Drone swarms can soon be expected as a norm, not an exception. The Replicator program undoubtedly shows the benefits of commercial, cheap, plentiful technology solutions with significant military value. The swarm simulation video below, with thousands of cheap units in Taiwan strait, is quite an eye opener. Expected unit cost few hundred USD?!
Senior National Security Professional: Leading Mission-Focused Teams to Exceptional Performance
#4: A Sensor Mesh is the Place to Start This is the fourth in a series of posts that highlight some key points on future Air Force Replicator capabilities. There are many ways to detect potential targets on the battlefield. For example, in a Taiwan invasion scenario, U.S. and allied forces would be looking for ships. Detection of this type of target (large metal objects floating in the ocean) is a relatively easy battlefield problem that can be addressed by a variety of sensor systems. However, identifying targets, and particularly distinguishing high priority targets from other objects—including decoys—is more difficult. Traditionally, identification has required either close proximity to the potential target or the application of large, powerful, expensive, vulnerable sensors from a distance. Against high-end opponents, such as China, both approaches present substantial challenges. The sensor mesh concept uses simultaneous observations from multiple independent platforms to identify the target. "Mesh" refers to a network of connected, relatively simple sensors that can take advantage of mass—large numbers of vehicles and sensors working in concert—to make up for the relatively poor performance of each individual sensor. The gains from this connection and redundancy are meaningful: They allow for the reliability of each sensor to be far lower than would be demanded of a single automatic target recognition system. But a mesh requires many, many sensors. The simulation shown here reflects the application of several thousand unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to a Taiwan Strait scenario. The vehicles use simple rules to move into the area and toward detected ships, providing targeting solutions for weapons that can be fired from various platforms. Many UAVs are lost, but the sheer numbers in the mesh overwhelm the defensive response. Read more here! https://lnkd.in/gi7ZY3Gs