YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz. — Project Convergence, the Army’s campaign of learning, has returned to U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) to test a vast and astonishing array of new technology.

For the first time ever, every branch of the United States’ armed forces are testing their sensor-to-sensor capabilities in tandem.

In addition to representation from all branches of the military, this year’s iteration features all eight of the Army Futures Command’s cross-functional teams (CFTs). There is also a dramatically larger Soldier presence.

Among these CFTs is Future Vertical Lift (FVL), which is aggressively testing virtually every facet of the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) and FVL, as well as advancing knowledge on electronic warfare. Unmanned aircraft, air-to-ground missiles, rotary cannons, and all manner of ancillary technologies to expand communications capabilities and Soldier survivability are all being tested simultaneously here.

“There is a lot of learning going on out here over these several weeks,” said Jim Thomson, Acting Deputy Director of the Future Vertical Lift CFT. “Yuma Proving Ground is really a unique place to enable us to do this.”

YPG’s vast size includes nearly 2,000 square miles of restricted airspace. The proving ground’s clear, stable air and extremely dry climate combined with an ability to control a large swath of the radio frequency spectrum makes it a desired location for this type of testing.

YPG’s vast institutional UAS and counter-UAS testing knowledge is an added bonus, as is the presence of a wealth of other infrastructure meant for other sectors of YPG’s broad test mission that can be leveraged to support aviation evaluations. YPG is home to things like technical and tactical targets, as well as generator and combined maintenance shops.

“YPG in particular has been an outstanding host,” said Lt. Col. Tanner Spry, FVL CFT experimentation planner. “It’s a great area based on the distances that exist here to challenge our platforms.”

The breadth of equipment tested here over the course of the six-week demonstration is astonishing, and boasts multiple firsts. Testers say this year’s demonstration increased their ability to integrate into the joint force and improved the command and control network to extend the range Army aviators can operate in. This was shown multiple time in realistic scenarios in which Soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne conducted simulated air assaults across YPG’s vast ranges.

“We’ll take a use case and run through multiple iterations to stress and challenge the technologies to make sure they are resilient,” said Spry.

One of the more exciting technologies used was Air Launched Effects (ALEs), drones attached to a helicopter or other vehicle that can be an aviator’s eyes in an area of interest. These remarkable and low-cost surveillance UAS can also be launched off of light ground vehicles, but integrating them into aviation platforms is much more complex.

“They’ve done a tremendous amount of work to get the ‘air launched’ into the name air launched effect,” said Thomson. “But there are a lot of other options, too.”

As for the FARA and FVL themselves, multiple other facets are being tested here. A new Gatling-style 20mm machine gun that could serve as one of the platforms’ rotary cannon was integrated into a UH-60 Black Hawk serving as a surrogate and fired in flight for the first time here.

“It shoots fast, it shoots well, and it shoots accurately,” said Lt. Col. Cameron Keogh, Chief of Flight Test for U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. “As a previous attack and recon pilot, I like it.”

With things like the Gatling-style gun, artificial intelligence-aided threat targeting and detection systems, and even the ability to fly autonomously, developers are using a modular systems approach that would enable these things to be used on a variety of aircraft as needed. During PC 21, the testers demonstrated flying a legacy UH-60 completely autonomously.

“We have to be able to demonstrate autonomy in any environment,” said Stuart Young, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program manager. “Yuma is a great location to be able to bring all of these different pieces together. We have a lot of flexibility that we don’t have in other locations: we have large safety margins and here we have the space we need to conduct all of these firsts safely.”

All of these technologies are being refined to prepare for the potential of warfare with a near-peer adversary. As such, the participation of hundreds of Soldiers in PC 21 was useful for testers: Engineers had the opportunity to gain input about systems under test from Soldiers who have operated earlier iterations of the platforms in theater overseas.

“We are leveraging technology to reduce Soldier workload,” said Spry. “Sometimes moving yourself out of chaos by being able to operate at greater distances and ranges can give us a strategic advantage.”

By Mark Schauer

NATICK, Mass. — During an October 26 visit to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center, Gen. John M. Murray, Commanding General of U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC), was updated on several programs and technologies helping advance two of the Army’s highest priorities — modernization and people.

DEVCOM Soldier Center’s mission, to research and develop science and technology solutions that protect and optimize warfighters on the battlefield, often occurs where these two priorities intersect, and Murray, charged with spearheading the Army’s force modernization efforts, got to see in person some key technologies the center is developing in support of the Soldier Lethality component of modernization.

“DEVCOM Soldier Center is executing a critical facet of the Army’s modernization strategy,” said Murray.

“By researching new approaches to optimize Soldier performance and developing new technologies with consensus from operating units to exceed the capabilities of our pacing threats, they are delivering on the tenets of their mission and reinforcing the Army’s commitment to its people.”

“I saw that in action here today,” said Murray.

The visit began with detailed updates on the progress of DEVCOM Soldier Center’s signature research program, Measuring & Advancing Soldier Tactical Readiness & Effectiveness, or MASTR-E, a comprehensive, data-based research effort to deliver infantry units the capability to measure, predict, and enhance human performance during close combat operations through the use of wearable biometric sensors.

Led by DEVCOM Soldier Center and supported by key S&T partners from infantry units, scientists, and engineers across the DoD, industry and academia, MASTR-E takes an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to collecting and analyzing human performance data metrics, including physiological and behavioral indicators that give leaders a holistic view of their Soldiers’ status during close combat.

Murray also met with Human Research Volunteer, or HRV, Soldiers during the visit. The HRV program recruits approximately 30 new Soldiers from their Advanced Individual Training to voluntarily come to Natick for a 90-day assignment in which they participate in various human performance based research studies. HRV Soldiers support everything from field testing uniform and equipment items, sleep and nutrition studies, to cognitive, psychological, and physiological performance studies. HRV Soldiers play a vital role in the research and development of new technologies supporting modernization efforts.

The visit also featured a hands-on display of several innovative technologies being developed by Soldier Center scientists and engineers, including Cold Weather Equipment, Load Carriage Equipment, future body armor prototypes, and the Combat Protective Ensemble, or CAPE.

For Cold Weather Equipment, Murray saw uniform and equipment items being developed through a multiservice collaborative effort guided by seven item priorities with the goal of outfitting an arctic brigade within the next 18 months. The technologies, which included gloves, boots, and layered parker systems, were constructed with novel performance materials with inherent properties that prevent freezing in extreme arctic environments.

The Load Carriage Equipment items included prototype ruck sacks designed to accommodate specific infantry tasks and missions. Soldier Center equipment specialists utilized end user feedback collected during Soldier Touchpoint evaluations to redesign the placement of straps, buckles, ammunition and utility pouches, and ballistic plate carriers to develop lighter, streamlined prototypes more conducive to foundational infantry tactics like shooting and moving to contact.

The future body armor items displayed took a similar approach to their design, in which plate carrier systems were built based on the threat level. Researchers are working to reduce the overall weight of body armor prototypes while maintaining ballistic protection against the majority of round calibers and blast threats faced on the battlefield.

The CAPE program addresses the challenge of having multiple Soldier-worn equipment systems by incorporating novel performance fabrics and materials in order to maximize Soldier protection and survivability, while optimizing the distribution of power and data.

After the equipment display, Murray visited the Design Pattern Prototype Studio, where he was shown several Soldier Center developed products under the Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment program, including the Female IOTV, the Physical Fitness Bra, the Female Urinary Diversion Device, or FUDD, and the Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform — Female, or IHWCU-F — items that support the role and performance of female Soldiers in combat.

The last stop of Murray’s visit was to the Combat Feeding Division for an overview presentation, ration display, and tour of the pilot kitchen where new items are created. At CFD, Murray saw the Close Combat Assault Ration, or CCAR, a one-day ration designed to sustain dismounted warfighters for seven days operating autonomously without resupply. The CCAR includes nutrient-dense items made using Microwave Drying Technology, which reduces the weight by about 75 percent and volume by 40 percent from an MRE, the standard individual ration.

“General Murray’s visit allowed us to successfully demonstrate the important work we’re doing to enhance Soldier performance.” said DEVCOM Soldier Center Technical Director, Doug Tamilio. “The programs and technologies he was updated on are helping advance Soldier Lethality and directly support the Army’s major priorities.”

Story by Jeff Sisto, DEVCOM Soldier Center Public Affairs

Photo by David Kamm, DEVCOM Soldier Center