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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Joint Countermine (JCM) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) provides pre-production systems to the warfighter for his assessment of military utility which will be a primary factor regarding systems acquisition decisions. The participating technologies and systems were selected because they were: (1) judged to fulfill a critical countermine need; and (2) technologically mature enough so that their acquisition could be accelerated if they were judged by the warfighter to provide exceptional value. USACOM is responsible for assessing military utility of the demonstrated technologies. The vision of this ACTD is to fill in the current capability gaps in the critical sea to land transition zone to enable seamless movement during amphibious operation and subsequent movement to contact with the enemy.

Two demonstrations of countermine novel systems and technologies were planned and conducted. Demonstration I, managed by the Army, was conducted in 1997 during Joint Task Force Exercise 97-3 at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. Nine novel systems participated in this demonstration, including four reconnaissance systems and five breaching/clearing systems.

The four Reconnaissance Systems that participated in Demonstration I:

• Littoral Remote Sensing. Optimizes the collection geometry of national systems and applies advanced algorithms to detect/locate shallow water and beach obstacles.



• Magic Lantern (Adaptation). Uses gated lidar imaging from an aircraft/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for detection of minefields and obstacles in the surf zone and craft landing zone (CLZ).



• Airborne Standoff Minefield Detection System. Uses both passive infrared and active laser technologies to detect and identify the boundaries of patterned and scatterable anti-tank minefields.



• Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis. Uses a multi-spectral optical sensor system based in an UAV to detect minefields/obstacles in the beach/CLZ region.

The five Breaching/Clearing Novel Systems that participated in Demonstration I:

• Explosive Neutralization Advanced Technology Demonstration. Consists of three explosive systems and a fire control system (FCS). Only the FCS was demonstrated.



• Joint Amphibious Mine Countermeasures (JAMC). Employs remote-controlled bulldozers to clear mines and light obstacles from the high water mark to the CLZ.



• Clausen Power Blade. Uses an armored D-8 bulldozer having a standard angle cutting edge with a steel track on a traveling belt to mechanically move mines and heavy obstacles from assault lanes.



• Close-In Man Portable Mine Detector. Uses a standoff infrared thermal imager, a confirming ground penetrating radar, and a metal detection sensor to detect surface and buried metallic and non-metallic land mines.



• Off Route Smart Mine Clearance (ORSMC). Uses a tele-operated High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle, replicating critical signatures of target vehicles to clear a route by causing the launch of smart mine munitions.

Additionally, the JCM ACTD developed and deployed an enhanced C4I architecture during both demonstrations with the following systems:

• Joint Countermine Operational Simulation (JCOS). Embarked in USS INCHON for use by the Mine Countermeasures Task Group Commander to conduct mission planning, course of action analysis, training and post mission support.



• Joint Countermine Application. Intended to be the key element to processing and integrating the countermine information being transferred via the networks. This application runs as a software segment on the Joint Maritime Command Information System and the Global Command and Control System and was installed at all command nodes.

Demonstration I was scripted, emphasizing live system play, and provided a dress rehearsal for the primary Demonstration II. It concluded that all the novel systems except JAMC showed promise of enhancing legacy system of systems' capabilities.

Demonstration II, managed by the Navy, intended to provide the warfighter with an opportunity to plan and exercise with the novel systems, C4I and JCOS, was conducted in June 1998 during a Maritime Combined Operations Training (MARCOT)/Unified Spirit exercise near Stephenville, Newfoundland. The Director and members of the DOT&E staff observed the demonstration. All novel systems from Demonstration I, with the exception of JAMC and ORSMC, participated in this demonstration. The following additional systems were also demonstrated:

• Advanced Sensors. This APL system, deployed by a Dolphin ROV, uses a toroidal volume search sonar, a high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar and a laser line scan optical sensor to detect, localize and classify mine-like objects.



• Advanced Lightweight Influence Sweep System. Uses a remote controlled QST-35A boat equipped with acoustic and magnetic signature systems to emulate amphibious assault craft. It is designed to conduct high-speed influence sweeping operations against sophisticated mines in the shallow and very shallow water environments.



• Near Term Mine Reconnaissance System. Deployed from M/V KNOR for this demo, this system is intended for deployment from a submarine to conduct clandestine mine warfare missions. The recoverable Underwater Unmanned Vehicle carries a multi-beam, active-search sonar and a side scan classification sonar designed to locate and classify mine-like objects.

The JCM ACTD program with strong USACOM support has done an excellent job of demonstrating advanced technologies that may contribute to a seamless transition of countermine operations from the sea to the land. By making these novel technologies available to the warfighters for use in JTFEX 97 and MARCOT/US, this vital ACTD provided an opportunity to mainstream mine warfare operations into "Operational Maneuver from the Sea" and to obtain an early evaluation of the new technologies military utility. USACOM's Analysis, Documentation, and Systems Evaluation Cell developed an Integrated Assessment Plan that was used to generate analysis and data collection plans and specify the Critical Operational Issues (COIs) for the JCM capabilities.

During the demonstrations, both a single system and a system of systems perspective was maintained with regard to the novel systems. Rather than look at the demonstrations as having "exit criteria" or "pass/fail" standards, they looked for consistency with expectations when addressing critical operational issues. These qualitative measures of success were then decomposed into quantitative measures of effectiveness and system-level measures of performance, which were widely reviewed by the countermine community. Their analysis then provided the basis for USACOM's understanding of the potential that the ACTD elements bring to national countermine capabilities, which when compared against their understanding of current countermine capabilities, forms an assessment of military utility. JHU-APL analysis and USACOM's assessment of the Demonstration II data are still in progress and are expected to be complete in early FY99.

DOT&E strongly supports this cooperative effort among the three component Services, government labs and industry, to develop and demonstrate naval, shore, and space technologies that will address the critical countermine mission. This ACTD has helped to raise mine warfare awareness and it is important that these efforts continue in order to meet the mine challenges presented by our enemies today and in the foreseeable future.