USAF, Army team for sensor to shooter prototype

The US Army and the US Air Force (USAF) recently convened for a summit focused on applying and integrating open architecture technologies and approaches to enhance sensor to shooter speed, precision and agility on the battlefield.

The summit, held on 6 August, was the precursor to a sensor to shooter demonstration planned for spring 2019, which will prototype an open architecture, machine-to-machine capability to integrate targeting solutions generated from the USAF’s ISR platforms into army’s long-range precision fires to shorten the kill chain.

The event also allowed military, civilian, laboratory and academic representatives to share best practices in standards design, rapid prototyping and demonstration and government-industry partnerships. The USAF presented business models designed to keep pace with increasing threats, evolving mission requirements and the obsolescence of equipment.

The operational benefits of open architecture standards include a common interface, fewer data sharing challenges and increased decision speed. In spring 2019, the army and Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office will collaborate on a sensor-to-shooter operational assessment to show how air, ground and space sensors can be used to cue long-range precision fires. The demonstration will use open architecture standards to pass and translate data between multiple systems, expand the information available in the command post and enable commanders to adjust and prioritise resources much faster than current methods.

After leveraging the summit to compare various open architecture standards, capabilities and best practices, the two services will continue to identify ways to work together to integrate relevant technologies, conduct prototyping and experimentation and shape future requirements.