Red Teaming to Support DoD Modernization Priorities
Abstract
The project funds efforts to explore new joint mission capabilities in a competitive environment. Efforts include: (1) Early investigations and red teaming to identify and understand potential vulnerabilities and opportunities from emerging and conceptual technologies. Projects will help define and anticipate impacts from new technologies, including current DoD investments and external technologies, to understand operational utility and identify threats from tangentially related sectors that can have significant negative impacts on current DoD investments. (2) Maturation of Service and Defense Agency identified prototypes to enable red teaming validations and CONOPS earlier in the development cycle. These prototypes increase agility and rate of innovation for emerging capabilities, while reducing cost and risk. (3) Exploring unconventional approaches to counter current DoD and adversary technologies through red teams, war games, simulation exercises, and studies that employ government laboratory scientists, subject matter experts, and students of science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines. Red teaming events range from distributed table-top games to simulated and live field exercises with non-traditional and operationally experienced participants. Deliverables include characterizations of future prototypes, requirement definitions, recommendations on system operational employment, potential vulnerabilities, and likely countermeasures that could be taken by the threat, as well as potential counter-countermeasures to increase functionality or operational effectiveness of the system. The USD(R&E) will leverage these products to inform how technologies and integrated systems can perform in hostile environments and develop new CONOPS. In FY 2021, red teaming efforts were conducted to support the National Defense Strategy’s priority for increased lethality and the Department of Defense’s modernization priorities for cyber, autonomy, energy, and contested logistics. Prototypes were assessed for vulnerabilities at red teaming events with operationally-experienced participants. A test was conducted to further assess radar vulnerabilities using a low-altitude, low-speed aircraft. Maturing technologies, in support of artificial intelligence and contested logistics, were red teamed to, either understand how best to implement and adapt the technology into CONOPS, or determine how best to counter adversary responses to the technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2023
- Source ID
- 62ffb84ef25addb2f8b4e78edc8fe51e