A systems engineering approach in providing air defense support to ground combat vehicle maneuver forces

Abstract

Ground combat vehicles are susceptible to aerial threats. During maneuver, the formation may be in unfamiliar territory and without established local air defense support. Mobile air defense may be required to increase the survivability of ground combat vehicles during movement. Depending on the air capability of the adversary and operation area, the required architecture of mobile air defense systems may vary. There is an identified capability gap for mobile air defense in the U.S. Armed Forces in operating environments with terrain. Using a systems engineering approach, this study looks into the stakeholder needs and functions required to fulfill this capability gap. In defining the physical architecture, there are many factors that could affect the design of a mobile air defense system. Physically addressing all permutations of the attributes would be onerous and inefficient. For an identified concept of operations, a design of experiment was used to expedite the assessment process by identifying significant design factors. The objective is to provide program managers with a mobile air defense system assessment framework. The framework currently utilizes indicative responses in lieu of inaccessible combat data. When used in conjunction with real data, the framework would help make the acquisition process more efficient.