Eyes in the Sky

Clearing IEDs and preventing terrorist bombings is an area of great technical importance to the military and the world's governments. Air support remains one of the most effective tools for ground troops clearing IEDs in Afghanistan. The country does not have a flat terrain, and the ground force's field of vision is cut off beyond the hills, where an enemy could be waiting to strike from. Air support also gives troops the ability to "see" ahead, and clear the way before having visuals on the road beyond. What the Pentagon Channel's video above implies, however, is a third, powerful advantage in enhanced communication with civilians in war zones.

The situation being filmed in this video illustrates how air support can determine the difference between daily life (i.e. farming) and planting roadside explosives. A task force is called to clear a road of suspected IEDs, and multiple truckloads of specialists and a helicopter are deployed. This massive force travels down a small, dusty road in Afghanistan only to find that civilians are digging holes for agricultural purposes. They are able to determine their intentions because of the helicopter flying overhead, which is able to relay this information without the ground forces having to travel ahead and risk an unnecessary confrontation. Bringing a powerful force into a civilian situation can create feelings of mistrust in the local communities, and US forces rely on strong connections with these communities in order to properly combat real terrorist threats. Therefore, air support aids military operations by providing troops with intel that can improve communications with civilians.

In some ways, this video also shows the clear need for increased unmanned air systems deployment in war zones. If one car had a single UAS, they could have involved a third of the troops sent to the area, and the helicopter would not have been needed at all. The valuable intelligence gathered from unmanned systems in the sky helps not only to cut down costs on aircraft but also on the number of missions troops are sent out on. Sending dozens of military personnel and driving/flying tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment to check a dusty road in Afghanistan, only to find farmers preparing their fields, should become a thing of the past now that unmanned systems can gather information remotely and accurately. In fact, the Department of Defense anticipates this and has plans for it in their Drone Roadmap 2010-2035. We can look forward to unmanned systems cutting military spending in the very near future.

NATO Bomb-Detection

The Stand-off Detection of Explosives (STANDEX) research conducted by NATO Allies and Russia could be the next step forward in technology to prevent transport-system terrorist strikes.

The system involves a multitude of sensors that detect explosive materials. They line the halls of a public area, and as a user sets off numerous sensors, authorities can easily track and apprehend the suspect before they reach their target destination. In conjunction with an HPRF directed energy weapon, this could be the best method of identifying and defusing explosives available. The STANDEX system is rather pricy at the moment, but hopefully prices will be lowered enough to make this a regularly utilized counter-terrorist system inside and outside the NATO Alliance.

It is of importance to note that Russia specifically collaborated with NATO to build this project, as they have been struck with devastating terrorist attacks in the recent years. NATO's other futuristic counter-terrorist technology, the directed energy weapon (or HPRF), will be implemented in 2014. The STANDEX project exemplifies developed nations' continued efforts against terrorism, and the impact terrorism plays and will continue to play in our defense and military spending in the near and potentially distant future.

EMP Stops Car Bombs & Drones

High powered electromagnetic weapons (also known as high power radiofrequency weapons, or HPRFs) are currently being tested by NATO in Norway for non-lethal disabling of cars, bombs, sea vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. This scientific breakthrough is significant for numerous reasons, one being that it can completely power down almost any kind of vehicle without injuring the driver. That means that even a car packed with explosives speeding toward a blockade can be powered down to a full stop and the driver can be apprehended without a bullet fired. Another reason it is an important military technology breakthrough is that it can be highly targeted,disabling only a particular vehicle or device without destroying all electronics in the area. Unlike other directed energy weapons, they can also be operated in poor weather.

An antenna is used to direct the energy generated from a given power source. That power is absorbed by the electronics inside the target and causes operational failure. Research and photo via George H. Baker, 2011.

The military is taking interest in EMPs and directed energy weapons as they are both a valuable asset as well as a threat to critical operational systems and vehicles. Like NATO's car-disabling HPRF, the Laser Weapons System is another directed energy weapons being implemented by the military as soon as 2014. HPRFs are limited by their antenna, and portability is a concern, but they are simple enough that they can feasibly be built from spare microwave oven parts. The Army has been preparing vehicles such as the Abrams tank to withstand EMPs, and more counter-EMP technology will be researched as this counter-technology becomes a more significant threat to critical systems. Research into HPRFs indicates yet another strong counter-drone technological trend among the military and the international community, as these directed energy weapons can cripple any unmanned system within their range. It also brings the world closer to directed-energy weapons making appearances in modern warfare, and the inevitable need to build technologies that can counter directed-energy blasts.

An EMP device is hung above an M1 Abrams tank to test its ability to withstand EMP pulses at the White Sands Missile Range. Such pulses can be generated by HRPFs or nuclear blasts. Photo via US Army.