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Electronic Tech Enables Marines To Detect Enemy Threats
by U.S. Marine Corps Matthew Gonzales, Systems Command
June 11, 2019
Marine Corps Systems Command plans to implement a new form of
technology that allows the Marine Air-Ground Task Force to identify
enemy activity.
The technology employs a vehicle-borne tool
that enables Marines to discern what happens inside the
electromagnetic spectrum. It connects several independent electronic
capabilities into a single unit and allows Marines to manage threats
and reactions from a central location.
“Marines are going to
be able to make decisions on what they are seeing,” said Lt. Col.
Thomas Dono, a team lead in MCSC’s Command Elements Systems.
Marines currently use systems to counter IEDs that block signals
used by adversaries to remotely detonate explosive devices. The new
technology is a man-packable and vehicle-mounted system, which will
be able to be deployed on any Marine vehicle.
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March 13, 2019 - A U.S. Marine walks through a village wearing a backpack system used to counter remotely detonated explosive devices. Marine Corps Systems Command plans to implement a system similar to this device that can be mounted on any Marine Corps vehicle. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
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“This emergent technology combines a number of current
capabilities into one system, thereby reducing the need for
additional training and logistic support to manage multiple
systems,” said Col. Dave Burton, program manager for Intelligence
Systems at MCSC.
Once fielded, the system will enhance
situational awareness on the battlefield.
“We will be able to
do all of the functions of similar systems as well as sense and then
display what is going on in the electronic spectrum,” said Dono.
“Then we can communicate that to Marines for their decision-making
process.”
MCSC is taking an evolutionary approach that allows
the command to field the equipment faster and then gradually improve
the capability as time progresses, Dono said. As the technology
evolves, the Marine Corps can make incremental improvements as
needed.
The Corps will work with Marines to test a variety of
displays that track the electromagnetic spectrum, looking into each
display’s user interface. The command can then determine if
improvements must be made to ensure usability.
“It’s similar
to what Apple does with the iPhone,” explained Dono. “They have many
different displays and they want to make it natural and intuitive,
so it’s not something that’s clunky, confusing and has to be
learned.”
MCSC plans to field the vehicle-mounted system
around the first quarter of 2020. When implemented, the equipment
will continue to grow in capability to better prepare Marines to
take on the digital battlefield.
“This system is important
because it is going to allow Marines to operate inside the
electromagnetic spectrum, make decisions and act upon that
information,” said Dono. “That’s something they’ve never had to
consider or think about in the past.”
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