Failsafe Combat ID proving elusive

'Friendly Wire', 'Blue on Blue' - whatever it's called the risks have always been there and coalition operations may make such incidents more likely. There are no simple solutions.
While Australian forces have not been involved in fratricide incidents in current combat operations, Defence is concerned to eliminate as far as possible the risk of casualties from friendly fire, especially in coalition operations. But despite extensive research and development in this field an effective, failsafe Battlefield Combat Identification (CID) system is proving elusive.

The recently issued Defence Capability Plan 2006-2016 records some movement with Project Land 146 - Combat Identification for Land Forces since the previous DCP. This multi-phased project aims to introduce CID capabilities to enhance the operational effectiveness of ADF Land Force elements while minimising the risk of fratricide.

Under its current first phase the project is conducting studies into CID approaches and technologies while also acquiring an interim CID baseline capability to equip a mechanised Deployable Battle Group in 1 Bde, presumably based around infantry, cavalry and tank forces, for coalition operations.

However we understand that this interim capability is just that and that the search for a more advanced solution to meet the full requirements of Land 146 continues. According to the DCP the remainder of the Land Force will then be equipped with the CID capability under the second phase in the 2009-2011 time frame.

With its key role of positive identification of the location and status of friendly forces, Combat ID, with situational awareness a major feature, is an important component of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) permitting the precise application of firepower in the battlespace. Thus Combat ID will be among the many NCW components of the First Networked Brigade to be achieved in 2012 and the Second Networked Brigade two years later.

The third phase will be the acquisition of new generation CID capabilities enabling the ADF to remain interoperable with coalition forces and further enhance the combat soldier's effectiveness. But this is well into the future and roughly coincides with (and will form part of) the ADF's aspiration for the Seamless NCW Force of 2020.

The interim solution being acquired comprises a number of low tech basic identification systems that have been adopted by US and Coalition forces including Australia for troops and combat vehicles on operations in the Middle East. They include:

* Infrared (IR) TAG, a short-range disposable infrared transmitter is detected by night vision devices at a range of 2000 metres but cannot be seen by the naked eye.

* IR Patches and Tape, made with infrared reflective material. When illuminated with an IR source, they can be seen clearly by night vision goggles (NVG) at long-range. They can be used on soldiers' uniforms, vehicles and other kit.

* Glow Tape reflective patches for wear on helmets or uniforms, glow in an infrared beam, viewable by night vision goggles.

* CID Panels, mounted on vehicles or used to designate areas. A thermal layer incorporated in the panel presents a thermal signature (hot or cold) when viewed through a thermal device.

The drawback to these solutions is that hostile forces with similar equipment can detect them (as enemy targets) and they can be obscured through adverse weather or smoke and human errors also hamper positive identification. Another problem is that modern weapons often have an engagement range that exceeds the sensor range of FLIR or NVG.

Ground force situational awareness capabilities have been improved through enhanced situational awareness (SA), with digital networks such as Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below (FBCB2), Blue Force Tracking (BFT) and now Coalition Force Tracker (CFT) and the Battle Management Systems to be acquired for the ADF under Land 75 and Land 125. These systems are designed to provide near real-time information to warfighters on where they and coalition forces are, and where the enemy is. But effective combat identification requires more than the near real-time operational
Following the demise of the US Army's Battlefield Combat Identification System (BCIS), a costly system based on the transmission and reception of encrypted signals and which was not based on NATO standards necessary for interoperability, Raytheon developed the Battlefield Target Identification Device (BTID) which conforms to NATO STANAG 4579 ensuring interoperability among similarly equipped NATO and coalition forces during joint and combined operations.

BTID works by having an electronic interrogator on the firing platform send an encrypted millimetre-wave Ka Band [33-40 GHz] radio wave towards the target. Transponders on the target receive the signal and send an encrypted 'reply' signal back to the firing platform, confirming its friendly status, with a working range of about 5km.

There are now three STANAG 4579 compatible systems, BTID (US Army by Raytheon), BTID (British Army by Thales), and Battlefield Identification Friend or Foe (BIFF - French Army by Thales). Each offers slightly different features. The US version is slaved to the main armament, while the UK version is steerable, so identification does not require the weapon to be pointed at the target. The French version offers a bolt-on feature for ad-hoc installation. However it seems that none of these systems has been broadly adopted possibly because of their vulnerability to jamming.

A family of combat ID solutions were trialed at the UK's Salisbury Plain Training Area during September-October 2005 under the CCID ACTD (advanced concept technology demonstrations) Military Utility Assessment program. They included:

* BTIDs (described above)

* ITT's Radio-Based Combat Identification (RBCI) system

* RF (radio frequency) Tags

* Cubic's Optical Combat Identification System (O-CIDS), and

* conventional NATO-compliant visual marking devices.

The RBCI system is a software modification to existing military hardware that allows a user to interrogate and receive responses on a radio. The RF Tag is a promising technology that is designed to return, in the background clutter of a radar image, a unique identification encoding. It has the potential to be an inexpensive enabler for situational awareness and a target identification solution for air-to-ground Combat ID.

Cubic's O-CIDS system provides the shooter with information about the target, including if it is a known 'friend,' and also provides the range to the target with a low probability of detection, interception or jamming. Cubic hopes to provide air-to-ground combat ID capability in a future generation of the system.

Under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program the US Defense Department is seeking the development of a small and lightweight CID system that can provide near real time responses for soldier-to-soldier identification. The CID system would use Geometric Pairing (GP) or other potential triangulation techniques based on Global Position System (GPS) and signal time of arrival to identify the location of battlefield entities.

The algorithm is to be employed through existing Combat Net Radio Systems potentially using the radios themselves as sensors to triangulate individual soldier's position on the battlefield. Based on the time each soldier's radio response is received by a net of radios with known locations, the soldier's position could be identified through traditional triangulation techniques.

Laser and GPS based geometric pairing systems are currently used in simulated fire applications to determine whether munitions impact their intended targets. Potentially these geometric pairing techniques could carry over to develop an effective soldier-to-soldier CID solution.

The consolidated military utility assessment of the candidate systems in the 2005 trials appears to have been confined to papers presented at CISC-2006, the Combat Identification Systems Conference which is sponsored on a rotating basis by US Services. Held in Florida in June this year it was acknowledged at CISC 2006 that the development of future Combat ID systems requires a monumental research effort to create the requisite technology base on which the CID systems can stand.

While many of the conference sessions were confined to US participants, two sessions, open to NATO participants, addressed the multinational CCID ACTD project aimed at evaluating improved Combat ID solutions that support commanders and shooters alike. The Conference said the MUA exercise provided the basis for the CCID ACTD's recommendations with respect to CID system acquisition, adoption of associated doctrine and training, tactics and procedures as well as the implementation of supporting training programs.

Included during these sessions were an overview and analysis of the CCID ACTD program and separate presentations on RF Tags, Optical-CIDS, RBCI and BTID. The ADF through Land 146 is a member of the CCID ACTD and thus has access to these reports.

To gain a better understanding of the technology involved, last November the project sponsor sought information through market surveys from CID technology suppliers and agents about mature technologies and products within the scope of the Land 146 requirement.

One concerned general CID while the other survey concerned the provision of an improved capability for Terminal Air Controllers (TAC) to direct Close Air Support missions. An improved TAC capability is seen as important to Combat ID. Such a capability would provide enhanced own and target Situational Awareness (SA) and automate the process of passing target information to supporting aircraft.

It is suspected that that survey responses were generally confined to systems that do not meet the Land 146's more demanding 'failsafe' CID capabilities but some may suit the ADF's interim capability requirements.

By Tom Muir, Canberra