UNCLASSIFIED
UAS Combat Threat Survivability
Ron Dexter
SURVICE Engineering Company
4141 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Suite 209
Dayton, OH 45431
PH: (937) 431-9914
[email protected]
UNCLASSIFIED
Combat Threat Survivability
Abbreviated Definition:
 The ability to be mission capable after an encounter with a hostile threat
Requirements for UAS survivability will morph and grow as their applicability
transitions from a “wingman” perspective to a “point” position
UAS survivability is not a “nice to have”
 The “disposable” tag is no longer applicable
 UAS increase survivability of assets AND individuals
 Commanders have come to depend on them
 Troops have come to depend on them
“Survivability and reliability are critical to the operational effectiveness of our
UAV systems, and must be factored into their initial design”
USD(AT&L) letter 27 Jan 2005
UNCLASSIFIED
Survivability Onion
Avoid Encounter
Situational Awareness & Tactics
Distributed
Information
Avoid Detection
and Acquisition
Networked
Resources
Signature Management &
Countermeasures
Obscurants
Radar
Avoid Hit
Electronic
Jammers
Countermeasures &
Maneuvers
Infrared
Active Protection
Acoustic Aim Point
Decoys
Bias
Avoid Damage
And Kill
Redundancy
Shield
Susceptibility
Vulnerability
Hardening
Armor
Maintain
Readiness
Battle Damage
and Repair
UNCLASSIFIED
UAS Survivability is Challenging
Primitive threats can be lethal to some
Systems are very weight sensitive
Limited defensive equipment
Difficult to build-in redundancy
Reduced situational awareness itself
Challenging ability to react to situations and damage
UAS are being engaged and damaged by traditional threats!
UNCLASSIFIED
Effects of Attrition
A small 0.2% attrition rate results in 50% of assets lost after only 350 sorties
Ref: JAS Aircraft Survivability Journal; Fall 2008
Survivability Cost Effectiveness
SYSTEM
Life Cycle
COST
Initial survivability
enhancements save
more assets than
they cost, bringing
down life cycle cost
Added features may reduce
losses, but the number of UAS
saved may not recover their cost
X
Survivability Trades:
Finding the OPTIMUM
SURVIVABILITY
INVESTMENT
COST of SURVIVABILITY FEATURES
UNCLASSIFIED
Items for Consideration
UAS, UAV, RPV, RPS: By whatever acronym you choose, these platforms
have become an integral part of the battlefield as they support lives on the
ground, sea, and air
As UAS benefits increase, so does their potential as a threat to enemy forces;
thus they are being targeted just as historical manned aircraft have been
Many manned system survivability enhancement techniques and
technologies are applicable to UAS as well
UAS are not always considered “disposable” as lives depend on them for key
battlefield information
To be cost effective, survivability requirements must be defined in the early
strategic planning stages and enforced throughout the design, and lifecycle
UNCLASSIFIED
Backup
UNCLASSIFIED
Balanced Survivability Design
SUSCEPTIBILITY REDUCTION
Threat
Suppression
Detection & Engagement Avoidance
Lethal
Countermeasures
Anti-Radiation Missiles
Aircraft Armament
Minimize
Exposure
•
•
•
•
Off-Board Cueing
Targeting Systems
Stand-Off Weapons
All Weather & Night
Operations
• Platform Performance
Warning
• Radar Warning
• IR Missile Launch
Sensors
• Missile Attack
Warning
COMMON
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Signature Reduction (RF, IR, Optical, etc.)
Electronic Noise Jamming & Deceivers
Tactics & Off-Board Support
Expendables (Chaff, Flares, Decoys)
Optical & Electro-Optical Countermeasures
Crew Skill & Experience
Situational Awareness/Networked systems
VULNERABILITY
REDUCTION
Damage Tolerance
& Graceful Failure
• Robust Structures
• Component & Subsystem Redundancy
• Component Location
• Shielding
• Fire Detection
• Fire Suppression
• Explosion Suppression
• Eliminate Components
• Reconfigurable
Survivability Enhancements Must be Both Affordable & Supportable