18-09-2012, 10:14 AM
Using Near Space Vehicles in the Pursuit of Persistent C3ISR
1Using Near Space Vehicles.pdf (Size: 477.93 KB / Downloads: 73)
Abstract
US Air Force leaders issued a challenge to create a battlespace of the future that does not want
for situational awareness. In this future, the warfighter can access up-to-date information
through a network of sensors that are on duty 24/7 around the battlespace. The persistence of
command, control, and communication as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
(C3ISR) available today does not meet the 24/7 dream. Even the US dominance in the high
ground of space could not meet the current appetite. A combination of manned and unmanned
C3ISR platforms supported operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but they could not provide roundthe-
clock information to the commanders and the warfighters.
To correct those gaps, the USAF chief of staff and others propose to exploit the relatively unused
portion of the vertical dimension: near space. This paper explores how near space vehicles
(NSV) traversing altitudes from 20 km (65,000 feet) up to 150 km (lower confines of earth orbit)
generate the C3ISR effects future warfighters require. First, the current manned and unmanned
platforms are compared for effects, cost, and persistence. Manned platforms include AWACS,
JSTARS, and Rivet Joint. Typical unmanned platforms include Predator, Global Hawk, and
representative low earth orbit satellites. The second part of the paper looks at modifying state of
the art technologies to reach and operate in the near space region. The paper compares adapted
balloon, lighter-than-air craft (airships), and aircraft designs for operation in near space.
Introduction
Objective Peach: This bridge was one of the most important terrain features in
the theater. My battalion’s mission was to take and hold that bridge. My only
problem, I was blind. No network, no sensors, no intelligence could tell me
what was defending it. Nothing had made it down to my level although
someone above me might have known. As night fell, I arrayed my battalion in
a defensive position on the far side of Objective Peach waiting for
reinforcements that were overdue. Finally I received a bit of intel that an
enemy brigade was moving south toward my position. However, the situation
was much more threatening than he could have imagined. Facing him was not
one but three enemy brigades with at least 25 tanks, upwards of 80 armored
personnel carriers, artillery, and between 5,000 and 10,000 enemy soldiers.
This massed force should have been easy to detect with our multitude of
sensors but we got nothing until they slammed into us!
Persistent Battlespace Awareness
Department of Defense (DoD), military service, and industry leaders have focused on increasing
C3ISR persistence. The war in Afghanistan demonstrated the military the value of finding,
tracking, and attacking targets near-instantaneously. Former Secretary of the Air Force (AF),
James G. Roche, believes the military needs to increase ISR persistence to the 24/7 threshold.2
He continued the theme in a Wall Street Journal interview, maintaining that Afghanistan was “a
conflict where you require persistent ISR 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,
good weather or bad weather.”3 The enemies of the future are not likely to sit around and
present themselves as targets of opportunity. Operational military sensor platforms cover the
required battlespace but not all the time. Currently, the AF plans to leverage its persistent C3ISR
capabilities “to ensure joint air, space and cyber-space dominance, strengthen joint warfighting
capabilities, and build the future total force”.4 The Navy and Marines are also support increasing
C3ISR persistence. The Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Vernon Clark, has a vision that
persistent precision fighting coupled with persistent ISR will allow soldiers on the ground to
bring precision to bear in incredible new ways.5 Edward Bair, Army program executive officer
for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors believes that one ISR challenge is distributing
local information collected by one lower echelon to the theater level and other vanguard units.
Intelligence
This section restricts the discussion of intelligence capability to signal/electronic intelligence
(SIGINT/ELINT) gathering in order to keep the analysis manageable. The services have several
manned and unmanned platforms capable of SIGINT collection. The current state-of-the-art
cannot cover the entire Area of Responsibility (AOR) 24/7 without surging the current lowdensity
high-demand assets. Table 3 summarizes the various platforms, their nominal frequency
ranges and dwell time in a track. Most of the frequency ranges are estimates based upon the
stated capabilities of communication bands (HF, VHF, and UHF) and radar bands (VHF, UHF,
SHF, and EHF).30 Performance specifics, that is signal detection range, are classified for these
platforms. Generally, if the enemy activates a radar within the AOR, these platforms can see the
signal long before the radar can engage. Some have estimated the U-2S SIGINT equipment is
capable of 150 nm detection.31 The current platforms have the capability to ferret out the
adversary’s electronic order of battle and collect real time signals. The intelligence collection
coverage breaks down, however, when the system tries to locate all the signals across the
battlespace in real time.
Near Space Defined
The discussions so far describe some of the persistence problems with C3ISR. Before moving
on toward defining solutions, this section will more fully define near space along with its
advantages and disadvantages. General John Jumper, the USAF Chief of Staff; Peter Teets, the
DoD Space czar; and General Lance Lord, head of Air Force Space Command recently defined
near space as the altitudes between 20 and 300 km53. The Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale defines the air and space boundary at 100 km54. Near space starts where
controlled airspace ends. Over the US, the Federal Aviation Administration controls the airspace
up to and including 60,000 feet mean sea level (Class A Airspace). To provide a buffer with any
near space vehicles (NSV), this paper considers the start of near space as 65,000 ft or about 20
km. Near space extends up to the lowest altitude that a vehicle can maintain low earth orbit;
defined as 490,000 ft or about 150 km. However, near space operations have disadvantages.