System Engineering & Integration

Abstract

Systems Engineering and Integration`s (SE&I) goals are to continue the development and improvement of the integrated Ballistic Missile Defense System and to prove the effectiveness of the system. The Agency will perform the analysis and engineering trades to support the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Ballistic Missile Defense Review, and policy decisions on European Ballistic Missile Defense. Our engineering focus will shift to enhancing regional Ballistic Missile Defense and providing system improvements to enable earlier Ballistic Missile Defense engagements. The SE&I provides analysis, decision-making and planning activities for real-world operations in support of the White House, Joint Staff, Military Services, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Combatant Commanders (Military Utility Assessment), Operational Test Agencies, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, Allies, and others. The SE&I is the single team that leads and executes this process and applies its technical expertise, tools, and facilities in a collaborative effort that cuts across many disciplines and specialties to realize this goal. Regional Defense: The Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) was developed in response to the rapid proliferation of short and medium range ballistic missiles in Iran and the threat they pose to U.S. Allies and partners, as well as to U.S. deployed personnel and their accompanying families in the Middle East and in Europe. By leveraging recent advances in sensor and interceptor technologies, the United States will aggressively counter this growing regional threat with a more powerful and agile system. The United States is pursuing a four phased approach which will provide a more effective missile defense capability for defense of North Atlantic Treaty Organization territories and enhance U.S. homeland defense, it will be complementary of and interoperable with those being developed by North Atlantic Treaty Organization, be applicable in other theaters around the world, and will be more adaptable and flexible in order to counter threat advances and provide increased defended areas over time. The initial phase includes the deployment of current and proven missile defense, including the sea-based Aegis Weapons System, the SM-3 interceptor (Block IA), and sensors such as the forward-based Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance system (AN/TPY-2). Subsequent phases will be implemented based on technical maturity, appropriate testing, and threat driven requirements. SE&I will play an integral in European Phased Adaptive Approach development by providing Ballistic Missile Defense System functional requirements and documenting them in Capability Planning Specifications for specific phases, defining test objectives to demonstrate regional defense performance, and verifying and assessing the capability of each European Phased Adaptive Approach phase. SE&I Process: The systems engineering process which defines required system-wide Ballistic Missile Defense behavior, supports and evaluates Element and component system designs, and assesses and verifies system capability across the entire Ballistic Missile Defense System, involves five-phases: 1) Systems engineering planning/concept development; 2) design and specification; 3) integration 4) test and verification and assessment; and 5) operational integration (fielding). To provide context for the design process SE&I: defines the adversary capabilities and operating environments that could be used to defeat or degrade the Ballistic Missile Defense System; identifies where performance gaps exist in Ballistic Missile Defense System capabilities; and determines what improvements are required to close those gaps. SE&I provides requirements for top-down, overall architectural direction for system development and assessment in compliance with those requirements that ensure the Ballistic Missile Defense System functions as a seamless fully integrated system. To accomplish this, Ballistic Missile Defense System capabilities are matured using system `builds`. Each system build progresses through a series of rigorous requirements, design, and management review process with pre-defined entrance and exit criteria. These events take place at both the system and element level. SE&I also stays focused on opportunities to insert and integrate high-payoff advanced technologies over time to: upgrade system components (sensors, weapons, and C2BMC); improve Ballistic Missile Defense System overall performance; expand our protection coverage; increase military utility; and improve effectiveness against increasingly sophisticated and proliferating threats. The SE&I process provides requirements which other Ballistic Missile Defense System programs and elements depend upon to achieve successful integration. Products: Fundamental to the SE&I approach is development, coordination, and dissemination of fully vetted products at each stage of the SE&I process. These products document and communicate key information such as: technical goals and objectives, design trades and resulting decisions; design and interface requirements; integration plans and schedules; test objectives aimed at collecting the data needed to anchor models and simulations, assessment and test results and fielding plans. Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Engineering provides significant and thorough guidance through the Ballistic Missile Defense System Description Document and Ballistic Missile Defense System Specifications for elements to design, build, integrate and test Ballistic Missile Defense System components. These products optimize performance at the system level and further ensure that the assessment of the designed Ballistic Missile Defense System is based on sufficient ground and flight testing. System Engineering monitors element and component compliance with Ballistic Missile Defense System level requirements through a series of requirements and design reviews both at the system and element levels. The Ballistic Missile Defense System Interface Control Documents (SICDs), the Capability Assessment Plan (CAP), the Modeling and Simulation Master Plan, and the Master Integration Plan provide additional guidance to the Ballistic Missile Defense System elements and components. System engineering has the key role in Ballistic Missile Defense System test design and development through the use of the Critical Engagement Conditions (CEC). The critical engagement conditions ensure that the focus of the Ballistic Missile Defense System testing is on the data necessary not only to show proper system operation, but also to provide solid validation, verification and assessment data for digital simulations of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. These models along with a rigorous test and verification process will inform fielding decisions and operations. A brief description of some of the remaining, but as essential, System Engineering products follows: Adversary Capabilities Document (ACD) - provides an engineering threat reference that details overall feasible threat space and representative Systems including countermeasures Concept Descriptions (CDs) - describe a proposed concept to enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System in sufficient detail for evaluation Achievable Capabilities List (ACL) - a determination based on technology maturity, affordability, and emerging threat assessments of what capabilities desired by the warfighter are achievable Capability Planning Specification (CPS) - documents the preliminary requirements for new programs and specific upgrades for the system Adversary Data Package (ADP) - provides common and consistent threat data including countermeasures to drive Ballistic Missile Defense System weapon system designs, ground and flight tests, digital simulations, and pre-mission analysis Analysis Guidance Document (AGD) - sets common analysis scenarios for system/element/component assessments and evaluations Element/Component Characterizations for Analysis (E/CCA) - a database of system-level performance parameters that ensure correct and consistent medium fidelity analysis inputs across the Agency System Engineering Assessment Report (SEAR) - annual end-of-year report on progress toward achieving capability objectives Collaboration: SE&I`s disciplined engineering process consists of setting technical objectives and goals, understanding the threat, exploring alternative system design concepts, performing design trades to inform the selection and implement the best design, verifying that the specified design is properly built, integrated and fielded, and then assessing how well the system meets performance goals. This occurs in a collaborative engineering environment in close partnership with key stakeholders such as the Element developers, Combatant Commands, and international partners. Systems Engineering and Integration further collaborates with the Director for Operations on the system content and activities described in the Ballistic Missile Defense System Master Plan (BMP). Unifying Missile Defense Functions: MDA has identified a set of Unifying Missile Defense Functions (UMDFs), which focus on key capabilities necessary to increase the effectiveness of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (including probability of engagement success, increase in defended area and raid size capacity, additional redundancy of architecture, unity of command) through the integration of MDA developed capabilities. These Unifying Missile Defense Function efforts are Sensor Registration (reporting of sensor errors / biases), Correlation (ensuring the information from multiple sensors seeing a threat relates to the same object), System Track (creating a single engageable track of a threat from multiple reports provided by different land, sea, and space based multiple sensors), Discrimination (identifying object details to determine the target from debris or decoys), Battle Management (combining the best sensors and shooters to ensure the highest probability of a kill), Hit / Kill Assessment (determining if the target selected was destroyed after missile impact), and Communications (providing the worldwide connection of sensors and shooters to command authorities). Unifying Missile Defense Functions are implemented across the Ballistic Missile Defense System elements to create and utilize system level data and decisions that allow Combatant Commanders the ability to automatically and manually optimize sensor coverage and interceptor inventory to defend against all ranges of ballistic threats. New Technologies: SE&I ensures that as new capabilities such as early intercept and precision tracking from space are added to the Ballistic Missile Defense System and the SE&I process remains focused on overall Ballistic Missile Defense System mission objectives and desired system performance. As these new capabilities are defined and requirements are allocated to the sensor, weapon and Command and Control Battle Management Communications elements, a cadre of Ballistic Missile Defense System engineers works concurrently with the elements to produce the most effective solutions. When the capabilities are mature, we evaluate their readiness for production using an engineering tool known as Engineering and Manufacturing Readiness Level (EMRL) assessment, so that risks are understood in advance of production decisions. We also develop anti-tamper approaches so that Ballistic Missile Defense System assets can be fielded outside the United States. Ballistic Missile Defense System Level Testing: The best way to dissuade the proliferation of ballistic missiles and deter their employment is through compelling testing and demonstration of integrated ballistic missile defense capabilities--weapons, sensors, and command and control, battle management and communications. Integrated Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities draw on space-, land-, and sea-based assets operated by multiple Services to provide the most accurate track of the enemy missile as well as a more diverse and effective set of weapon options for the Combatant Commander to defeat the attack-all connected by a unifying Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications system. For example, integrating autonomous missile defense elements greatly expands the area protected and increases the protection levels without incurring additional force structure costs. In conjunction with the Director for Test, Systems Engineering and Integration supplies test objectives, critical engagement conditions, and empirical measurement events, and collaborates on the Integrated Master Test Plan (IMTP) to ensure the test program gathers the data necessary to anchor models and simulations used to predict Ballistic Missile Defense System performance. System Pre- and Post-Flight Reconstruction: SE&I will support System Pre-Flight predictions for system level flight tests using the test framework set up with the Ballistic Missile Defense System configuration for a particular flight test. This provides the confidence in Flight Test execution by predicting element performance and exercising element interfaces. This work is also used to proof out the construct of the flight test to ensure the collected data and data management plan will support System Post-Flight Reconstruction (SPFR) objectives. System Post-Flight Reconstruction will use a hardware in the loop and/or a Digital Modeling and Simulation Environment to replicate the day of flight for the Ballistic Missile Defense System configuration, modified to represent the actual environmental conditions and target dynamics observed in flight. The results of this testing are used to increase confidence in the models and simulations by anchoring the results with emphasis on the critical engagement conditions and empirical measurement events back to the real world event. System Post-Flight Reconstruction is used for validation (anchoring) of models and simulations. Interdependencies: The best way to dissuade, deter, and defeat ballistic missile threats is through integrated ballistic missile defense capabilities--weapons, sensors, and Command and Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC). A potential or actual attack may cross regions and may fly higher and faster than stand-alone, autonomous capabilities operated by a single Military Service can defend against. Integrated Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities can result in an effort funded in one Program Element being critical to success of efforts in other Program Elements, referring to these connections as `interdependencies`. Throughout the budget justification material, we have attempted to highlight System Engineering`s interdependencies with the MDA directorates and the Ballistic Missile Defense System elements and components in order to explain fully the relationship between different parts of the proposed program. SE&I Major Program Goals: Engineer the integrated and layered Ballistic Missile Defense System and prove Ballistic Missile Defense performance Provide system-level support to the Elements for definition, design, and integration of the Unifying Missile Defense Functions Provide technical direction to Element and Component developers Develop the Adversary Threat Capability documentation Produce controlling specifications and analysis to drive the Ballistic Missile Defense System design Lead collaborative and cross- Element and -Component engineering Provide technical support for the Operational Ballistic Missile Defense System Provide engineering development for an International Global Ballistic Missile Defense Verify and Assess through testing the Ballistic Missile Defense System performance and capabilities Develop Ballistic Missile Defense System performance metrics and identify critical engagement conditions Support Ballistic Missile Defense System testing and Modeling and Simulation by defining test objectives necessary to develop test campaigns to anchor Ballistic Missile Defense System-level models and simulations Identify Ballistic Missile Defense System capabilities and limitations Perform analysis of alternatives Provide detailed analysis to support MDA Leadership and US policy decisions Create future Ballistic Missile Defense System architectural options Develop architecture frameworks and operational concepts for emerging capabilities such as early intercept Establish technical roadmaps focusing on unified missile defense functions Develop functional requirements, define test objectives, and verify and assess capabilities for the Phased Adaptive Approach Establish and enforce design and construction standards Identify manufacturing risks using Engineering and Manufacturing Readiness Level assessments to analyze the maturity of Ballistic Missile Defense System Element and component manufacturing processes Develop anti-tamper approaches to enable international fielding of the Ballistic Missile Defense System

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2011
• Source ID: MD24_0603890C_4_0400_PB_2011

Tags

Readers

• Missile Defense Systems.
• Software Engineering.

Technology Areas

• Fully Networked C3
• Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
• Space