AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN SUPPORT OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. N00014-00-G-0230, DO #14, between the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of the Navy. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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COMMITTEE ON AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES IN SUPPORT OF NAVAL OPERATIONS
JOHN J. DEYST,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Chair
NEIL J. ADAMS,
Charles S. Draper Laboratory, Inc.
W.R. BOLTON,
Sandia National Laboratories
ROY R. BUEHLER,
Mableton, Georgia
ARMAND J. CHAPUT,
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company
JOHN C. FIELDING,
Durham, California
JAMES R. FITZGERALD,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
CHARLES A. FOWLER,
Sudbury, Massachusetts
ROBERT H. GORMLEY,
The Oceanus Company
MICHAEL R. HILLIARD,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
FRANK A. HORRIGAN,
Bedford, Massachusetts
HARRY W. JENKINS, JR.,
ITT Industries
DAVID V. KALBAUGH,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
CARL E. LANDWEHR,
National Science Foundation
JAMES R. LUYTEN,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
CARL MIKEMAN,
Northrop Grumman Corporation
JOHN B. MOONEY, JR.,
Austin, Texas
STEWART D. PERSONICK,
Bernardsville, New Jersey
NILS R. SANDELL, JR.,
BAE Systems
HOWARD E. SHROBE,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JAMES M. SINNETT,
Ballwin, Missouri
MARILYN J. SMITH,
Georgia Institute of Technology
CHARLES E. THORPE,
Carnegie Mellon University
DAVID A. WHELAN,
The Boeing Company
BRIAN H. WILCOX,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Staff
RONALD D. TAYLOR, Director (on leave from July 12, 2003)
CHARLES F. DRAPER, Study Director, Acting Director (as of July 12, 2003)
ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer (as of October 22, 2003)
MICHAEL L. WILSON, Program Officer (through August 27, 2004)
MARY G. GORDON, Information Officer
SUSAN G. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator
IAN M. CAMERON, Research Associate
SIDNEY G. REED, JR., Consultant
NAVAL STUDIES BOARD
JOHN F. EGAN,
Nashua, New Hampshire,
Chair
MIRIAM E. JOHN,
Sandia National Laboratories,
Vice Chair
ARTHUR B. BAGGEROER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN D. CHRISTIE,
Logistics Management Institute
ANTONIO L. ELIAS,
Orbital Sciences Corporation
BRIG “CHIP” ELLIOTT,
BBN Technologies
KERRIE L. HOLLEY,
IBM Global Services
JOHN W. HUTCHINSON,
Harvard University
HARRY W. JENKINS, JR.,
ITT Industries
DAVID V. KALBAUGH,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
ANNETTE J. KRYGIEL,
Great Falls, Virginia
THOMAS V. McNAMARA,
Charles S. Draper Laboratory, Inc.
L. DAVID MONTAGUE,
Menlo Park, California
WILLIAM B. MORGAN,
Rockville, Maryland
JOHN H. MOXLEY III,
Korn/Ferry International
JOHN S. QUILTY,
Oakton, Virginia
NILS R. SANDELL, JR.,
BAE Systems
WILLIAM D. SMITH,
Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
JOHN P. STENBIT,
Oakton, Virginia
RICHARD L. WADE,
Risk Management Sciences
DAVID A. WHELAN,
The Boeing Company
CINDY WILLIAMS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ELIHU ZIMET,
National Defense University
Navy Liaison Representatives
RADM JOSEPH A. SESTAK, JR.,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N81 (through October 1, 2004)
MR. GREG MELCHER,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Acting N81 (from October 2, 2004, through November 8, 2004)
RADM SAMUEL J. LOCKLEAR III,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N81 (as of November 8, 2004)
RADM JAY M. COHEN,
USN, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, N091
Marine Corps Liaison Representative
LTGEN EDWARD HANLON, JR.,
USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command (through September 30, 2004)
LTGEN JAMES N. MATTIS,
USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command (as of October 1, 2004)
Staff
RONALD D. TAYLOR, Director (on leave as of July 12, 2003)
CHARLES F. DRAPER, Acting Director (as of July 12, 2003)
ARUL MOZHI, Study Director (as of May 15, 2004)
MICHAEL L. WILSON, Program Officer (through August 27, 2004)
MARY G. GORDON, Information Officer
SUSAN G. CAMPBELL, Administrative Coordinator
IAN M. CAMERON, Research Associate
Preface
Recent naval operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq have been carried out successfully in a joint environment in which much useful information was generated by unmanned aerial vehicles. These experiences have sharpened insight into the nature of complex threats and how to deal with them in order to assure access for maneuver and the delivery of effective firepower. Furthermore, foreign ports and the homeland must be defended against threats—some “asymmetric” and some sophisticated—which may arrive by sea or air. These threats are often characterized by their mobility and may be attempted over extended periods of time. Surveillance must thus take place over wide areas and operate over long time periods, which can be risky and at least wearing for the personnel involved. The possible costs and risks incurred are strong arguments for expanded use of unmanned vehicles in future operations.
The successful use of unmanned vehicles in recent operations has led to recognition of their broader utility and to additional calls for more unmanned vehicles by President George W. Bush and his Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld. Attracted by the prospect of lower unit cost and risk for unmanned vehicles than for manned vehicles, all of the Services have been active in this area with initiatives and plans for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), uninhabited combat air vehicles (UCAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs); in some cases there have been operational deployments. From these efforts it has become widely appreciated that unmanned vehicle systems can offer many opportunities, including surveillance and reconnaissance, targeting of firepower with onboard weapons, damage assessment, and service as communications nodes and for signals
intelligence, environmental measurements, and the detection and identification of nuclear, biological, and chemical threats.
Recent experiments and evaluations have indicated that before the effective deployment of unmanned vehicles, many technical and operational questions remain to be addressed, such as the level of autonomy needed, as well as issues relating to reliability, environmental sensitivity, vehicle integration, and operational training. The technical challenges include size, endurance, speed, recoverability, survivability, altitude or depth range, along with onboard and offboard trade-offs related to communications, intelligence, situation awareness (for deconfliction), replanning capability (needed for threat changes), multiple vehicle control, and human interfaces. The topic of autonomous vehicles clearly has many aspects and corresponding technological challenges that must be addressed in order to enhance their overall utility to naval (and joint) operations.
In August 2002, the Chief of Naval Operations requested that the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Naval Studies Board, establish a committee to review the status of, experience with, technology challenges related to, and plans for development and concepts for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in support of naval operations. The terms of reference for the study are provided below. John J. Deyst of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chaired the committee. Biographical information on the membership and staff is presented in Appendix A.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
At the request of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Naval Studies Board of the National Research Council conducted a study across all naval operational environments—sea, air, land, and space—to address the following (the chapters of the report that address each issue are shown in brackets):
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Review the status, experience, and lessons learned to date with autonomous vehicles in the military and other functional areas (space, industry, energy) [Chapters 1 and 3];
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Identify capabilities needed to improve the utility of autonomous vehicles in military operations and homeland defense, taking into account projected threats [Chapter 2];
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Examine and project technologies needed to achieve these capabilities, and the levels of autonomy involved [Chapters 3 through 6];
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Investigate the functional utility between vehicle autonomy and overall system complexity, survivability, and safety, accounting for networking, systems integration, logistics, and training [Chapter 3];
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Evaluate the potential of synergies involving combinations of autonomous vehicles and other naval platforms in military operations and homeland defense [Chapter 7]; and
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Identify opportunities and means for transitioning autonomous vehicles in support of naval operations, including systems integration issues related to battle group and amphibious readiness group compatibility [Chapters 4 through 6].
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The Committee on Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations first convened in December 2002 and held further meetings and site visits over a period of six months, as summarized in the following list.
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December 9-10, 2002, in Washington, D.C. (Plenary Session). Organizational meeting. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV), N81 and N513G, overview of Sea Power 21 and the vision of the future Navy; OPNAV, N780X, overview of Navy unmanned aerial vehicle requirements and initiatives; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) briefing on DARPA science and technology initiatives on unmanned vehicles; U.S. Navy Program Executive Office, Littoral and Mine Warfare briefing on Navy unmanned undersea, sea surface, and ground vehicle technology development and transition; U.S. Navy Program Executive Office, Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation briefing on Navy unmanned aerial vehicle technology development and transition; Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory briefing on Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare, vision of the future Marine Corps, and Marine Corps perspective on requirements and initiatives for unmanned vehicles; Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Joint Robotics Program briefing on initiatives on unmanned ground vehicles; Naval Research Advisory Committee (NRAC) briefing on NRAC study on the role of unmanned vehicles; Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval Air Systems Command briefings on the autonomous operations Future Naval Capability program; and OSD overview of OSD Roadmap on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
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January 25-26, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division study outbrief on shaping the future of naval warfare with unmanned systems; OPNAV, N61, overview of FORCEnet and the role unmanned vehicles play; OPNAV, N2, overview of Navy intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and the role unmanned vehicles play; National Imagery and Mapping Agency overview of Digital Point Positional Database; OPNAV, N70, briefing on Navy requirements for unmanned vehicles; Northrop Grumman Corporation briefing on Global Hawk performance in Operation Enduring Freedom; Headquarters Marine Corps overview of Marine Corps ISR capabilities and the role unmanned vehicles play; Marine Corps Combat Development Command briefing on Marine Corps requirements for unmanned vehicles; and U.S. Navy Program Executive Office, Littoral and Mine Warfare briefing overview of Navy Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Master Plan.
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February 25-26, 2003, in Washington, D.C. OPNAV, N763, briefing on Navy unmanned surface vehicle requirements and an overview of the Littoral Combat Ship; Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWC/CD), briefing on NSWC/CD autonomy and unmanned vehicle initiatives; U.S. Coast Guard Program Executive Office, Integrated Deepwater Program, briefing on the role of unmanned vehicles in homeland security; Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (OASD C3I) briefing on the Global Information Grid, Transformational Communications, and other OSD efforts related to autonomous, unmanned vehicles; U.S. Air Force Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations briefing on Air Force Predator performance in Operation Enduring Freedom; ONR, Code 321, briefing on ONR autonomy and unmanned vehicle initiatives; Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) briefing on NUWC autonomy and unmanned vehicle systems; and Navy Warfare Development Command (NWDC) briefing on NWDC autonomy and unmanned vehicle experimentation and concept development.
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March 25-27, 2003, in San Diego, California. Briefings from AAI Corporation, Frontier Systems, AeroVironment, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory on technical background of their respective autonomous, unmanned vehicle programs; site visits to Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, for briefing on Naval Air Force operational perspectives on autonomous unmanned vehicles; Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, briefing on Naval Special Force operation perspectives on autonomous unmanned vehicles; Naval Special Warfare Command briefing on operational and technical perspectives for employing autonomous, unmanned vehicles; U.S. Third Fleet briefings on operational and technical perspectives for employing autonomous, unmanned vehicles and operational use of Naval Fires Network; Northrop Grumman briefings on unmanned systems initiatives at Northrop Grumman; Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) briefings on undersea warfare FORCEnet concept, C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) for UAVs, UGVs, UUVs, very shallow water programs, chemical sensing in the marine environment and adaptive mission planning, Slocum undersea gliders, communications for unmanned vehicles, and expeditionary pervasive sensing enabling experiments; Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence and Space (PEO C4I) overview of acquisition initiatives related to autonomous, unmanned vehicles; Jet Propulsion Laboratory on machine vision; and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems discussion on unmanned vehicle programs and initiatives.
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April 25-26, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) briefing on uninhabited combat air vehicle-Navy (UCAV-N) carrier operation and the status of improving the reliability of automated carrier landing systems; Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) briefing on tactical microsatellites, sensors, autonomy, and other related AV developments; ONR briefing on the
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Navy’s Autonomous Intelligent Network and Systems (AINS) initiative and other science and technology (S&T) initiatives; DARPA briefing on autonomous space tactical operations, unmanned ground systems, and other DARPA S&T initiatives; DRS Technologies briefing on Neptune Maritime UAV and other related developments; NAVAIR, PMA 263, briefing on status of and initiatives in the Navy unmanned aerial vehicles program and status of improving the reliability of automated carrier landing system for UCAV-N (and other UAV initiatives); Carnegie Mellon University briefing on autonomous and teleoperated field robotics; and Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology) briefing on the U.S. Army’s Objective Force Vision, Future Combat Systems, and the role unmanned vehicles play.
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May 19-23, 2003, in Irvine, California (Plenary Session). Committee deliberations and report drafting.
The months between the last committee meeting and publication of this report were spent preparing the draft manuscript, gathering additional information, reviewing and responding to external review comments, editing the report, and conducting the required security review to produce a public report.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Charles H. Bennett, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center,
Ray “M” Franklin, Major General, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), Port Angeles, Washington,
David E. Frost, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (retired), Frost & Associates, Inc.,
Takeo Kanade, Carnegie Mellon University,
Clinton W. Kelly, Science Applications International Corporation,
Larry Matthies, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Irene C. Peden, Seattle, Washington, and
Dana R. Yoerger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions and recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Lee M. Hunt, Alexandria, Virginia. Appointed by
the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.