Long a tool of allies trying to foil improvised explosive devices, unmanned systems now may be entering the fray against friendly forces. Both terrorists and nation-states are striving to employ these systems, especially airborne platforms, to deploy new types of improvised threats against U.S. and coalition forces.
Many elements of the U.S. Defense Department are working on ways to counter enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) has joined the fight in part because the vehicles now are being used to deliver improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. JIDO’s rapid capability delivery gives it an edge in being able to rush countermeasures to the front.
Among the many tools JIDO is counting on to combat the UAV-IED threat is advanced information system technology. Better sensors for detection and tracking, coupled with new ways of data processing, could be key to defeating growing and emerging dangers in the battlespace.
JIDO is examining the different ways unmanned systems are being used today as well as how they might be used in the future. The organization’s red team is focusing on the unmanned systems challenge, and it is viewing several different unmanned technologies as burgeoning and potential threats. JIDO’s approach is to try to position itself to address new threats as, or even before, they appear.
“We anticipated this threat, as did many in the [Defense Department] community a few years ago,” relates Lt. Gen. Michael H. Shields, USA, JIDO’s director. “What we have done is organize in a way to both understand the threat and then be able to react and respond to it. Relatively recently, we were able to move and provide [countering] capability to theater with relatively quick turnaround.”
JIDO is addressing the new threat holistically, as it does with most improvised threats, he continues. This entails understanding adversarial networks that are leveraging the capability and technology; detecting, tracking and identifying; and assessing and exploiting the threat.
“Our adversaries are innovating,” the general states. “They are focusing on research and development. We continue to focus on the IED threat—the different methods of delivering those IEDs—and we are as busy as ever.”
One irony is that JIDO used robots extensively in its early days of combating IEDs in Iraq. The organization remains closely connected to the explosive ordnance disposal community, Gen. Shields allows, but JIDO also focuses on future enabling technologies that might enhance its existing capabilities.
“I can’t think of an organization that has transitioned and adapted to the threat more than JIDO,” he declares.
The Defense Department and political leadership continue to fund JIDO, especially through the Overseas Contingency Operations budget, with sufficient money to move rapidly as a quick reaction capability within the department, Gen. Shields imparts. He adds that, as JIDO’s director, he has the requisite authorities to act quickly to counter emerging threats. The organization also has modified its contract framework to provide greater flexibility and agility, along with cost savings, which the general describes as huge for JIDO.
Source: Signal