Urban Resolve 2015 Hopes to Provide Window Into Urban Combat Future

During Urban Resolve 2015 (UR2015), U.S. Joint Forces Command and partners from across the services and the government are aiming to examine the challenges which come with operating in cities. This 3-phase ‘experiment’/exercise is actually a distributed simulation of 19 sites and over 1,000 people. The Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps have integrated their systems into the U.S. Joint Forces Command system for it, and representatives from 12 other nations are participating. So are members of other US federal agencies, such as the State Department, Commerce and Justice. The template city for the experiment? Baghdad, Iraq.

USJFCOM Joint Futures Lab executive director Dave Ozolek said the experiment is enabling the command to get inside two concepts: First, how does the U.S. military operate in the new urban environment? Because “That’s where the fight is, that’s where the enemy is, that where the center of gravity for the whole operation is.” It’s more than the classic MOUT(Military Operations in Urban Terrain) because “…the environment is not only terrain, it’s infrastructure, it’s culture, it’s governance, it’s rule of law, it’s legality, food, water, fire and safety and all of those things that make up a complex environment of a city,” This feeds into the second concept, which is stabilization operations that can stabilize the situation in a city, then transition to local control.

The experiment is testing seven solutions for urban operations capability gaps, using a networked system that lets decisions and actions made by each participant operate in real time. These solutions are described in more detail in this article, and include:

Packet Digital’s Battery Extension Tech Gets Research Funds

Small business qualifier Packet Digital LLC in Fargo, ND received a $5.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development into advanced power management for wireless systems. Packet Digital’s “On-Demand Power” technology is designed to increase the life of any military system powered by batteries; the company claims that their technology would allow soldiers to carry only one-half to one-fifth the amount of batteries they now require. Work will be performed in Fargo, ND and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2008. There were 11 bids solicited on June 23, 2006, and 2 bids were received by the Defense Microelectronics Activity in McClellan, CA (H94003-07-C-0702).

Packet Digital’s research is increasingly relevant given the proliferation of wireless systems and networks for field use, and the battery load and limitations corresponding to other powered devices have made battery improvements and substitutes a doubly urgent issue for advanced militaries around the world. DID’s “Infantry-21” coverage of Future Soldier Systems being fielded by several nations notes that these trends continue to pick up speed, further increasing the pressure to find solutions.

Elbit Subsidiary to Supply F-15 Parts to Boeing

Landed, needs parts –
see 1983 story here
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Elbit Systems Ltd. subsidiary Cyclone Aviation Products Ltd. in Karmiel, Israel received a $19 million contract from Boeing for F-15 aircraft structural components. Cyclone’s components will include detachable fuel tanks, pylons, horizontal stabilizers and gun access doors; the components are scheduled for delivery during 2008 and 2009.

In Elbit Systems’ release, Co-General Manager Airborne and Helmet Systems, Yoram Shmuely, said that “We believe this contract will pave the way for further business in this fast-growing market characterized by advanced technologies and innovative composite materials.”

$57.4M for Hospital Addition at Langley AFB

Tompkins Builders Inc. in Washington, DC won a $57.4 millionfirm-fixed-price contract for construction of an addition to the Langley Air Force Base Hospital. Work will be performed at Langley Air Force Base, VA and is expected to be complete by Nov. 15, 2008. Bids were solicited via the world wide web on Jan. 31, 2006, and 2 bids were received by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk, VA (W91236-07-C-0011).