Brigades Trading In Heavy Armor for Sensors.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Improved systems sought for electronic warfare, surveillance and targeting

In the foreseeable future, a large portion of U.S. Army investments in advanced battlefield sensors will be devoted to the service's new fighting forces--the interim brigade combat teams, said a senior official. These brigades, called IBCTs, are the Army's new rapid-reaction units designed to be more deployable than traditional mechanized brigades, but more heavily armed than light infantry.

The IBCTs will have "more sensor capabilities than any other brigade in the Army," said Edward T. Bair, the service's program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors. These units will rely on advanced sensors for "survivability and situational understanding," Bair said in a recent interview. For the Army of the future, particularly, "sensors will be more critical than they are today, when we have tanks that can go toe-to-toe [with the enemy] in open space.

The IBCTs, for example, will be expected to fight in urban areas, which are especially difficult for soldiers trained for wars in the desert or in wide-open fields. Ideally, soldiers fighting urban wars need sensors that can separate the "good from the bad signals," said Bair. That means, for example, being able to differentiate enemy radio signals from those coming from allies, even though they may all be using the same type of radio.

"We need sensors that don't radiate," Bair said, in order to help reduce electronic signal emissions in the battlefield. "More importantly, so that the adversary can't find me or the beacon."

A top priority is for future forces to have electronic surveillance capabilities, he said. That means being able to locate the adversary and have precise information of where the enemy goes for cover. That requires, for example, all-weather sensors that can see through clouds and dust.

Much of the sensor technology that works effectively in complex combat environments still is in development, explained Bair. That is a problem for the IBCTs, which were designed to operate with off-the-shelf equipment and cannot afford to wait years for technologies to mature. IBCTs, by nature, he noted, are "come as you are, bring what you've got" units.

"I am getting some additional money," he said, "to equip the first IBCTs with the most advanced night-vision goggles, thermal driving vision enhancers (DVE) and thermal weapon sights for .50 cal machine guns.

The Army plans to field six to eight...