Defence Industry Reports – Active Blast Countermeasure Systems for Mounted Soldier Protection

SPECIAL REPORT

Innovations in Active Blast Countermeasure Systems for Mounted Soldier Protection Active Underbody Blast Protection with TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™ Brave New World?

New Types of Warfare, New Countermeasures…

The Global Market for Armored and Counter IED Vehicles Expected the Unexpected…

Sponsored by

Published by Global Business Media

Our life-saving technologies deliver results that matter... ...getting troops home safely.

Roadside bombs are a serious threat. TenCate ABDS is a serious solution.

TM

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are a constant hazard for ground vehicle crews. TenCate ABDS™ is an active blast countermeasure system designed to detect and respond to mine blasts within milliseconds to reduce injury and save lives.

Photos courtesy of U.S. Department of Defense.

Innovative Threat Protection: TenCate ABDS mitigates the transfer of deadly blast energy and can simultaneously measure, record, report and trigger sub-systems.

TM

Scalable • Compact • Lightweight • Safe • Cost-Efficient • Simple to Install • Easy to Operate Website: www.TenCateABDS.com E-mail: ABDS@TenCate.com

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

SPECIAL REPORT

Innovations in Active Blast Countermeasure Systems for Mounted Soldier Protection Active Underbody Blast Protection with TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™

Contents

Brave New World?

New Types of Warfare, New Countermeasures…

Foreword

The Global Market for Armored and Counter IED Vehicles Expected the Unexpected…

2

Mary Dub, Editor

Active Underbody Blast Protection 3 with TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™ Paul Palmer, Director, Business Development – Active Protection Systems (ABDS) North America Sponsored by

The IED Threat Published by Global Business Media

Published by Global Business Media Global Business Media Limited 62 The Street Ashtead Surrey KT21 1AT United Kingdom Switchboard: +44 (0)1737 850 939 Fax: +44 (0)1737 851 952 Email: info@globalbusinessmedia.org Website: www.globalbusinessmedia.org Publisher Kevin Bell Business Development Director Marie-Anne Brooks Editor Mary Dub Senior Project Manager Steve Banks

Active Solution Sensor System The Processor Countermeasures Testing and Operation Conclusion

Brave New World?

7

Mary Dub, Editor

Hindsight on the Effect of IEDs on ISAF Forces The Human Impact of Blast and IED Injuries The Response to Counter IEDS JIEDDO Leads on Counter Measures

New Types of Warfare, New Countermeasures…

Advertising Executives Michael McCarthy Abigail Coombes

Don McBarnet, International Security Correspondent

Production Manager Paul Davies

IISS – International Institute for Strategic Studies

For further information visit: www.globalbusinessmedia.org

The Tactical Wheeled and Tracked Vehicles on the Ground in The Ukraine The New York Times Highlights a Growing International Use of IEDs Battlefield Dominance through Innovation

The opinions and views expressed in the editorial content in this publication are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation with which they may be associated.

The Global Market for Armored and Counter IED Vehicles

Material in advertisements and promotional features may be considered to represent the views of the advertisers and promoters. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily express the views of the Publishers or the Editor. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, neither the Publishers nor the Editor are responsible for such opinions and views or for any inaccuracies in the articles.

Thriving Indian Market

© 2015. The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright. Full details are available from the Publishers. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

9

11

Mary Dub, Editor

Middle East, Africa and Latin America Also Present Vibrant Development Demand Drivers and Growth Stimulators Identified

Expected the Unexpected…

13

Don McBarnet, International Security Correspondent

Novel Use of Accelerometers and Sensors In the Shadow of the Cancellation of the Ground Combat Vehicle DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) works on Soldier Protection Systems

References 15 WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 1

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Foreword I

NNOVATIVE NEW technologies that represent

The third piece highlights the critical role of innovation

a step forward in force protection have an

in the new ‘hybrid’ form of warfare, and states the case

assured place. But the rapid change in US domestic

that the use of IEDs in hybrid warfare has, and had

politics and new ways of making warfare deniable

a cautionary effect on the conventionally superior

are making the global marketplace for innovations

fighting forces of the West and, for this reason they

to tactical and tracked armored fighting vehicles

are being adopted in other conflicts throughout the

more challenging.

world. The evidence for this provides a compelling

The opening article in this Special Report looks at a new innovative technology to combat the continuing

case for the adoption of working countermeasures that reduce the dreaded impact of an IED blast.

threat of IEDs developed by Tencate Advanced Armor,

In the face of current and rising use of IEDs in

based in Newark, Ohio. Tencate’s ABDS Sentinel XTM

conflict throughout the world, the global market for

is a bolt-on collection of components that provides

armored fighting vehicles needs to be taken seriously.

enhanced blaster threat protection to the underbellies

A recent Strategic Defense Intelligence report 2014-

of military vehicles and their occupants at a fraction

2024 provides useful insight into world markets that

of the traditional weight. The system is scalable to

represent a more vigorous potential than some of the

various platforms and threats, can be used with

American and European ones at present. However, it

new and deployed vehicles, is easy to install and

is also true that periods of retrenchment in spending

remove and simple to train on and operate. The key

on armed forces have historically always been followed

to the system’s effectiveness is its ability to reduce

by more buoyant periods.

the amount of blast impulse energy transferred to a

And what of the future, in the short to medium term?

vehicle’s occupants through momentarily appearing

Two trends are apparent in the US – a strong desire

to increase the vehicle’s weight by producing a huge

to improve force protection, and the intention for the

downward force to oppose the enormous upward

armed forces to deliver more power, more effectively

forces create by a mine or similar blast.

for less. An IED countermeasure that delivers true force

The second article summarizes some aspects of the new and recent debate about NATO’s reluctance

protection will have to fight for its place on the vehicle, but if it works and saves lives, it will earn its place.

to confront the Russian Federation in the Ukraine.

However, directly assessing the forces arrayed in the Ukraine it is clear that armored fighting vehicles are being used, even if in a new way. It would be wrong to dismiss the potentiality of putting NATO boots and armored fighting vehicles on the ground, up-armored with all the latest innovations.

Mary Dub Editor

Mary Dub has covered the defense field in the United States and the UK as a television broadcaster, journalist and conference manager.

2 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Paul Palmer, Director, Business Development – Active Protection Systems (ABDS) North America

The objective was clear, invent a sensor fast enough to detect, measure, validate and respond to mine blast along with a user safe but powerful recoil generating countermeasure in a small, cost efficient package that the military can deploy on their ground vehicles and save lives…

T

HAT THE IED, in its many forms, represents a genuine and enduring threat for Allied and NATO forces in future conflicts is no longer up for debate. The recent $64 billion U.S. Army Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) “V-bottom” program stands as just one example of the lengths that a technologically superior military will go to manage this persistent low-tech threat.

Until now, layering of heavy passive armors and adopting V-shaped hulls were the best methods for defense against IEDs. However, this meant operational limits on these heavier, less-agile forces. A new innovative technology, TenCate’s ABDS Sentinel X™, or ABDS for short, promises to revise this paradigm of underbelly protection.

TenCate ABDS™ is a family of blast related threat protection technologies that mitigate blast impulse energy from IEDs. The system combats the deadly launch acceleration, flight and slam

down experienced by military vehicles and their occupants during a blast event. ABDS is a bolt-on and scalable collection of MIL-SPEC components (controller, sensors, processor and counter measures) that provide enhanced blast threat protection at a fraction of the traditional weight.

TenCate’s ABDS Sentinel X™ is presently undergoing evaluation by the U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Research and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, Michigan under a command-wide Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM). Testing is also under way with numerous Allied and European Ministries of Defense.

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

Active Underbody Blast Protection with TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

ACTIVE UNDERBODY BLAST MITIGATION

The IED Threat The IED, or Improvised Explosive Device, is by no means a revolutionary addition to the battlefield.

IEDs have been present and formidable in every

Enhanced underbody threat protection for blast resistant vehicles at a fraction of the traditional weight. Superior threat protection without a compromise in mobility SIGNIFICANT VEHICLE FLIGHT CAN BE MITIGATED WITH A RAPID RESPONSE COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

www.TenCateABDS.com WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 3 10:16:54 AM TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 1 2/24/2015

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

More than 2500 U.S. soldiers lost their lives to IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan

conflict since 1939 and are considered a weapon of choice for non-state actors in asymmetric warfare. World War II witnessed the partisan and resistance forces across Europe successfully and effectively employing these homemade bombs against occupying forces. In the 21st Century, military and civilian populations alike have been terrorized by the IED threat in the Middle East, South America and around the globe. Many of these rudimentary weapons are cobbled together munitions made of fertilizer and diesel fuel and triggered by cell phones or garage door remote openers.

The past decade has witnessed the evolution of manufacturing IEDs into a practiced vocation thanks to the mass proliferation of available information on IED technology, materials and expertise. This situation, combined with large infusions of funding from politically motivated state and non-state actors, have made the IED commonplace on the modern battlefield. This is no truer than when you look at Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom over the last decade. During the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, IEDs accounted for over 60% of coalition casualties!

THE IED IS A PERSISTENT AND DEADLY THREAT TO SUPERIOR GROUND FORCES IN CONFLICTS AROUND THE GLOBE

THE TENCATE ABDS SENTINEL X™ SUITE OF LIFESAVING TECHNOLOGIES

4 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

As IEDs have proliferated, so have the layers of passive armor added to the underside of military platforms. While force protection was enhanced, slower speeds, lower payloads, reduced mobility and minimized off road capability were just some of the tradeoffs from the heavier armor kits and vehicles. TenCate acknowledged this paradox and endeavored to develop an underbody blast threat protection solution that is only heavy when it needs to be.

Active Solution TenCate ABDS™ is a family of blast protection technologies designed to detect, measure, process, record and respond in the event of a mine or IED blast. In its standard configuration, the ABDS Sentinel X™ system includes a user interface, computer processor, sensor suite, armored cabling and a quartet of externally mounted counter measures. Operation is simple.

TenCate ABDS™ is manually initiated from inside the vehicle at the start of a patrol. The system then operates autonomously to detect and protect the vehicle and crew throughout the mission. The TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™ system is scalable to various platforms and threats, suitable for new and deployed vehicles, easy to install and remove and simple to train on and operate.

ABDS in action: • Turn on at mission start •D iagnostics confirm system health and functionality • Commence patrol • Sensors detect blast •P rocessor validates threat and calculates response •C ountermeasures trigger to generate downforce

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

At its core, the ABDS Sentinel X™ system relies on the proper application of physics combined with the speed of detection and advanced computing. The key is that, when triggered by a mine blast event, the system causes a vehicle to momentarily appear significantly heavier than its actual weight. As a result, todays stronger and more rupture resistant military platforms can be made capable of weathering a mine blast as effectively as a vehicle at many times the weight, yet do so without routinely carrying the parasitic weight of additional armor.

In the simplest of terms, TenCate ABDS™ works by utilizing a tremendous downward force to oppose the enormous upward forces created by a mine blast. A speedy response is obviously important but even more critical is the timing. The reaction window is miniscule and the upward vehicle momentum must be curtailed before the inherent impulse energy can affect the vehicle occupants.

The benefits can be directly measured as lower launch velocity, jump height and slam down of the targeted vehicle. Most importantly, the system reduces the amount of blast impulse energy transferred directly into the occupants. The human body can withstand an impressive amount of G-force loading but mine blasts typically exceed human limits. Trauma to the brain, spinal and lumbar regions are common killers during blast events but TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™ mitigates blast impulse to a level that humans can endure.

Sensor System

THE ADVANCED SENSORS RAPIDLY ABSORB AND TRANSMIT DATA TO THE PROCESSOR IN A BLAST EVENT

TenCate ABDS™ counts on its advanced sensor suite to promptly provide data to the processer. While the militarized yet compact

computer processor is the brains of the TenCate ABDS system, the suite of proprietary sensors represents the critical nervous system that collects and relays information in real time. It is in the MIL-SPEC, ruggedized sensors that deliver the speed of detection and volumes of credible data where the system distinguishes itself from competitors.

The Processor

THE SYSTEM PROCESSOR CAN RAPIDLY ANALYZE INCOMING DATA AND INITIATE COUNTERMEASURE DEPLOYMENT TO SPECIFICALLY MEET THE BLAST THREAT

The TenCate ABDS™ sensors report to a dedicated processor that never stops scanning and scrubbing the incoming data for conditions that indicate an authentic blast threat. The role of the ABDS processor is to measure and validate the incoming sensor signals as well as to calculate and select one of many possible countermeasure deployment responses. In the event of an authentic blast threat the computer will autonomously command the appropriate externally mounted countermeasures to launch skyward and create an enormous downward force via recoil. This process occurs in an extraordinarily short amount of time, many times faster than an air-bag deploys.

The system can also distinguish the direction and velocity of threatening blasts. A large pothole, tall curb, underbelly grenade or anti-personnel mine may telegraph a sudden blast-like impulse but the processor can distinguish these from a threatening blast event. ABDS Sentinel X™ would defer on triggering the countermeasures and resume a vigil for a true blast threat. Should a vehicle encounter a life threatening blast at the right front wheel, ABDS may elect to trigger the countermeasures in just that single corner of the vehicle in order to provide only a localized platform response. In other words, TenCate ABDS™ is not just fast, it’s smart too.

Countermeasures If the processor is the brains of the system then the countermeasures are the muscle.

The countermeasures propel a carefully timed mass vertically in order to create a downward force via recoil. The recoil temporarily makes

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

•V ehicle significantly heavier for critical moment •A BDS mitigates impulse transferred into vehicle and crew •R esult: Improved occupant survivability with attractive trades and no mobility compromise

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

ADVANCED SENSOR

Our ABDS Sentinel X™ can detect a blast event and deliver data to the processor at ultra-high speeds www.TenCateABDS.com

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM |5 2/24/2015 10:16:54 AM

TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 2

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Over 300,000 U.S. troops suffered blast related Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the last 10 years

TENCATE ABDS ™ COUNTERMEASURES TEMPORARILY MAKE A VEHICLE APPEAR MUCH HEAVIER, MITIGATING BLAST IMPULSE ENERGY AND SAVING LIVES

the vehicle extraordinarily heavy to oppose the upward forces produced by the blast. The militarized, compact, lightweight and low power consuming countermeasures are externally mounted on structural strong points and are capable of producing over 1 million pounds of downward force to reduce blast related injuries and save lives. In concert with the processor, the countermeasures can be both stagger-fired and triggered independently of one another in order to address a threat efficiently.

Complex triggering algorithms running in the processor determine when, where and for how long the countermeasures are directed to release energy. The objective is to make the event survivable for the crew. Full scale live fire blast testing has repeatedly demonstrated that reduced damage to the vehicle and all of the on-board electronic systems can be achieved as well.

This technology is available today to help save the lives of mounted soldiers and reduce debilitating long term injuries. This includes, but is not limited to severe spinal compression, incapacitating lower back and lumbar trauma and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Testing and Operation TenCate is currently in the test and evaluation process with a number of countries on various types of platforms. ABDS Sentinel X™ is not platform specific nor is it limited to a family of vehicles. ABDS has applications for combat, tactical, wheeled and tracked platforms. In today’s fleet, near term optimal employment would be on blast-resistant vehicles that are lightweight and prone to flight during a blast event.

6 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

Today, evaluation continues under a U.S. ARMY RDECOM command-wide CRADA and has successfully validated its capability to manage mine blast impulse. Individual platform evaluations naturally follow the technology validation phase in order to identify the human survivability and integration metrics and define the platform by platform TenCate ABDS™ value proposition. This value proposition is the traditional equation that faces all program managers who must weigh performance gains, in this case, enhanced human survivability, against trade-offs for space, weight, power and cost.

Value proposition is an important feature of TenCate’s ABDS Sentinel X™. From the start, the system was designed to serve the requirements of the end user in the most efficient possible way.

In terms of trades, ABDS is compact, lightweight and has extremely low power draw. The system can be retrofitted or installed on new vehicles. It is scalable, meaning that it can easily address evolving threats, and can be quickly mounted or dismounted to suit the mission. Ease of training, operation and low maintenance is exemplified by a contemporary plug and play LRU (Line Replaceable Unit) design and intuitive built in automatic diagnostics.

The same components (sensors, processor and countermeasures) that make active blast threat protection possible can also be configured and employed to combat the all too common problem of vehicle rollover; protect high sensitivity or high value cargo; measure, record and report blast impulse energy or control and command trigger survivability sub-systems such as air-bags and seat belt pre-tensioners.

Conclusion In effect, the system enhances the existing performance of a blast resistant vehicle. It adds platform survivability with less cost and weight than the traditional method of adding layers of underbelly armor. Ultimately the return on TenCate ABDS Sentinel X™ is increased occupant survivability without increased weight or mobility degradation. The family of blast threat protection technologies introduces a new range of possibilities and dramatically advances the state-of-the-art in modern armoring and active underbody blast threat protection for combat and tactical ground vehicles.

Contact TenCate Advanced Armor USA, Inc. 23 Sisal Street, Newark, OH 43055 Tel: 740-345-5575 Fax: 740-345-0154 Web: www.tencate.com Email: p.palmer@tcaa-usa.com

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Brave New World?

“What we see in Russia now in this hybrid approach to war is to use all of the tools that they have […] to reach into a nation and cause instability, use their energy tools, use their finance tools, use what I think is probably the most amazing information warfare blitzkrieg we have ever seen in the history of informational warfare, using all these tools to stir up problems that they can then begin to exploit with their military tool – through coercion […] or through, what we see now in Crimea, what we’ve seen in Eastern Ukraine, Russian regular and irregular forces, these little green men without badges inside of nations stirring trouble.”

Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, Commander, Supreme Allied Command, Europe, SHAPE, Belgium and Headquarters, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, 4 September 20141

T

HE DRAWDOWN from Afghanistan and Iraq by coalition forces, and a new Western mood of reluctance to engage in conflict and to pay for the forces to do just that, may have resulted in greater military threats in Ukraine, Syria and the Middle East. This first article, looking at innovations in counter measures for tactical wheeled and tracked vehicles against IED blasts, is going to assess briefly what was learnt in the final years of the Iraq and Afghan wars and look at how this new phenomenon of ‘hybrid war’ may present new and compelling opportunities to use innovative technologies to adapt fighting vehicles. Some authoritative commentators argue that this pattern of hybrid war, which countries like NATO signatories find so hard to confront, may lead to ‘copycat’ conflicts in Asia and the Middle East, whose governments and their defense ministries will need to arm against.

Hindsight on the Effect of IEDs on ISAF Forces IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) first began to demonstrate their lethality during the Iraq war.

These ‘homemade’ bombs hidden behind signs and guardrails, under roadside debris, or inside animal carcasses, became deadly encounters for allied forces. Insurgents constructed IEDs powerful enough to kill soldiers inside 22-ton Bradley Fighting Vehicles. In one incident in 2004, after a Bradley ran over a large IED, the armored bottom plate of the vehicle was reportedly found some 60 yards from the site of the explosion.2 The 19-ton Stryker medium-weight armored

vehicle, reportedly suffered a lower number of catastrophic vehicle losses due to enemy attack.

With a maximum speed of more than 60 mph, the Stryker can dash past ambushes and roadside IEDs that might catch the slower moving Abram’s tank and Bradley.3

The Human Impact of Blast and IED Injuries

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

Mary Dub, Editor

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

The impact on soldiers’ lives of these explosions was immediate and lethal. Those that did not receive fatal injuries often received serious injuries to extremities and Traumatic Brain Injury. This was analyzed and increasingly acknowledged.

The Naval Research Health Center describes Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as “a nondegenerative, non-congenital injury to the head arising from blunt or penetrating trauma or from acceleration/ deceleration forces. Specifically head injury is defined as a TBI when there is a decreased level of consciousness, amnesia, and skull fracture”. Based on published data, it can be seen that those injured in the battle were more likely to have multiple TBI than those not injured.

During the Iraq war IEDs were the most common cause of TBI among battle injuries.4

The Response to Counter IEDS The response within the United States Defense forces, other coalition countries, Congress and industry was slow at the outset. However, JIEDDO (Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization) and others spearheaded the up-armoring of wheeled vehicles, the greater use of helicopters for transporting troops and the

ADVANCED PROCESSOR

The ruggedized MIL-SPEC

ABDS Sentinel X™ processor stands at the ready to detect a blast threat, differentiate threatening from non-threatening events, and calculate a countermeasure response in milliseconds

www.TenCateABDS.com

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM |7 2/24/2015 10:16:55 AM

TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 3

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

These ‘homemade’ bombs hidden behind signs and guardrails, under roadside debris, or inside animal carcasses, became deadly encounters for allied forces

development of sophisticated counter measures to mitigate the effect of the blast. The V- shaped hulled vehicle, the MRAP, was first trialled on the Marines and then adopted more widely.5 These certainly proved some further protection, but much of the up-armoring made the vehicles considerably heavier, and therefore less fuel efficient and less agile off the road.

JIEDDO Leads on Counter Measures A host of countermeasures were put forward by industry during the war. The Congressional Research Service describes what happened: directed by retired Army Gen. Montgomery Meigs, to work with various national laboratories, the Department of Energy, contractors, and academia and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, countermeasures were

8 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

tested and recommended for deployment.

The technologies being evaluated included electronic jammers, radars, x-ray equipment, robotic explosive ordnance disposal equipment, physical security equipment, and amour for vehicles and personnel. Examples of electronic jamming systems mounted on military vehicles include the IED Countermeasures Equipment (ICE) and the Warlock, both of which use low-power radio frequency energy to block the signals of radio controlled explosives initiators, such as cell phones, satellite phones, and long-range cordless telephones. The Army recently ordered thousands of these radiofrequency jammer devices. However, experts reportedly caution that the jammers may only be partially effective because they must be set to operate within the right frequency range in order to stop an IED.6

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Don McBarnet, International Security Correspondent

“One could say that this new sort of hybrid warfare is defined by the fact that there is no real distinction between war and peace. This is a signal from the Kremlin to the West that basically the old days are over. Russia is coming back on the scene and saying, ‘We are strong and it is time for you to realize that you need to respect us.’” Yet hybrid warfare is almost always deniable.

Tomas Ries, senior lecturer National Defense College, Sweden.

BBC News 6 November 2014

I

T IS a cliché of warfare to ‘know your enemy’ and in its long form, this is a quote from Sun Tzu. The value of this thought is to look very carefully at what is happening on the ground in the Ukraine, or elsewhere. This article is going to use the Ukraine, as an example. This is information from a recent (2015) report in Jane’s. At a 14 February conference in the southern city of Dnepropetrovsk, Lieutenant General Ruslan Homchak, the head of the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South, and others involved in the combat in the eastern regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, along with a team from the Potomac Foundation, a Washington, DC-based private defense and foreign affairs thinktank, briefed the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, and two defense attaches from the US Embassy in Kiev. The Potomac team was led by its director, Dr Phil Karber, a former senior official within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and General Wesley Clark (rtd), who served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) from 1997-2000. The main points made by the briefers were as follows: “There are currently 14,400 Russian troops on Ukrainian territory backing up the 29,300 illegally armed formations of separatists in eastern Ukraine. These units are well equipped with the latest main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, plus hundreds of pieces of tube and rocket artillery. There are also 29,400 Russian troops in Crimea and 55,800 massed along the border with eastern Ukraine.

“Russian units have made heavy use of electronic warfare (EW) and what appear to be high-power microwave (HPM) systems to jam not

only the communications and reconnaissance assets of the Ukrainian armed forces but to also disable the surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by ceasefire monitoring teams from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Russian EW teams have targeted the Schiebel Camcopter UAVs operated by the monitors and “melted the on board electronics so that drones just fly around uncontrolled in circles before they crash to the ground”, said one of the briefers at the conference.”

The Tactical Wheeled and Tracked Vehicles on the Ground in The Ukraine

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

New Types of Warfare, New Countermeasures…

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

ADVANCED CONTERMEASURE

This report provides a snapshot at a date in February 2015 of the fighting vehicles on the ground in the Ukraine. And the point that is being underlined here is that this is ‘full spectrum’ warfare: main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles are there on the ground, but the conflict is also being waged by electronic, microwave and other complex weaponry. To restate the point, if these forces were going to be prevailed against on the ground through conventional warfare, similar forces would need to be available. Although the prevailing opinion in the NATO capitals is to cut back, cancel or postpone new wheeled and tracked fighting vehicles, conventional means of confronting opposing forces is still undoubtedly potentially necessary.

IISS – International Institute for Strategic Studies The influential military strategic think tank, IISS, takes this argument further. They present the case that these tactics represent a “grave threat” to

Lightweight, compact, MIL-SPEC countermeasures capable of producing one million pounds of recoil www.TenCateABDS.com

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 9 10:16:56 AM TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 4 2/24/2015

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

If these forces were going to be prevailed against on the ground through conventional warfare, similar forces would need to be available

NATO’s collective security because they operate “in gray areas that exploit seams in the alliance”.

Western policymakers may anticipate that some current or potential state or non-state adversaries will also learn from these hybrid-warfare activities, potentially including states in East Asia or the Middle East.7

The New York Times Highlights a Growing International Use of IEDs While noting the trend that IISS refer to in the Military Balance, there is also a parallel tendency for the spread of IEDs. The New York Times notes this. Jonathan M. George, of HMS Inc., a private company that analyses the use of IEDs and consults on countermeasures, maintains a database on cases, gathered from public documents and news reports, that military officers consider reliable enough to cite in public statements. George said the count of improvised bombs in Afghanistan had

10 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

grown from 515 in 2006 to 705 in 2007, 828 in 2008 and 955 in 2009 up to October. But equally importantly he tracks the number of IED attacks in the rest of the world: 3,267 in 2006, 4,027 in 2007, 4,273 in 2008 and 2,121 in 2009 up to October.8

Battlefield Dominance through Innovation The aim of this article has been to marshal the case for taking seriously the immediacy of hybrid war within Europe, Central Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Latin America and Australasia should possibly be included as well.

All these countries will be assessing their tactical tracked and wheeled vehicle needs in the face of a more complex threat. If NATO alliance members are not responding, many other countries are doing so. And the likelihood of innovative ways of installing counter measures on fighting vehicles so that soldiers’ lives are protected will no doubt be a strong contender.

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Mary Dub, Editor

“Recognizing the critical impact RD&E (Research, Development and Engineering) has on battlefield success, the Army Chief of Staff’s vision for the Army of 2025 and beyond establishes a bi-modal focal point for RDECOM. First, identify those technologies that will permit the Army to reduce the Brigade Combat Team size by 2025, while maintaining, if not increasing combat power. Secondly, focus the Enterprise’s RD&E on developing the next generation technologies needed to ensure the Army is highly-deployable and prepared to dominate the battlefield FY2015 to FY 2040 and beyond.”

Dale A Ormond, Director US Army RDECOM Research, Development and Engineering Command.9 (2015)

T

HIS QUOTATION from the US Army’s Research, Development and Engineering Command, illustrates the essential dilemma confronting acquisition of new technologies or upgrades to equipment. The US military is tasked with the need to reduce their manpower and budget, while increasing power, but at the same time they are tasked with adopting innovation that may enable the United States to ‘dominate the battlefield in the future’. This is a tough task. But the US military is certainly assessing new ideas and technologies, as are many other countries. In a recent report on the global market for armored and counter IED vehicles by Strategic Defense Intelligence (2014-24) the global armored and counter IED vehicles market is expected to experience a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 3.33%.10 Asia Pacific followed by North America are expected to be the largest armored and counter IED vehicle markets with cumulative market share of more than 54%. The IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles) segment is expected to dominate the armored vehicles market with a share of 30.3%.

11 per cent to around 2.47 trillion rupees ($40 billion) for the fiscal year 2015-2016 starting on April 1, according to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s federal budget speech.

The allocation for defense in the current fiscal year is 2.2 trillion rupees ($35 billion).11 In February 2015, India’s Kalyani group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems entered into a joint venture, the first of its kind since India raised the ceiling on foreign investors’ stakes. “This (JV) joint venture will include a wide range of technologies and systems, like Missile Technology, Remote Weapon Systems and Advanced Armor Solutions,” according to an Indian government press release.

It is perhaps worth noting that ‘advanced armor solutions’ and other innovative technologies are on its shopping list. Similarly, the Indian government is expected to procure new main battle tanks and upgrade existing T–72 tanks.

The SDI report highlights that the Asia Pacific region, as a whole, is expected to lead the global armored and counter IED vehicles market.

Thriving Indian Market

Middle East, Africa and Latin America Also Present Vibrant Development

The SDI report notes that the Indian MoD is in the process of modernizing its military including its armored vehicles fleet to strengthen its capabilities especially in the IFV segment. India is modestly increasing its defense spending by

In the 2014-24 period, Saudi Arabia and Israel are both expected to lead the armored and counter IED vehicles market in the Middle East. As has been the case in the past, Saudi Arabia is in the market for IFV’s. Similarly in

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

The Global Market for Armored and Counter IED Vehicles

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

OCCUPANT SURVIVABILITY

ABDS Sentinel X™ can mitigate the deadly effects of underbody blast and reduce casualties and injuries including TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)

www.TenCateABDS.com

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 11 10:16:56 AM TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 5 2/24/2015

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

As societies become more sensitive to the human cost of warfare there is a consequent increase in the market for counter IED blast capabilities

South America, Brazil may lead the armored and counter IED vehicles sector. Demand for armored and counter IED vehicles in Africa is expected to reach US$1.2 billion by 2024.
 Different types of vehicle demonstrate different levels of demand: Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and Main Battle Tanks are thought to offer strong demand potential, while
IFVs may account for the highest expenditure in the global armored and counter IED vehicles market. Main battle tanks are calculated to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 4.27%. SDI calculates that the scheduled withdrawal of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan and the integration of anti-mine armors on all vehicles will result in a marginal reduction in the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle market. While, in contrast, the market size for Light Multirole Vehicles is expected to register an increase.

Demand Drivers and Growth Stimulators Identified The report analyses a number of key drivers of demand. One driver is the rise of asymmetric warfare. Another issue to note is the secondary

12 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

use of military vehicles for peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. For many armies the drive to modernize frequently calls for innovative technologies and retrofitting legacy vehicles with new capabilities. As societies become more sensitive to the human cost of warfare there is a consequent increase in the market for counter IED blast capabilities. The data presents the case for a tendency for wheeled armored vehicles to be more popular than tracked vehicles.

But while a strong case can be made for a growing world market there are areas of weakness. In the US and Western Europe there is the reorientation of the US and allied forces after the Afghan war and the historic high cost of new technology armor solutions leading to cancellation of programs. There is also a resurgent call for upgrades of legacy vehicles and unmanned systems that substitute for more traditional armored vehicles.

South Africa has been modernizing rapidly and is expected to be in the market for IFVs. It is also thought to be in the market for MRAPs. Algeria is also expected to present with buoyant demand.

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Expected the Unexpected…

“Our conventional superiority creates a compelling logic for states and nonstate actors to move out of the traditional mode of war and seek some niche capability or some unexpected combination of technologies and tactics to gain an advantage. Thus, we need to explore the nature of alternatives and the corresponding investments we must make to better posture ourselves for a projected world of more unconventional adversaries.”

Gen. Mattis (retired) United States Marine Corps, 11th commander of United States Central Command.12

F

ORMER US Marine Corps Gen Mattis was one of the early identifiers of hybrid warfare, what he called the ‘Four Block War’.

He has also argued vigorously for better force protection for the armed forces and innovation.

And it is the future need to continue trialling and adopting innovative force protection techniques that this report has focused on.

Improved force protection with fewer injuries and less lethality from explosive blasts can only help meet the demand for force protection and a lower risk for soldiers when boots are put on the ground.

Novel Use of Accelerometers and Sensors The impact of the lethality of IEDs and their

devastating capacity to wound and damage brains is one of the lasting human consequences for coalition forces of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the period of reconsideration and reorientation that we are now in, some observers repeat the phrase that became common parlance after World War One: ‘Never Again’. It is following through with that thought that some ingenious engineers are preparing counter measures to better protect soldiers on operation who are hit by IEDs or other blast. One such, which is in product assessment with the US military, is a vehicle-mounted counter measure system that detects a blast and, microseconds later, fires countermeasures downwards like a shotgun blast, to keep the vehicle down.

TenCate Advanced Armor ABDSTM (Advanced

ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEM

Don McBarnet, International Security Correspondent

TENCATE ADVANCED ARMOR

ADVANCED ELECTRONICS

ABDS Sentinel X™

can combat rollover, command control sub-systems (i.e. air-bags) and protect high value/ high sensitivity payloads ABDS TEST FOOTAGE’

www.TenCateABDS.com WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 13 10:16:57 AM TCAA_DIR-Pub_3rdV_v3_250x57mm.indd 6 2/24/2015

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

Improved force protection with fewer injuries and less lethality from explosive blasts can only help meet the demand for force protection and a lower risk for soldiers when boots are put on the ground

Blast Defeat System) accelerometer sensors detect the underbelly blast and its location. At the same time, its on-board processor predicts where the event is and whether it is life threatening.

If it is, it triggers the countermeasures, which fire metal sand, according to Joe Dobriski, director of the company’s air, sea and land survivability systems. The sensors and microprocessors can calibrate the response so that if the event is a hole in the road, the counter measure is minor, but if it is a significant blast equivalent countervailing pressures to the blast are fired. The intended result of this innovative use of microprocessors and sensors is to mitigate the impact of the blast on the humans within the vehicle by decreased energy absorption, lowered vehicle jump heights, so that injuries are reduced.

It should also mean that the injuries that do occur are more minor. The intention is also to mitigate the risk of Traumatic Brain Injury, by reducing the impact on the brain from the upward trajectory of the blast and then the downward compression afterwards. Lumbar injuries should also be reduced.

In the Shadow of the Cancellation of the Ground Combat Vehicle In October 2014 Col. James Schirmer, program manager for armored fighting vehicles in the United States, said that a future fighting vehicle program could start as early as 2019. Until then, the Army is studying budding ground vehicle technologies and potential designs. But, while force protection is still a high priority, there is also stiff competition from other counter measures that aim to detect and potentially destroy IEDs. Although the Army is interested in groundbreaking vehicle technologies, Bassett stressed that a future fighting vehicle design has to be economically feasible.

14 | WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM

Brig. Gen. David Bassett, head of the ground combat systems program executive office, talking about innovations, added in general that: “We’ve spent a lot of time in the Army chasing those kinds of requirements that proved neither designable nor affordable”. A huge technological breakthrough “may be what we want and what we would like to see, but it has got to be what we can actually build and afford.” But on a more optimistic note he added: For instance, the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) is working on various science and technology projects that may be mature enough to be integrated into the new vehicle. Additionally, “we have General Dynamics and BAE both under contract to do some concept exploration work starting with the work they’ve already done before [for GCV].”

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) works on Soldier Protection Systems The critical central importance of soldier protection systems in the United States, and also in European and Asian armies, should not be underestimated. DARPA’s Soldier Protection Program is working on new materials that intend in a very different way to achieve similar goals to the microprocessor counter measures.

Guided by mechanics-based modelling, new materials with superior mechanical properties are being developed and formulated into novel ballistic armor systems. In addition, hierarchical structures that can achieve survivability against high-intensity under-body blasts are being developed to provide greatly enhanced protection to the occupants of both tactical and combat vehicles. These approaches aim to enable new lightweight armor that can defeat a broad spectrum of combined threats.13

SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIONS IN ACTIVE BLAST COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS FOR MOUNTED SOLDIER PROTECTION

References:

Munich Security Report 2015 Collapsing Order, Reluctant Guardians

http://www.eventanizer.com/MSC2015/MunichSecurityReport2015.pdf

1

2

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq: Effects and Countermeasures

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress Clay Wilson Specialist in Technology and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress 3

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress Clay Wilson Specialist in Technology and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress

4

pdf STUDY OF OCCUPANT RESPONSES IN A MINE BLAST USING MADYMO

Anant Kendale, TASS Americas, Livonia, MI 48152, USA Rohit Jategaonkar, TASS Americas, Livonia, MI 48152, USA Mutaz Shkoukani, TASS Americas, Livonia, MI 48152, USA Geng Zhang, Michigan Engineering Services, Ann Arbor, MI, 48108, USA0eca4fe331aaaa0387ab-39017777f15f 755539d3047328d4a990.r16.cf3...

5

http://www.wired.com/2012/10/mrap/ SPENCER ACKERMAN SECURITY

6

10.01.12 3:00 PM PENTAGON SALUTES ITSELF FOR ARMORED TRUCK IT DIDN’T WANT IN THE FIRST PLACE

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq: Effects and Countermeasures

Congressional Research Service Report for Congress Clay Wilson Specialist in Technology and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress 7

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-hybrid-warfare-ukraine-could-inspire-others/26842566.html The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) issued the warning in its annual Military Balance report, which was released on February 11.

8

The New York Times: Makeshift Bombs Spread Beyond Afghanistan, Iraq By THOM SHANKER

9

Published: October 28, 2009

http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net/e2/c/downloads/358954.pdf Dale A Ormond director US Army RDECOM s(2015)

10

STRATEGIC PLAN ENABLING BATTLEFIELD DOMINANCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY FY 2015-FY 2040 http://www.reportlinker.com/p02119207-summary/Global-Armored-and-Counter-IED-Vehicles-Market.html

11

12

The Global Armored And Counter IED Vehicles Market 2014-2024 Report, published by Strategic Defence Intelligence

http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/is-indias-defense-budget-adequate/ Is India’s Defense Budget Adequate?

New Delhi’s defense spending will rise modestly in the new fiscal year. By Franz-Stefan Gady March 03, 2015

US Naval Institute Proceedings Magazine Issue: November 2005 Vol. 132/11/1,233Future Warfare: The Rise of Hybrid Wars

By Lieutenant General James N. Mattis, USMC, and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Hoffman, USMCR (Ret.) Remember General Krulak’s Three Block War? Are you ready for the Four Block War? You better be 13

DARPA SOLDIER PROTECTION SYSTEMS

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Programs/Soldier_Protection_Systems_(SPS).aspx

WWW.DEFENCEINDUSTRYREPORTS.COM | 15

Defence Industry Reports… the Defence Industry Reports….the leading specialist combined leading specialist online research andcombined networking online research and networking resource for senior military and resource for senior military and defence industry professionals. defence industry professionals.

• Up minute Industry News other content available • to Upthe to the minute Industryand and Technology Technology News andand other content available to to allallsite users on a free of charge, open access basis. site users on a free of charge, open access basis.

• Qualified signed upupmembers abletoto access premium content • Qualified signed members are are able access premium content SpecialSpecial Reports andand interact with usinga variety a variety of advanced Reports interact withtheir their peers peers using of advanced onlineonline networking tools. networking tools.

• Designed to help usersidentify identify new solutions, understand the the • Designed to help users newtechnical technical solutions, understand implications of differenttechnical technical choices select the the bestbest solutions implications of different choicesand and select solutions available. available.

• Thought Leadership Advice and from internationally recognised • Thought Leadership – -Advice andguidance guidance from internationally recognised defence industry key opinion leaders. leaders defence industry key opinion • Peer Input - Contributions from senior military personnel and defence industry • Peer Input – Contributions from senior military personnel and defence professionals industry professionals.

•

Independent Editorial Content - Expert and authoritative analysis from award

•

Unbiased Supplier Provided Content

•

Designed to facilitate debate

• Independent Editorial Content – Expert and authoritative analysis from winning journalists and leading industry commentators award winning journalists and leading industry commentators.

•

Unbiased Supplier Provided Content.

•

Designed debate.

• Writtento tofacilitate the highest professional standards

•

Written to the highest professional standards.

Visit: www.defenceindustryreports.com