3.2 Modeling and Simulation Technology
Modeling and simulation technology complements and augments warfighter needs and capabilities across all IST subareas, several other DTAP areas, and all JWSTP areas, especially Information Superiority and Joint Readiness and Logistics. Advanced M&S tools and synthetic environments offer more effective and less resource-intensive means of enhancing individual and unit performance. M&S can substantially contribute to improving the pillars of military capability — readiness, modernization, force structure, and sustainability. M&S will enable cost-effective joint and combined training, mission planning, and mission rehearsals involving active and reserve forces, multiple echelons, and computer-generated simulations of large-scale forces (friendly, neutral, and hostile) on a synthetic battlefield. These distributed, interactive, synthetic environments will bridge large geographic regions and involve entire joint forces from senior commanders to individual warriors. The use of M&S will reduce time, resource requirements, and risks associated with the acquisition process. Representations of proposed systems (virtual prototypes) will be used to support acquisition activities, significantly reducing the time and expense of concept exploration, engineering, manufacturing, and follow-on support activities (e.g., training, maintenance). Decision makers can effectively and quickly simulate and then evaluate the consequences of alternative force structures with known or projected capabilities placed in various mission scenarios. High-fidelity models of logistics, personnel management, medical support, etc., will be integrated with combat models to allow a comprehensive analysis of sustainability.
These technology developments support all Joint Warfighting Capability Objectives in areas of training, mission planning/rehearsal, battlefield visualization, assessment of tactics/ doctrine, and acquisition support. For example, M&S supports Information Superiority through support to BADD and RBV ACTDs; Joint Readiness and Logistics through support to Synthetic Theater of War (STOW) and AJP ACTDs; and Joint Countermine through support to the Joint Countermine ACTD Simulation (JCOS) efforts.
Transition opportunities exist with the development of advanced M&S applications, including the Joint Simulation System (JSIMS), Joint Warfighting Simulation (JWARS), National Air and Space Model (NASM), Warrior Simulation 2000 (WARSIM 2000), and others.
3.2.2.1 Goals and Timeframes. M&S core technologies must provide a cost-effective and timely capability to authoritatively represent systems, processes, and operational environments. M&S must provide readily available and operationally valid environments for DoD components to train jointly; develop doctrine and tactics; formulate operational plans; assess warfighting situations; support technology assessments, system upgrades, and system developments; and conduct force structure analyses and assessments. Research is needed to more broadly and authoritatively apply models and simulations across all of DoD. Supporting technologies are being developed in other subareas of the IST area, as well as in other DoD technology areas (e.g., Human Systems; Sensors, Electronics, and Battlespace Environments; and Materials/Processes) and in the commercial sector. Major M&S efforts are in the areas of (1) simulation interconnection, (2) simulation information technologies, (3) simulation representation, and (4) simulation interfaces. The efforts of interest concentrate on the technologies that bring about distributed, seamless, interactive, and adaptable models and simulations. Efficiency is gained through sharing, reuse, and standardization of data and common data structures; models and algorithms; data exchange protocols; M&S services; improved exercise generation and control; interfaces; and network communications. The M&S goals are shown in Table III-5. Figure III-9 shows the M&S technology roadmap.
| Short Term (97-98) | Mid Term (99-01) | Long Term (02+) |
|---|---|---|
| INTERCONNECTION | ||
| First-generation, run-time infrastructure development representing a 20% improvement in performance over proof-of-concept prototypes. The development and testing of initial prototype object model development software will reduce development by 25%. Design and develop industry-based, run-time infrastructure software demonstrating a 25% performance improvement and broad-based portability at a 25% cost reduction. | Prototype initial automated tools to support federation development generating an initial 20% reduction in development time and subsequent 20% with the implementation of advanced automated tools. Run-time infrastructure advances using next-generation software and hardware will demonstrate an additional 20% increase in performance. | Advanced support software will demonstrate automation of the end-to-end process from identifying candidate simulations to configuring, operating, and monitoring federation operations demonstrating a 50% decrease in time and manpower over FY96 levels. |
| INFORMATION | ||
| Initial consistent, conceptual models of the mission space prototype will be delivered to JSIMS and WARSIM 2000; second-generation data interchange format for critical subcategories of five M&S data areas (scenario, doctrine and operations, environment, equipment, and force description); accreditation support services methodology. VV&A recommended practice guide will be published. | Conceptual models and problem domain models visualized graphically using advanced, manipulatable 3D models; conceptual information retrieval based solely on graphical or iconic inputs. At least 50% of the major simulation program developers will have contributed to population of the CMMS. Data interchange formats incorporate emerging, complex data structures from highly derived data, and allow object-oriented data to be passed across all M&S data areas; prototypes of simulation system support tools. | CMMS will represent DoD activities, and warfighters will have worldwide access to conceptual models of DoD processes; evolutionary data interchange format products that support all data elements for the M&S community; data security; sophisticated complex data modeling techniques, tools, and structures. |
Table III-5. Modeling and Simulation Technology Goals (continued)
| Short Term (97-98) | Mid Term (99-01) | Long Term (02+) |
|---|---|---|
| REPRESENTATION | ||
| Initial capability to generate a 2,500- km2 M&S terrain database within 72 hours to meet identified crisis mission rehearsal requirements; enhanced weapon system effects representations; tools and technical methods to acquire and represent the effects of human performance. | Full capability to generate a 2,500-km2 M&S integrated consistent terrain, oceans, atmosphere, and space database within 72 hours from multiple sources at multiple resolutions; representation of human C2 decisionmaking process to company and battalion surrogates. | Tools for dynamic, scaleable (micro to macro) adjustment to representations within and among simulations that run in real time; interface specifications for seamless, consistent, synthetic environments; libraries of entity models; effectively represent the human C2decisionmaking process for brigade, division, and corps surrogates. |
| INTERFACES | ||
| Leverage COMPASS to develop and demonstrate an HLA-compliant prototype Modular Reconfigurable C4I Interface (MRCI) initially for a limited number of C4 systems. Subsequent MRCI development will support larger numbers of C4 and Intelligence systems including JSIMS, and GCCS. | Build on the success of MRCI development for C4I systems to develop reconfigurable interfaces for design and manufacturing systems. Reduce operator training time by 75% through improved interfaces to CFORs and by CGF-to-C4 ISR system interfaces. Multiplexed tactical datalink to simulations. | Provide reconfigurable simulation interfaces to humans. Full C4I to simulation linkages to support mission planning and rehearsal in the battle area. |
| INDIVIDUAL COMBATANT AND SMALL-UNIT OPERATIONS SIMULATIONS | ||
| Technical requirements for human-simulation interfaces across DoD. Define a multisensory, real-time networked simulation of the battlefield that immerses the individual combatant in 3D geographical space using virtual reality technologies. | First-generation prototype of dismounted warrior immersion in synthetic environment. Develop a robust individual and small-unit synthetic force capable of representing doctrinally correct Army and USMC behaviors from individual to battalion level across diverse terrains. Develop field instrumentation for the individual soldier that enables entity state, position location, and weapon employment information to be seamlessly transmitted and collected across diverse terrains. | Full immersion of all live players into virtual world. Demonstrate linkages between virtual, constructive, and live instrumented simulations to enable individuals to participate in distributed combined arms exercises and experiments. Modify and expand the simulation systems to reduce the time and cost for advanced concepts and prototyping of new soldier systems by 25%. Reduce the cost of training individual and small units by 30%. |
3.2.2.2 Major Technical Challenges. For interconnection, the major technical challenges include (1) establishing architectural design, protocols and standards, and multilevel security (MLS), (2) providing the maximum possible interoperability among simulations at different levels of resolution, and (3) establishing application gateways, time-management services, servers, and translators that will provide common services to all simulations. The ability of emerging commercial network services and products to meet critical M&S needs must be examined.
Developing coherent, complete, and consistent Conceptual Models of the Mission Space (CMMS) is also a difficult task. CMMS is an abstraction of a joint mission-essential task list that serves as a frame of reference for M&S development by capturing the features of entities
Representations of terrain, the ocean, the atmosphere, and space must span large and diverse regions and must account for a large number of significant conditions and effects. Major challenges include the rapid generation and near-real-time interaction of these representations. New object-oriented, multispectral representations of synthetic environments are needed to enhance M&S support to battlefield awareness systems. The representation of human behavior must reflect human capabilities, cognitive processes, limitations, and conditions that influence behavior (e.g., morale, stress, fatigue). Providing variable human behavior for friendly, enemy, and nonhostile personnel remains a significant challenge.
Interfaces between live systems and synthetic environments must overcome two problems: (1) the interfaces between live systems and synthetic environments must be responsive and complete, and (2) representations of live systems in synthetic environments and synthetic forces in live systems are needed to provide a consistent and coherent exercise at different levels of resolution. A key challenge for supporting training while on the move (OTM) is providing responsive interfaces to synthetic environments for personnel using real C4I systems. An OTM distributed M&S capability for training is challenged by the bandwidth capability available from tactical communications systems.
Individual combatant and small-unit operations simulations require:
3.2.3.1 Technology Demonstrations. M&S is used as a tool in all of the DoD technology areas to support conceptual analysis, technology development, acquisition, testing, fielding, sustainment, operational effectiveness, training, and planned product improvement. Therefore, it is demonstrated in concert with most current DoD technology developments. Although all services and agencies are developing M&S applications, most of these enabling technology development efforts are funded by DMSO, DARPA, DSWA, and the Army. Demonstrations of M&S are oriented toward showing advances in the application of M&S as a tool. Demonstrations are grouped according to the M&S DTOs. Simulation Interconnection Demonstrations. A complex of programs was selected as candidate "proto-federations" for the purposes of developing and demonstrating a high-level architecture (HLA) prototype. These programs are grouped in the proto-federation based on a combination of technical issues being addressed, characteristics of the member programs, and common mission interests. The initial groupings are shown in Table III-6. The STOW 97 ACTD will be the first DoD program to be totally committed to demonstrating the DoD M&S HLA as its architecture.
| Proto-Federation | Member Programs |
|---|---|
| Platform Federation | BFTT, JTCTS, BDS-D, STOW, CCTT |
| Joint Training Federation | Eagle, JSIMS, NASM, NSS, DEEM |
| Analysis Federation | JWARS |
| Engineering Federation | JMASS, T&E-EW, SBD, IADS |
Simulation Information Technologies Demonstrations. CMMS prototypes were completed in FY96 for use in the M&S development process. The use of CMMS prototypes will be demonstrated in STOW 97 and in the development of JSIMS and WARSIM 2000. Additionally, common data interchange formats (DIFs) and larger DoD data standardization efforts will be available to reduce the time it takes to move the data from the data producer to the data user and to enhance M&S interoperability.
Simulation Representation Demonstrations. Authoritative representations of the environment will be demonstrated in many initiatives over the next few years. A surf zone demonstration will integrate atmosphere, terrain, and ocean databases. The interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR) will demonstrate the use of high-altitude radar to acquire data to support the Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) program. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has many pilot projects to demonstrate the fusion of data from various sensors to develop high-resolution databases. The nomination and adoption of authoritative representations of systems will begin soon. Initial plans for developing human behavior representations are being coordinated with some of the nation's top behavioral scientists.
Simulation Interface Demonstrations. In FY97 an HLA-compliant prototype MRCI will be demonstrated for a limited number of C4 systems (AFATDS, MCS, CTAPS). By FY98, MRCI will be further developed to support larger numbers of C4I systems to include JSIMS and JMCIS (intelligence components). In FY98 the plan is to demonstrate a 100% increase in USMTF, VMF, and TACFIRE message set size accommodated within the common DIF used in general by HLA federations and in particular by the MRIC. MRCI capability and COMPASS services (collaborative session management, geo-registered overlay management, analysis, composite mission preview, and simulated mission rehearsal capabilities) will be integrated to develop a comprehensive set of modeling and simulation services within the DII COE Version 3.0. In FY99-01 MRCI will be expanded to develop bidirectional, reconfigurable interfaces to other live weapons and sensor systems and test and training ranges. In FY02 development of reconfigurable simulation interfaces will be initiated to support full immersion of humans.
The Rapid Force Projection Initiative (RFPI) ACTD uses force-on-force simulations to progressively demonstrate incremental enhancements in live-synthetic environment interfaces culminating in an integrated live-virtual demonstration in a DIS environment. Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (JWID) demonstrates the use of distributed collaborative planning and M&S services over a wide range of C4I systems from CINC/Commander, Joint Task Force (CJTF) level to unit level.
Individual Combatant and Small Unit Operations. By FY99 there will be a demonstrated capability to fully immerse the live combatant in the synthetic environment, to include control of semiautomated forces through voice and gesture recognition. By FY00 linkages will be established between virtual, constructive, and live instrumented simulations to enable individuals to participate in distributed combined arms exercises and experiments.
3.2.3.2 Enabling Technology Efforts. In addition to efforts in support of the DTOs, the Army is conducting M&S technology development efforts in areas including human immersion, live-to-virtual linkages, representations of the dynamic environments and human behavior, and interoperability/reuse of simulations. The efforts are being coordinated with appropriate M&S POCs and MSEAs. The DARPA-sponsored Defense System Internet program supports the technology development efforts identified in the Simulation Interconnection DTO.
3.2.3.3 Technology Development. M&S supports and draws on the advances in all of the IST subareas, as well as in other technology areas. Within the IST area, M&S will benefit from advanced developments in seamless communications, information management and distribution, and computing and software. M&S will not only benefit from technology developments in decision making, but M&S will be a key element in advancing the state-of-the-art in that subarea. Closely related R&D activities efforts, in other DoD technology areas, that specifically support M&S-enabling technologies include (1) the modeling of environments in Sensors, Electronics, and Battlespace Environment that supports the development of physics-based authoritative representations of terrestrial, ocean, lower atmosphere, and space/upper atmosphere environments; (2) the Human Systems technology area efforts that will complement and support the development of the human-simulation interfaces; and (3) the simulation-manufacturing interfaces being developed in the Materials/Processes technology area. The M&S development efforts that will be supported within the M&S subarea or coordinated in other technology areas include the following development efforts:
