command is sent as well as the best platform for the project is called inwards for a strike.
The employment is that each of these platforms are currently built for its specific mission. Sending the orders is anything but seamless as well as takes a long time, he said.
Another challenge, Patt said inwards an article distributed at the conference, is making many diverse, fluid pieces move together. “How tin you lot acquire all these piffling pieces all aligned toward a mutual objective without perfect communications as well as without planning everything inwards advance?” he asked.
The employment is the armed forces is however edifice stovepiped weapons, said retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, old Air Combat Command commander as well as forthwith president as well as CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association.
“Think almost it: nosotros built 2 stealth airplanes from precisely the same contractor amongst incompatible information links,” he said at the DARPA conference, referring to the Lockheed Martin-built F-22 Raptor as well as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
When he was at Air Combat Command, it was called “fusion warfare.”
Mosaic warfare is similar to other warfighting buzzwords currently beingness bandied almost such every bit systems-of-systems or articulation multi-domain operations.
Whatever it is called, “it is actually where nosotros demand to go,” Carlisle said.
Retired Navy Adm. Scott Swift, old United States Pacific Fleet commander, said at the conference that inwards hereafter conflict, communications volition endure degraded.
“Windows of communication volition opened upward as well as unopen speedily inwards times that are non nether the command of the commander,” he said. That is why the autonomy as well as the unmanned slice of mosaic warfare is important. Systems must endure able to human action independently when they are cutting off from higher headquarters, he said.
As for the Navy, mosaic warfare powerfulness combine ships, reconnaissance aircraft as well as unmanned underwater as well as surface vehicles, John Waterston, programme manager inwards the strategic engineering scientific discipline purpose as well as a Navy Reserve officer, said inwards an article distributed at the conference.
The concept would render to a greater extent than complexity to adversaries every bit it combines several domains including air, land, ocean as well as underwater, he said.
“We proceed making awesome stealth fighters, or ameliorate submarines, as well as ameliorate as well as ameliorate unmanned systems,” he said. “The thinking is: why don’t nosotros take away hold simpler systems as well as and thence network them together, take away hold them share, collaborate — feel their globe inwards their ain unique way — as well as position them together?”
Tying all of the disparate systems together amongst secure, seamless communications is the “DARPA-hard” employment that the organization has to solve if it is to brand mosaic warfare a reality. The strategic engineering scientific discipline purpose is working on several programs — concentrating on the software needed to arrive plough over — piece the tactical engineering scientific discipline purpose is developing the hardware, namely the autonomous systems needed for wingman concepts, according to DARPA officials.
Retired Army Gen. David Perkins, old Training as well as Doctrine Command commander, said when he was at TRADOC, the multi-domain battle concept was called “old vino inwards a novel bottle,” or “air-land battle on steroids.”
“I would force dorsum on that,” he said at the conference. “In thinking almost the problem, nosotros did non define it correct as well as nosotros did non define it plenty early on,” he said.
“There are cultural aspects every bit well, particularly when giving capability to a lower level. There are those who are uncomfortable relinquishing command of their systems. You take away hold to acquire to empower people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Air Force as well as Army are pushing ahead amongst novel doctrine called either “multi-domain operations” or “joint multi-domain operations.”
The Air Force is taking steps to assist its leaders roll their heads around the novel complex concept. It convened a multi-domain command-and-control company capabilities cooperation squad almost a twelvemonth agone nether the auspices of Brig. Gen. Chance Saltzman, Air Force manager of electrical current operations as well as deputy main of staff for operations.
Command as well as command inwards today’s battlefield is complex, but forthwith that infinite as well as cyber take away hold been added into the mix, it’s fifty-fifty to a greater extent than so, he told reporters at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space as well as Cyber Conference inwards National Harbor, Maryland.
The Air Force is organizing a serial of tabletop “assessments” to assist response some major questions. These assessments — which are non state of war games or exercises, he stressed — volition attempt the correct command-and-control structures that allow the Air Force to effectively prosecute multi-domain operations. They were slated to take away hold house the starting fourth dimension calendar week of November.
Multi-domain battles are too envisioned every bit beingness to a greater extent than articulation as well as Saltzman said the squad is inwards constant contact amongst the other services every bit good every bit the purpose of the secretarial assistant of defence almost multi-domain operations.
As for electrical current Army leaders, they too telephone vociferation upward their novel doctrine “multi-domain operations.”
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley inwards a spoken communication at the Association of the United States Army annual conference inwards Washington, D.C., described something unopen to mosaic warfare without always using the term.
“Multi-domain operations is almost winning — winning on tomorrow’s battlefield yesteryear simultaneously achieving overwhelming battlefield authorization as well as overmatch inwards all v domains of warfare,” Milley said.
“We intend to seize as well as keep the initiative, to gain positions of advantage, as well as breach defenses inwards depth through combined arms maneuver inwards all domains as well as operate at speeds far faster than the enemy tin react,” he said. The destination is “to disrupt, penetrate, disintegrate as well as exploit the enemy’s anti-access systems as well as convey their fielded forces to operational paralysis.”
Yet when a grouping of Army leaders including the novel Futures Command’s Commander Gen. John Murray, Undersecretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy as well as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics as well as Technology Bruce Jette, were asked yesteryear a reporter almost DARPA’s mosaic warfare concept, none of them had always heard of it.
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