Attended Tactical Ground Sensors: A Must for Force and Resource Protection

Abstract

Today, force protection is a growing concern of the armed forces. In part, unfortunately, because of the June 25, 1996, Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 airmen and injured over 400 others. Something must be done immediately to better protect our forces and resources as the military is being deployed more and more into places like Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Somalia, Bosnia, and Haiti. In the future, less is likely to be known about the physical environment where forces will be deployed, and even less, perhaps, will be known about the threat facing these forces. To effectively deal with this future, the military will need the significant advantages obtainable from Attended Tactical Ground Sensor Systems (ATGSS). The thesis of this paper is that because of the technological advancements in ATGSS, more consideration should be given on how to employ them to enhance force and resource protection. This assertion rings true after closely examining what happened at the Khobar Towers, as well as reviewing such things as combined forces exercise reports, key acquisition documents for physical security equipment (PSE), and ongoing PSE research and development activities. The good news is that it is not too late for the military to begin taking advantage of the important contributions of ATGSS. Before exploring ATGSS applications for military operations other than war, and wartime and law enforcement operations, this paper begins by looking at what ATGSS are available to the military today. Only marginally sufficient to aid in force protection, current ATGSS are in serious need of upgrade or replacement. Next, the ATGSS technological advancements being pursued will be highlighted. These advancements are astonishing in many regards and could standardize the way future security is provided.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1997
Accession Number
ADA397288

Entities

People

  • Michael F. Pasquin

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Human Systems
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Aircrafts
  • Area Security
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Infrared Detectors
  • Intrusion Detection
  • Military Operations
  • Nonlethal Weapons
  • Radio Frequency
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Manufacturing Engineering.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design