The Power of the Payload: Innovation for Intelligent Systems
(Room 261-262)
03 May 16
10:30 AM
-
11:00 AM
Tracks:
Air, Defense, Ground, Maritime, Research and Development, Technical Track: Sensors and Payloads
The continued development and proliferation of autonomous and unmanned systems has been highlighted as a priority throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) and across the Services. Their past successes and future potential are unquestioned. However, as the DoD moves towards the next generation of autonomous and unmanned systems, it must ensure that they remain poised for success in future operating environments, which are projected to be characterized by challenges ranging across the entire spectrum of warfare, from low-end counter-insurgency operations to high-end competition with near-peer adversaries. Challenged by anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, the rapid pace of technology advancement, and fiscal austerity, unmanned systems must be interoperable, modular, and agile in order to continue to ensure that U.S. forces maintain military superiority. It is for this reason we argue that the development of the platform and the payload must be decoupled, placing the emphasis on the development of smart and agile payloads. The power of unmanned and autonomous systems comes not from the platforms per se, but from the payloads they leverage to expand sensor and communication networks. Therefore, the Navy is increasingly focused on maximizing payload capability in order to ensure that unmanned and autonomous systems fulfill their potential to transform the future of naval warfare. As Admiral Greenert wrote in his Proceedings article “Payloads Over Platforms,” “We will continue to work to decouple payload development from platform development…This model will help us to maintain our warfighting edge, build the Fleet capacity that keeps us forward, and improve our readiness for today’s missions.” In order to adapt and respond to changing threats, the payloads aboard autonomous and unmanned systems must be interoperable and modular. They must also possess scalable levels of autonomy, and new operational concepts, such as swarming and manned-unmanned integration. This paper will explore the benefits of decoupling the development of payloads from the development of platforms. We will discuss the emphasis on innovation within the payload in order to provide capabilities to the warfighter, achieve smarter and more agile systems, and maintain the pace of technology development. We will also highlight examples of ground-breaking efforts currently being conducted within U.S. defense laboratories that focus on innovative developments of unmanned systems’ payloads.