Compass Points - Drones Swarms
Cast your nets widely.
Compass Points - Drones Swarms
Cast your nets widely.
May 22, 2024
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Swarms of drones are coming, and some are already here. Swarms of drones on air, land, sea, and undersea will bring new opportunities and new threats. The ambitious Department of Defense program, Replicator, has received new funding to produce swarms of drones. In a related program, the DOD announced PRIME/CSO.
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In the maritime domain, the Department is diversifying the vendor base for USVs through the recently announced Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO). The CSO process allows U.S. and international companies to pitch technologies to the Department in a fast-track process for a prototype contract. Launched on January 30, 2024, the PRIME CSO received over one hundred applications from commercial technology companies. With FY24 funding secured, the Department is on track to award several contracts this summer.
-- Department of Defense
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The purpose of the drones is to give US forces a new and powerful advantage.
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"Meeting the strategic imperatives facing the nation requires that we harness the very best of America's commercial technology in non-traditional partners, alongside our traditional sources of defense capabilities," said Doug Beck, Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). "Replicator is doing just that, and that is why we at DIU are proud to work with our partners from across the Department of Defense to make it a reality."
. . . "This is just the beginning," said Admiral Christopher Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Replicator is helping us jumpstart the delivery of critical capabilities at scale. We will build on that momentum with industry partners to deliver what the warfighter needs, and remove barriers to doing so again and again."
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If Replicator wants to "deliver what the warfighter needs" perhaps an effort could be made to investigate the use of drone swarms to help with fire suppression. Particularly with the loss of so much artillery, Marine units will need more options for fire suppression. Could drone swarms be used? While nothing can replace cannon artillery that is close, continuous, and all weather, would it be possible to use loitering drone swarms to augment on call fire suppression? Authors Elena Ausonio, Patrizia Bagnerini, and Marco Ghio have provided a conceptual framework for using drone swarms for fire suppression. Their work does not deal with military fire suppression, but instead investigates using swarms of drones to help suppress forest fires.
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Abstract: The recent huge technological development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can provide breakthrough means of fighting wildland fires. We propose an innovative forest firefighting system based on the use of a swarm of hundreds of UAVs able to generate a continuous flow of extinguishing liquid on the fire front, simulating the effect of rain. Automatic battery replacement and extinguishing liquid refill ensure the continuity of the action. We illustrate the validity of the approach in Mediterranean scrub first computing the critical water flow rate according to the main factors involved in the evolution of a fire, then estimating the number of linear meters of active fire front that can be extinguished depending on the number of drones available and the amount of extinguishing fluid carried. A fire propagation cellular automata model is also employed to study the evolution of the fire. Simulation results suggest that the proposed system can provide the flow of water required to fight low-intensity and limited extent fires or to support current forest firefighting techniques.
-- MDPI
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Why should Marines look at a study about the suppression of forest fires? Perhaps the answer is in the words, "cast your nets widely." Two of the greatest thinkers in recent decades about Marine Corps operations were John Boyd and General Al Gray. In their own ways, both men urged Marines to "cast your nets widely." New challenges and new technology require new thinking. Marines must look around, take an interest in worldwide developments outside of the military in a constant search for inspiration and ideas. Marines willing to think broadly and discuss passionately will lead the Marine Corps into a powerful future. Use loitering drone swarms for on call fire suppression? That is just one idea that might help build the Marine Corps of the future. Compass Points salutes all those who cast their nets widely.
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Department of Defense - 05/06/2024
Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks Announces First Tranche of Replicator Capabilities Focused on All Domain Attritable Autonomous Systems
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MDPI
Drone Swarms in Fire Suppression Activities: A Conceptual Framework
By Elena Ausonio, Patrizia Bagnerini, and Marco Ghio
file:///C:/Users/jkuntz/Downloads/drones-05-00017-v2.pdf
The objective use of IRAS is additive to current combined arms methods through a capability centric approach. Specifically for aerial robotics, the procedural use and developing TTPs can be found within MCRP 3-10.3. Marines throughout the NCO/SNCO Corps are doing what they do best and are innovating in ways that make their squads and platoons more capable -at this point it is on the institution to keep up with them as none of this is conceptual and hasnt been for many years.
I blew past it in my morning readings but I believe the Air Force discontinued experimental airborne directed energy programs against drones. Mean while we need 0811’s!!