Splinter Group C Plenary Session

Swarming: Network-Enabled C4ISR Conference

Splinter Group CPlenary Session Back Brief

Swarming Workshop13 January 2003

JTF


Splinter Group C

Issue: Should Swarming become a Tenet of Transformation?


Shared Understanding of Swarming

• Swarming is often tactical, occasionally organizational or operational, and rarely strategic

• Can be a mixture of human and machine as well as autonomous and semi-autonomous (ie SOF units in Afghanistan)

• Swarming not limited to offensive targeting– Appications include Reconnaisance, Surveillance, Targeting

Acquisition, (RSTA), flock based systems– Outcomes are more than just offensive in nature incudes

development of Situational Awareness

• Millions of missions that can be done with swarming not only military (Drug trafficking monitoring)


Swarming is not a tenet..But it is an Approach

• Swarming is not a tenet but it is a potential strategy to be considered for transformation

• Swarming is a useful approach - Dependent on the mission – It exploits the benefits of Network Centric Warfare

• Enabled by some technological capabilities but transformation now working to maximize effectiveness of traditional hierarchical command structures not replacing it

• Swarming should not compete with transformation but work in complimentary fashion as an overlay when needed– Supported by development of networks systems

• Swarming is an organizational option that transformational strategies should consider in addition to other methods of organization


How NCW Enables Swarming

• Network Centric Warfare will accelerate swarming - Not till 2010-2011– Makes Swarming more capable - Supported by the technologies– Expands Swarming - Makes it efficient - Can also develop

alternative forms of organizations (integrated AOC, IAMD)– May not develop network to optimize swarming unless we

conciously plan to do so– Technological constraints outside the realm of information also

hamper swarming (ie weapon system detonation)

• Decision making element of Swarming and Network Centric Warfare - Swarming supports self synchronized fires – Can be machine driven (Pre-programed ROEs, targeting), or human

based (SOPs, Tactics, Decision making)


How NCW Enables Swarming (cont.)

• Shared information does not equate intelligent action – Hampered by human interpretation– Swarming does push down the concept of shared awarness -

Needs more investigation and experimentation


How NCW Enables Swarming (cont.)

• Swarming is a reaction, non-informational based system which cannot leverage complex knowledge available despite its ability to adapt – Does not take advantage of our capability for collaboration, knowledge

sharing capabilities– Swarming is dependent on the other piece of Network Centric Warfare

which provides these capabilities– Will support swarming with technologies (communications) - Need

interaction to fully integrate swarming tactics with Network Centric Warfare

• Swarming should be looked on as a way of doing autonomy – Assumed that transformation will include autonous capability


Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages• Agility - Faster Decision Making• Sharing of Inforamtion• Operational Options• Reduced Manpower - More autonomous

systems• Safer - Humans farther from the battlefield• Increased Situational Awarness• Increased Coverage of Battlefield (UAVs,

UUVs, Space Assets) - Standoff assets• Decentralization equals less vulnerability -

Large, dispersed network cannot be entirely taken down

• Force protection increased due to lower density of forces with swarming

• Better match for current threats (Counter insurgency, Terrorism, Peacekeeping)

• Increases speed of forward deployment

Disadvantages• Decentraliation equals more vulnerabiity - Network

has many points of vulnerability (mitigated by • Increased Legal Problems - Military necessity vs

Civil necessity (Issues: ROEs, Soverignty, Civil Liberties)

• Capability vs Authority of pushed down decision making - Effects conduct of war and removes power from NCA

• Command and Control Chalenges– System AI not developed to support Swarming– Metrics Ill defined– Stochastic - Unable to predict results

• Swarming less capable against highly adaptive adversaries?

• Runs the risk of greater friendly casualties - Controlling friendly fire

• Tradeoff of armor vs Situational Awarness– Growing interdependence among these systems for

missions - System vulnerabilites hard to mitigate over time

• Adversary leapfrogging developed technology to defeat our primary systems in terms of NCW and Swarming

• Requires increased Bandwidth and Information Management

• Not always implementable when in Coalition partners


How Would You Implement Swarming Into the Transformation Strategy?

• Swarming is a justification for transformational tenets such as NCW

• Tighten link between operational forces, the technical community and the acquisition strategy– Better understanding of best applications– Better understanding of optimal missions– Better understanding of the impact on the acquisition strategy

• Continue R&D - Haven’t scratched the surface of swarming capabilites

• Define experimental issues and initiate experimental strategy on emerging R&D


How Would You Implement Swarming Into the Transformation Strategy?

• Need to bridge gap between interagency and coalition actors - Bigger than a DoD issue

• Move from the operational engagement area to explore swarming methodology for other missions/applications– Protection of Networks, Counter Terrorism– Systems to support this include (UAVs, UUVs, UCAVs, Micro UAVs,

Computer Network Defense/Attack Systems)– Combat Unit orgnaizations/training to support (Halt scenario, Anti ethnic

cleansing) - Non-linear dispersed based operations

• Need to work on the new requirements for ROEs - Need to be much more exact and flexible for system programming (Ship based gattling gun) - Human trust of the computer

• Advance and clarify discussion of Swarming– Require precise definitions to ensure common understanding


What Impact Would Swarming Have on DOTMLPF?

• Doctrine: Must establish a doctrine - Either machine, human based or both– Doctrine must be developed jointly, service, interagency and coalition

base - Dependent on the intended application (Who is intending to use it and for what

• Organization: Potential changes to the organization itself– Changes command and control organization of

• Tactical, operational and potentially strategic command units• JTF construct• Interagency and potentially HA structure

– Large scale adoption of swarming will impact different services and organizations in different levels (Army heavily impacted, Navy/AF less so)

– Effects personnel in terms of numbers and tasks– Will require greater jointness (C4ISR, Fires)



• Material: Move toward joint acquisition process - This is a big issue not just in implementing Swarming but C4ISR and other transformational strategic implementation– Changing approach in material development from “factory to foxhole” – Require own organization to support material independent of military

organization

• Training: If human based will require new training behaviors in support of decision making requirements (Strategic Sergent)



• Leadership: Big paradigm shift - decentralized leadership– Interoperability in command and control - supported by COTs and

traditional ingeneuity– Higher ranking officers commanding small units

• Personnel: Smarter, more skilled personnel - But tradeoff is need for less personnel – More special operations type forces

• Facilities: Dependent on the service however trends are:– Forward deployed and increased reachback capability– More prepositioned– Better Just in Time logistics

Business

Splinter Group C Plenary Session