UAS Combat Threat Survivability SURVICE Engineering Company Ron Dexter SURVICE Engineering Company 4141 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Suite 209 Dayton, OH 45431 PH: (937) 431-9914 ron.dexter@survice.com

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from a “wingman” perspective to a “point” position UAS survivability is not a “nice to have” The “disposable” tag is no longer applicable UAS increase survivability of assets AND individuals Commanders have come to depend on them Troops have come to depend on them “Survivability and reliability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

Signature Management & Survivability Onion Avoid Encounter Situational Awareness & Tactics Distributed Information Networked Resources Avoid Detection and Acquisition Signature Management & Countermeasures Radar Obscurants Electronic Avoid Hit Jammers Countermeasures & Active Protection Infrared Maneuvers Acoustic Aim Point Bias Decoys - Avoid Damage And Kill Redundancy Hardening Shield Armor Maintain Readiness Susceptibility Battle Damage and Repair Vulnerability

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!

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 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 SYSTEM Life Cycle COST X Survivability Trades: Finding the OPTIMUM SURVIVABILITY INVESTMENT COST of SURVIVABILITY FEATURES

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

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Balanced Survivability Design SUSCEPTIBILITY REDUCTION VULNERABILITY REDUCTION Threat Suppression Detection & Engagement Avoidance Lethal Countermeasures Minimize Exposure Damage Tolerance & Graceful Failure Warning Off-Board Cueing Targeting Systems Stand-Off Weapons All Weather & Night Operations Platform Performance Radar Warning IR Missile Launch Sensors Missile Attack Warning Anti-Radiation Missiles Aircraft Armament Robust Structures Component & Sub- system Redundancy Component Location Shielding Fire Detection Fire Suppression Explosion Suppression Eliminate Components Reconfigurable 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 Survivability Enhancements Must be Both Affordable & Supportable