Threat warning and survivability in the modern battlespace

Spinning dials can often interrupt our digital lives these days when our phones or computers get overloaded with data or software instructions, whether we are accessing the internet, using an app, downloading a file, or streaming a movie. While the device works on the request, it displays a simple animation like a spinning hourglass or repeating dots to convey that it’s working in the background.

When it comes to military threat warning and survivability systems – like those of BAE Systems – speed, accuracy, and dependability are critical factors to protect warfighters so they can focus on their missions. There is no time for spinning dials.

We spoke with Mike Sweeney, technology director for the Integrated Survivability Solutions product line in the Countermeasure & Electromagnetic Attack Solutions business at BAE Systems. Here’s what he had to say about the evolving threat environment, warfighters’ survivability needs today, and the engineering effort that goes into making sure military embedded systems do their job – on time and as expected.

What can you tell us about the threat environment?

Warfighters can encounter any number of threats in today’s battlespace. 

Platforms can encounter guided missiles, attack drones, and other threats. The threats are proliferated from sea, air, land, and space, and they can appear quickly from multiple locations. The way the threats are coming at the warfighter is also changing. They can come from any direction – all-aspect. 

At the same time, threat capabilities are advancing, becoming smarter, more versatile and multi-spectral. To stay ahead of the threat, our warfighters need systems with full-spectrum electromagnetic capabilities. The cornerstone of threat warning and survivability of the future is a full-spectrum approach to electronic warfare – radio frequency (RF) and electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR).

Historically, threat detection and response systems were developed to counter specific threats or threat types, but the proliferation of threats and the increased use of multispectral systems and coordinated capabilities working together makes the environment more challenging. As the sensors and systems used to counter the threats get more complex, the volumes of data grow for threat warning and countering systems. The data from high-resolution, multi-spectral sensors increases the challenge exponentially and could overwhelm today’s computers if the right engineering expertise is not applied to the problem.

As the data that sensors collect increases in bit depth and resolution, so do the data rates, processing needs, and storage requirements. These systems can generate 10,000 times more data than consumer movie streaming rates, and it cannot be compressed the way commercial data can be and it cannot be late. The scope of the complexity is challenging and exciting at the same time.

Which platforms would benefit most from advanced threat warning capabilities?

Not only rotary-wing aircraft and fighters can benefit from these capabilities. High-value airborne assets (HVAAs) like tankers and special-mission aircraft, unmanned arial systems, ground vehicles, and other platforms are all facing threats, and could benefit from advanced warning and countermeasure capabilities.

What critical capabilities are required in today’s threat warning and countermeasures systems?

Threat warning systems must detect threats at long range and provide early cue times to defeat them. Accurate threat identification and fast processing speed are vital.

The systems also need to work dependably without errors, lock ups, or false alarms – reducing the cognitive loads on warfighters and giving them the confidence to execute their missions. The systems need to work flawlessly to military specifications, functioning despite temperatures fluctuations, vibrations, and shocks. 

Imagine trying to take a video with your phone to use in an app at 160 degrees Fahrenheit while experiencing vibrations and shock and having to maintain connectivity to Wi-Fi and other systems and doing it dependably without a spinning dial. This is the beginning of scoping the challenge.

For an effective threat response to happen on time and in an extremely short engagement window, lots of things need to happen. The sensor needs to sense the threat. The data needs to be packaged up and digitized and processed at the edge and/or sent to a centralized processor where algorithms and software analyze the imagery and other data. Then the information needs to be passed to the platform and other mission systems, all while monitoring thousands of internal metrics to ensure error-free dependable operation.

A lot of engineering work goes into making sure these systems work without spinning dials. Our engineers put a lot of time and effort into making sure our embedded systems do their job, on time and on schedule without bothering warfighters with errors, false alarms, or lock up issues.

When it comes to exceeding reliability and sustainability requirements, it comes down to talented engineers doing the complex things behind the scenes to make the system work dependably for the warfighter. Our people know how to make exquisite real-time systems work dependably and on time, quietly doing their job while warfighters do theirs. The U.S. government can’t afford the time or money to develop a system that’s not dependable and effective when they field it.

How is BAE Systems evolving threat warning and survivability technology?

Our Intrepid Shield^TM layered approach to platform survivability uses the full electromagnetic spectrum to detect, exploit, and defeat advanced threats. It’s based on proven systems, including multi-spectral sensing, high-powered jamming, decoy capabilities, air-launched effects, and more. The capabilities can be scaled and combined to create new battlefield effects for superior situational awareness and survivability.

The Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) is a great example of our history. CMWS has been fielded for over 20 years with millions of combat hours and hundreds of lives saved and is used around the world by domestic customers and foreign allies. CMWS exceeds its reliability and sustainability requirements by 4-6 times because our engineers have focused on the details that make the system dependable in all aspects of its operation.

In recent years, we have expanded our systems into other wavelengths across the EO/IR spectrum. Our modern threat warning systems, including our 2-Color Advanced Warning System (2CAWS), utilize advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve capabilities.

Since the threat environment is evolving and becoming more complex and our adversaries’ tactics and capabilities are changing, we need to think differently. The way threat warning systems are integrated today needs to evolve. Systems must be adaptable and easy to integrate onto existing aircraft and other platforms through the use of Modular Open Systems Architectures and open U.S. government interface standards. This will bring agility to the fighting force to quickly update systems with advanced technology.

How can threat warning systems take advantage of commercial technology?

There’s exciting emerging technology with huge potential to improve system capabilities, including exquisite EO/IR sensors and advanced commercial technology that’s good at what it was designed to do, like high-performance graphics chips.

There are cost and speed advantages to using commercial technology, but to use it, we need to make sure its battle-hardened and can be implemented in systems to be dependable. We can’t just throw them into the system and hope they work.

The challenge will be the employment of the new technology. We still need to make it work on time, quickly, without locking up. The technology needs to be brought together in the right way and must be able to be rapidly integrated into various platforms with challenging environmental requirements, and with no spinning dials.

This is where our systems and software expertise come in. We’ll leverage low-cost commercial technology and will enhance it to ensure it operates without lockups in dependable scenarios. 

How does BAE Systems’ legacy in threat warning and countermeasures inform its strategy?

BAE Systems is a leader in missile warning and aircraft survivability technology, and our experts have deep domain expertise. Our halls are filled with smart, energetic, innovative engineers that like to solve hard problems. We are experts in end-to-end threat analysis, modeling and simulation, digital engineering, systems integration, and product life cycle support. 

Our proven aircraft survivability solutions have millions of combat flight hours, and we continue to evolve our systems to address new threats. We know what it takes to ensure that these systems work quietly and dependably while reducing the cognitive load on warfighters. We have extensive contract research and development and internal R&D science and technology projects that are maturing advanced capabilities, and we’re investing internally to advance our technology to stay ahead of the evolving threat.

Learn more about BAE Systems’ Countermeasure and Electromagnetic Attack Solutions.