Operations with Swarm and Non-Swarm Forces: A Framework for Deriving Joint Concepts
Abstract
There is growing interest in military swarming due to advances in unmanned technology and the successful use of drones in operations (most recently in Ukraine). Several papers have analyzed these trends to infer the nature of future swarming capabilities. Some papers focus on how future swarms will operate with non-swarm military forces that operate on air, sea, land, and littoral (i.e., legacy forces). These papers typically utilize military scenarios with undefined swarm-legacy relationships. This approach is useful, but leaves fundamental questions unanswered, such as which forces are primary and supporting, and what are the associated interoperability implications. This paper models these characteristics to derive more robust joint concepts. We conclude that future swarms will have a core competency in influencing certain decisive points, indicating a need for large swarming organizations. We then identify four areas for swarm-legacy joint concepts: 1) improve legacy force situational awareness of the swarm; 2) standardize procedures for swarm-legacy integration and operations; 3) improve legacy force deception when the swarm is primary; and 4) provide on call swarm effects when legacy forces are primary. This article provides a useful starting point for defense professionals who develop swarming operational concepts, associated requirements, and their solutions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1204903
Entities
People
- Kenton G. Fasana
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses