The Marine Corps is seeking commercially available technology that can detect, identify and track the wide range of unmanned platforms and other targets that forces may need to engage.
The Marine Corps is considering the feasibility of acquiring such a capability for its Observation and Sensing Systems (OSS) program, according to a notice solicited by intelligence released Thursday by Marine Corps Systems Command's Program Executive Director for Land Systems.
Ground-based air defense program managers are “seeking parties who can provide force protection and littoral expeditionary advanced capabilities for detection, identification and tracking of manned and unmanned surface, air and sea vessels and personnel operating in the vicinity of specific missions,” according to the RFI.
The document states the Marine Corps is considering accelerating its procurement schedule, which is why officials are interested in non-developmental systems currently at Technology Readiness Levels 8 or 9, as well as commercially available optical and active sensor technologies.
The OSS program seeks to develop a modular “family of systems” capable of enhancing security and performing active surveillance for Marine Corps expeditionary advanced base operations.
“OSS will fuse artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to detect, classify and identify targets, alert security forces to activity, and coordinate response efforts as needed. OSS will leverage on-board edge computing to minimize data transmitted to local command and control (C2) systems,” the officials wrote in the RFI.
The program aims to integrate electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) optics and “multi-domain” active sensors to perform these tasks in all weather conditions from stationary and mobile platforms.
The Marine Corps needs a solution that can find and classify objects as small as a backpack, as well as surface vessels, ground vehicles, people and small rotary and fixed-wing drones, day or night.
Other interesting attributes include an open architecture software design that allows the system to be integrated into existing C2 systems, the ability to perform “through-to-cue” operations, real-time display, processing and recording of video data, automatic focus and automatic tracking of targets, and the ability to relay information via multiple radio frequency sources.
Demonstrating the Marine Corps' desire to acquire new tools quickly, the Corps is asking RFI respondents to list how many systems they already have on hand and their production capabilities in terms of timelines and quantities.
The deadline for responses is October 8th.
The PEO for Land Systems is not the only department within the Navy looking for new capabilities to identify, classify and track potential threats. Last week, the department issued a notice of plans to test new underwater sensors and automated target recognition tools that could help protect assets.
The effort, called Technical Operational Experimentation Event 25.2, is part of a campaign led by the Office of Naval Research to investigate emerging technologies in support of operational objectives related to “undersea and subsea warfare.”
One of the focus areas of this effort is the ability to monitor and defend infrastructure and facilities from enemy undersea reconnaissance via emplaced equipment and underwater vehicles.
During a counter-drone panel at the NDIA's Emerging Technologies for Defense conference and expo earlier this month, Mike Dickerson, executive director of the Navy's Maritime Accelerated Response Capabilities division, highlighted the growing threats the Navy faces.
“It's not just unmanned aerial systems. It's in the surface and underwater domains as well. But from my perspective, both surface and underwater domain systems are following a very similar trajectory that we've seen with the unmanned aerial threat. Maybe a few years behind, but they're following the exact same overall exponential increase in capability and proliferation. And obviously we will continue to face these challenges as technology evolves and new innovative ways to use them continue to change. But I personally believe that with the right approach, the right partnerships and targeting some of our investments in the right areas, we can remain well-positioned to address this threat appropriately,” Dickerson said.
The pursuit of new tools to counter enemy drones has accelerated as U.S. officials observe how these types of systems are being used in the Ukraine-Russia war and in the Middle East, where troops, civilians and commercial ships have come under attack by unmanned aerial vehicles and surface vessels.
The Pentagon hopes that cutting-edge tools like artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous systems and faster command and control networks will give it an advantage over its adversaries.
Speaking at the Potomac Officers' Club Naval Summit last week, Michael Stewart, director of the Department of the Navy's Office of Countermeasures, said he couldn't provide details about the Navy's automated targeting capabilities or the current status of the Navy's efforts to enhance them.
“This is something we're very focused on, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised where it is,” he told DefenseScoop.
By Jon Harper Jon Harper is Editor-in-Chief of DefenseScoop, a Scoop News Group online publication focused on the Department of Defense and its pursuit of new capabilities. He leads an award-winning team of journalists covering breaking news and in-depth analysis on military technology and how it is impacting DoD operations and modernization. You can also follow him on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) @Jon_Harper_
