This area develops and demonstrates technology for sensors, electronics and battlespace environment which were addressed in individual Technology Area Plans (TAPs) previously. The Sensors, Electronics, and Battlespace Environment area addresses fourteen Subareas: Radar Sensors, Electro-Optic Sensors, Acoustic (including Magnetic and Seismic) Sensors, Automatic Target Recognition, Integrated Platform Electronics, Radio Frequency (RF) Components, Electro-Optics, Microelectronics, Electronics Integration Technology, Electronic Materials, Terrestrial Environment, Ocean Environment, Lower Atmosphere Environment, and Space/Upper Atmosphere Environment (See Figure VII.1). This area provides sensor technology which has application including strategic and tactical surveillance, identification and targeting of threats from all military platforms including satellites, aircraft, helicopters, ships, submarines, ground vehicles and sites, unmanned air vehicles, unattended ground sensors and the individual soldier. In addition, this area encompasses the research and development, design, fabrication, and testing of: electronic materials; digital, analog, microwave, opto-electronic, and vacuum devices and circuits; and electronic modules, assemblies, and subsystems. Finally, this area provides for the study, characterization, predication, modeling, and simulation of the terrestrial, ocean, lower atmosphere, and space/upper atmosphere environments to understand their impact on personnel, platforms, sensors, and system; enable the development of tactics and doctrine to exploit that understanding; and optimize the design of new systems. See Resource Appendix for funding of this Defense Technology Area.
In the material that follows only some of the key objectives of the science and technology programs in sensors, electronics, and battlespace environment are explicitly described. This represents 57% of the total program which is also addressing many other objectives just as important to the DoD in the areas of sensors, electronics, and battlespace environment. In addition most of the demonstrations described below were enabled by earlier science and technology efforts. For example, DTO SE.19.01.ANF (Compact High Power RF Transmitters) was enabled by the development of the microwave power module (MPM) which is two and a half times more powerful, ten times smaller, and one third as costly as current technology. In turn the MPM was possible only because of the solely DoD supported efforts in GaAs materials development and MMIC technology. Similarly, the science and technology foundations for future demonstrations are being laid by the current science and technology programs much of which is not described below.
The vision for this area is provide the military with perfect situational awareness of the expanded battlefield in all environments to enable the warfighters to assess the scope and intent of the enemy and develop superior tactics for responses for achieving whatever political/military goal is selected. Investment in this area ensures that the U.S. will continue to maintain the warfighting "edge" through all-weather, day-night surveillance, precision targeting, and damage assessment; detection and tracking of difficult targets such as cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, ballistic missiles, and submarines; and positive target ID. In addition this must be accomplished at an affordable cost in a diminished production base.
Examples of specific goals include 50% reduction in cost of imaging radar and infrared search and track sensors; 5:1 improvement in thermal sensitivity of infrared detector focal plane arrays; 100:1 improvement in the false alarm rate and search rate of automatic target recognizers; 0.1 micro size electronics to enable orders of magnitude increase in the amounts of information that can be processed in a shorter time; development of ultra-compact microwave and millimeter wave modules that are 50 - 100% more efficient to enable new concepts in unmanned airborne vehicle radars, electronic decoys, and ultrahigh capacity communications; micromechanical systems for highly miniaturized sensors; ten times improvement in generating digital topographical data needed by the commander for optimization of deployment of forces; high resolution, longer term weather and sea state forecast for incisive decision making and enhanced operational capability in adverse weather; and a 90% improvement in capability to predict magnetic storm induced outages of command, control, communications, surveillance, and navigation systems.
1.3 Acquisition Warfighting Needs
Sensors and electronics technologies provide the foundation for the "eyes and ears and brains" for nearly all decision making systems, tactical and strategic weapons systems, and the intelligence community. They represent the key to force multiplication (the ability of a minimum number of U.S. platforms and personnel to defeat a much larger enemy force) and their continued advancement is critical to the avoidance of technological surprise on the battlefield by enabling comprehensive intelligence gathering and total situational awareness over the extended battlespace. Critical to the development and operation of the DoD's information gathering capabilities is the complete understanding of the environment in which these sensors operate and the impact of that environment on the operation of the sensors to enable the U.S. forces to optimize their sensors and tactics to utilize the entire battlespace and its environment.
Consequently, the various subareas in sensors, electronics, and battlespace environments are addressing key requirements/needs identified in the Joint Warfighter Science and Technology document. As Figure VII.2. shows, these technologies are particularly critical to the needs/capabilities associated with dominant battlespace knowledge, precision force, combat identification, and joint theater missile defense. In addition, the pervasive nature of electronics technology to all aspects or military operations is clear from Figure VII.2.