Unmanned Systems

Jill Drury

Ann Jones

Andrew Lacher

oday's warfighter does not have to send forward observers into dangerous situations to "see" what is around the corner or over the hill. In many units, soldiers are able to deploy a Raven, a 4-lb. unmanned aircraft system (UAS) equipped with a video or infrared camera, to obtain real-time surveillance. Predator unmanned aircraft silently collect video surveillance of insurgents and are able to launch Hellfire missiles if targets of opportunity exist. Global Hawk aircraft remain on station for more than a day collecting valuable intelligence. Remote-controlled ground robots dispose of IEDs which in some cases were discovered by intelligence gathered from other unmanned systems.

From the beginning, unmanned vehicles have been used for military missions that were dangerous, dull, or dirty. The use of unmanned vehicles is reducing the number of lives put at risk and enabling significant increases in the information available to the warfighter. Moreover, as these vehicles have evolved, they are increasingly being sent on missions that could not be performed without the use of robotic technology. While the vehicles themselves are unmanned, humans remain in control of the vehicles and the mission. Future military plans call for increased use of unmanned ground, air, and marine vehicles.

Like other technologies that first received widespread military use, there are a host of civil government and commercial applications as well. Civil applications include border patrol, infrastructure protection, law enforcement, forest firefighting, weather research, and agriculture monitoring. Commercial applications abound, from airborne photography to unmanned cargo carriers.

MITRE employees throughout the company are working closely with our sponsors to improve unmanned systems technology and to ensure that the systems and the information they collect are fully integrated into our sponsors' missions. MITRE's work with unmanned systems mainly centers upon ground and air vehicles and includes the following three thrusts:

• Integrating and disseminating sensor data from unmanned systems
• Unmanned systems planning, control, and operations
• Safety and airspace integration

Across these thrusts, MITRE is examining human factors and cognition issues, the design of complex software algorithms, spectrum management, application of national and international standards, and modeling and simulation.

Throughout this issue, we will use the term "unmanned vehicles" when referring to the vehicle itself and "unmanned systems" when referring to the vehicle, communications link, and control station. Please join us to learn about the wide variety of MITRE unmanned system activities, how we have improved current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how we are helping our sponsors prepare for the future.

For more information, please contact guest editors Jill Drury, Ann Jones or Andrew Lacher using the employee directory.

Solutions That Make a Difference.®
Copyright © 1997-2013, The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved.
MITRE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
Material on this site may be copied and distributed with permission only.

Privacy Policy | Contact Us