The Overwatch Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration

The warfighter today operates in a battlefield environment that is very compressed and dynamic. He does not always have great distances between his adversary and himself to maneuver and to adjust fire. To counteract this, the warfighter must quickly acquire the adversary's position, understand his intent and decide what action must be taken to mitigate the threat (nonlethal or lethal). To facilitate the warfighter's decision-making process, critical targeting information that is accurate and actionable must be provided in a timely manner. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), through its Overwatch Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD), is determined to provide the warfighter with this critical targeting information. The Overwatch ACTD is developing a capability to detect, locate and classify weapons fire, then communicate this targeting information directly to the warfighter via digital tactical communications and systems like the Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below, single channel ground and airborne radio system or personal data assistant.

In the very near future, soldiers may no longer have to ask, "Where is enemy fire coming from?" Overwatch is an adaptation of the space-based missile defense warning developed in the late 1990s, and the Overwatch ACTD is an outgrowth of earlier efforts to use satellites to detect and classify weapons firing. As an airborne system, early Overwatch technology demonstrated the ability to detect and locate tanks and artillery while maintaining a high probability of detection and classification of weapon firing events.

The Overwatch ACTD focus is to provide ground forces with actionable and targetable information of hostile fire events-small arms, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and mortars-in real time to enable counter attack/targeting in complex terrain. Vehicle-mounted, Overwatch consists of a robust passive sensor targeting capability that allows the warfighter to rapidly determine the shooter's location and to collect evidence for future assessment. Today's Overwatch capability is increasingly scalable to a capabilities-based U.S. force and is being sought by joint ground forces to address critical targeting and informational needs.

The U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) initiated the Overwatch ACTD in fiscal year (FY) 2003. In FY 2005, PACOM Military Police conducted a military utility assessment on the Overwatch capability mounted on a Humvee. A second unit will be reduced in size and mounted on a Marine unmanned ground vehicle for assessment in FY 2006. Following a spiral approach, technical development has focused on miniaturizing the processor to allow integration with the sensor to further reduce overall system size. The Overwatch capability modular design readily adapts to multiple platforms (ground, air, towers), including the families of wheeled and tracked vehicles, like the future tactical truck systems and the majority of the Future Combat System vehicles.

In partnership with the Army Intelligence and security Command, the initial prototype weapon surveillance system/small tactical arms recognition equipment is undergoing operational assessment in current operations, supporting the force protection mission. Lessons learned from deployment will be incorporated into the Overwatch system design supporting major system demonstration 1. The capability being developed will be readily adaptable to support airborne and security operations and to add other threat classifiers as required, such as manportable air defense systems (MANPADS) or tactical missiles. The system will:

* Increase lethality. The ability to return effective fire is dependent on providing timely, accurate and relevant information to the shooter and having the capacity to confirm friend or foe. To enable the shooter, the Overwatch capability is being integrated with a remotely operated weapons system. During FY 2004, the Littoral Combat Future Naval Capabilities Office of Naval Research, with support from SMDC, led an effort to integrate an Overwatch system and an acoustic sensor (the projectile detection and cueing) with a remote weapon station under the Gunslinger Project. The Marine Forces Pacific Command Experimentation Center is evaluating Gunslinger to determine its capability to support current operations. In FY 2006 the Gunslinger Project team plans to develop an on-the-move capability.

* Improve peacekeeping, counterterrorism/insurgency, stability and support operations, and military operations in urban operations. Under the Office of Force Transformation oversight, the National Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division is expected to integrate Gunslinger with the Overwatch capability under Project Sheriff-Full Spectrum Effects Platform. Project Sheriff's objective is to rapidly develop and field an armored vehicle that can survive and provide effective lethal and nonlethal fire capabilities in the urban operational environment.

* Increase force protection and forward base security. SMDC is also partnered with the Product Manager, Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System/Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment, to integrate Overwatch onto an elevated intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance tower/platform. From an elevated vantage point, Overwatch combines its wide field of view detection capability with high resolution imagers to increase its area of coverage. Upon detection, Overwatch cues the surveillance imager to visually acquire the target. At that point, a laser ranges the target to enable precise grid coordinates to be transmitted into the advanced field artillery tactical data system via a communications compatible system with the Operation Iraqi Freedom J-3 architecture. This integrated capability was successfully demonstrated to the counterstrike task force in Yuma, Ariz., in the beginning of FY 2005 and provided reliable target information within seconds of firing with dual confirmation.

The Overwatch ACTD is now seeking to refine this capability for ground forces by adding the ability to detect small arms fire. The current ACTD focus is to miniaturize the hardware to cell phone size to permit mounting on small unmanned ground and air vehicles. The Overwatch technology has demonstrated an exceptional ability to detect, locate and classify everything from small arms fire, to RPGs, to MANPADS. In the Overwatch program, SMDC researchers have exploited the underlying detection technology of a space system and have deployed it for use by soldiers on the ground. SMDC is now working to link this system to automated gun mounts.

The potential of the Overwatch capability to support the warfighter is just now being exploited along multiple paths in parallel with the ACTD. These efforts exploit the stationary capability. The development and demonstration of a full on-the-move Overwatch capability in FY 2005 or early FY 2006 will provide the joint ground commanders with an enhanced understanding of the battlespace while providing them better situational awareness. In a matter of seconds, smart, actionable and targetable information can be provided to enable fire and maneuver on a very compressed and dynamic battlefield, contributing greatly to giving warfighting forces a dominant advantage during combat operations.

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