SCIENCE ADDRESSING HYBRID THREATS
Abstract
The Sciences Addressing Hybrid Threats (formerly Counter Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Sciences program provides research for Naval Forces to fight hybrid threats, and adversaries in expeditionary operations. Naval Expeditionary Forces need science advances to address a range of Basic Research challenges that result from physical and operational environmental limitations so harsh that solutions push basic discovery and invention. Naval Forces able to operate amphibiously and in the littoral will have all of their capabilities exposed to degrading sea and land physical effects. Expeditionary forces operating austerely must be agile and lethal but will be constrained by size, weight, and power requirements and must be sustained across distributed forces covering large areas. Further complicating the problem context is the nature of hybrid threats, and adversaries. A hybrid adversary can be state or non-state using a combination of conventional and irregular methods and weapons. For example a hybrid threat could use criminal acts in concert with conventional artillery and IEDs and in turn social media for combined effects greater and broader than the sum of the parts. These coordinated multivariate threats occur across the spectrum of conflict with a dynamic but unified strategy. A hybrid adversary is flexible and adapts quickly, synchronizing advanced state weapons systems, disruptive commercial technologies, cheap expedient homemade weapons, and a variety of tactics. The Sciences Addressing Hybrid Threats program seeks to establish and nurture science to address these threats not covered in more conventional warfare science efforts and in environments not researched elsewhere. Within the above threat and environmental context numerous warfighting capability dependencies are considered resulting in a broad range of science research areas. Examples include: physics addressing the electromagnetic spectrum for use in Command and Control and high energy physics addressing Directed Energy Weapons; machine perception, reasoning and collaborative behaviors of autonomy enabling numerous potential expeditionary autonomous systems; artificial intelligence enabling future Intelligence systems; optics, electronics, and photonics research to enable revolutionary spectral awareness in small low power sensors; computer and network science to enable expeditionary computing coupled with Data Science research to conduct data analysis; fundamental chemistry and materials science research to advance technologies to support sustainment; basic materials research to explore and improve armor and structural materials; electrochemical energy conversion and storage research to sustain the force; chemistry and physics to provide disruptive energetics for expeditionary Fires; and biology, physiology, and cognitive sciences addressing the Naval Expeditionary warfighters human abilities. The program also seeks to establish and nurture a multidisciplinary Science and Technology community of Government, academic and industry researchers to accelerate the transition of new science and technology into fielded systems. Funding increase in 2018 is the result of DON increased basic research to include a complex, hybrid adversary consisting of state and non-state actors in order to better reflect the threat environment that Naval Forces will face in the future. Accomplishments and plans described below are examples for each effort category.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2018
- Source ID
- e430520cbee80b22c4a89ba31c1df3ab