Air Combat Element Branch

The Air Combat Element (ACE) Branch identifies, analyzes and introduces new technology into the Marine Corps aviation community enhancing the warfighting capability for the air/ground team.

A current Air Combat Element project is Tier II Unmanned Aircraft System Concept Demonstrator. This platform technology effort is not intended to satisfy a material solution for the Marine Corps’ Tier II UAS requirement, but rather is intended to:

• Serve as a test platform for emerging UAS technologies
• Facilitate the development of Tier II UAS tactics, techniques, and procedures
• Investigate future Tier II UAS concepts of employment
• Inform Tier II UAS program of record requirements 

The Tier II UAS Concept Demonstrator will be employed during an extended user evaluation in support of current operations. All data collected will be used to inform Marine Corps Tier II UAS program of record requirements. Among others, the Warfighting Laboratory intends to employ the Concept Demonstrator to investigate the following technologies:

• Advanced electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors
• Laser designators
• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors
• Multi and Hyper-spectral imaging sensors
• Communications and data relay payloads
• Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) payloads
• Heavy Fuel Engines (HFEs)
• Electric Engines

Command, Control, Communication, and Computers

The Command, Control, Communication, and Computers (C4) Branch identifies, experiments with, and analyzes new communication and information system technologies for the warfighter. C4 Branch supports numerous Marine Corps network developmental tasks and interoperability demonstrations to assess the potential impact of advanced C4 technologies on future expeditionary operations. Current C4 Projects:

Next Generation Command & Control (NGC2) is a developmental effort to produce a surrogate C2 architecture to support Enhanced Company Operations (ECO) and Enhanced MAGTF Operations (EMO). It is focused on increasing command and control capabilities from the squad to the MAGTF-level. This project focuses on the emerging Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking (MANET) concept which will ultimately allow for greater flexibility and reliability of tactical networks. Another focus area within NGC2 is Digital Tactical Communication System (DTCS). DTCS is a tactical communications system that uses Netted IRIDIUM to provide On-The-Move (OTM), Over-The-Horizon (OTH), and Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) voice and data capabilities at ranges greater than 200 miles.

Mobile Expeditionary Tactical Network-CLOC Enabler (METN-CE) is a mobile CLOC (Company Level Operations Cell) C4 concept demonstrator that seeks to provide a mobile company-level Combat Operations Center (COC) with enhanced C2 capabilities that are currently only available with fixed infrastructure organic to higher echelon organizations. The effort will provide OTM and OTH voice and data connectivity via a broadband data network path enabling secure internet access at the tactical level. It also provides MANET and DTCS OTM and OTH voice and data-over-radio connectivity. A CLOC enabling package provides support for intelligence efforts, combat operations, and in enhancing a commander’s battlefield situational awareness.

Network Management System- Tactical MANET (NMS-TM) is a project that aids the decision-making processes and administration of a tactical MANET in both simulation-based and real-time operational environments. NMS-TM enables users to predict, monitor, and control network behavior; this specifically includes viewing and remotely managing variables such as node status, node location, attached equipment, channel selection, frequencies, error rates, and network utilization.

Ground Combat Element

The Ground Combat Element (GCE) Branch identifies and investigates technologies supporting emerging requirements to enhance current and future operations of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The GCE Branch supports concept-based experimentation by providing emerging technologies and early prototype weapons systems. These are inserted into advanced warfighting concept scenarios for optimum evaluation.

Current Ground Combat Element projects include:

• Small Combat Tactical Vehicle Capsule (SCTVC) - SCTVC is a capsule designed to increase the survivability of the HMMWV while greatly increasing mobility. It has been designed to provide more protection as well as more room within the vehicle. It is a modular system that can be retrofitted onto the current family of HMMWVs.
• Combat Robotic Systems (CRS) - This initiative investigates current robotic technologies for the Ground Combat Element and develops tactic, techniques and procedures for their employment with maneuver elements. Initial testing will involve the Foster Miller MAARS platform and integrations with a single controller that also directs other robotic and sensing platforms.
• Counter Shooter Technologies - These technologies provide an ability to locate hostile fires from snipers or the more prevalent insurgent factions that harass forces during operations. Essentially, acoustic and infrared technology determines the shooter's location allowing forces to concentrate fires towards the shooter location.

Logistics Combat Element

The Logistics Combat Element (LCE) Branch identifies, analyzes and introduces new technologies into the Marine Corps logistics community that will provide an enhanced warfighting capability for the operational air/ground team.

Force Protection

The Force Protection (FP) section tracks, examines and conducts rigorous experimental reviews of new or emerging technologies with potential to protect individual Marines and Marine Corps units from life-threatening situations caused by improvised explosive devices, snipers and small arms fire.

Experimental Forward Operating Base

The Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) held the Marine Corps’ first annual energy summit in the summer of 2009. During the summit, General Conway identified the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) as the greatest threat to Marines and our Coalition partners. Support Convoys carrying fuel and bottled water are more exposed to this threat as they travel tenuous lines of communication throughout Afghanistan. The Commandant challenged industry and other government agencies to explore ways of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and bottled water in order to get Marines off the road.

The Experimental Forward Operating Base (ExFOB) is chartered to find materiel and non-materiel solutions that improve the efficiency of the operating forces. The team focused on three areas: efficient power generation, efficient shelters and water purification. These three areas are seen as key to reducing the amount of bulk liquids being transported across the battlefield. By improving the way Marines currently employ tactical generator sets while incorporating renewable energy sources a significant reduction in the use of fuel can be realized. The current generation of tactical shelters is inefficient. If we can increase the insulation properties of the tent and reduce the solar load on the structure the run time for environmental control units can be reduced. Finally, bottled water takes up the greatest percentage of bulk liquids transported in Afghanistan. A small unit water purification capability will reduce the requirement to transport bottled water down to the tactical level.

An Extended User Evaluation (EUE) with materiel and non-materiel solutions found at ExFOB will be deployed to Afghanistan in the fall of 2010. An operating force unit will use the Techniques, Tactics and Procedures (TTP’s) and equipment suite from ExFOB for an operational evaluation to test the military utility of the concept.

The Marine Corps has a problem and Additive Manufacturing has the potential to solve it. 

Our equipment inventories are continuing to age, critical components are encountering early and unpredictable failures and obsolescence challenges are getting worse as more domestic manufactures shut down fabrication lines or close their doors all together.  As a service, we need to be smaller, lighter, more lethal, more distributed, and more naval.

Each of the goals is jeopardized by arduous supply chains, massive distribution stores, obsolete equipment, and an obstructive acquisition cycle.  The solution is to increase MAGTF combat effectiveness through expeditionary capabilities and evolutionary advances in logistics chain flexibility, equipment readiness, and platform sustainability.  Additive Manufacturing has the potential to enable enhanced capabilities wherever the next fight arises to include distributed operations scenarios.