Future directions for non-lethal weapons

In early June, the military’s Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate posted a presolicitation for contractors that lays out the exact directions that nonlethal weapons research will be taking. (Also available here.)

General applied research focus areas in their relative priority of interest to the JNLWD include:

A. Non-lethal vessel stopping at extended range

B. Clear a space without entry

C. Non-lethally divert an aircraft in the air or stop and/or disable an aircraft on the ground

D. Individual and crowd behavior in environments where less than lethal force is an option

E. Human effects/effectiveness and safety thresholds of selected NL stimuli

F. Stimulating academic institutions, both civilian and DoD Academies, in the research and development of NLW concepts. This includes supporting short-term academic challenges and competitions related to NLW development.

G. Advanced materials and NL payloads

The JNLWD also expresses specific interest in soliciting proposals for research, development, integration, and demonstration of new payloads that would fulfill the non-lethal requirements of the unattended, autonomous Intelligent Munitions System (IMS). This interest is closely coordinated with the IMS Program office, which has alternative funding to apply to promising IMS-related proposals.

Submissions should specifically describe technology and research objectives designed to accomplish the following:

A. Safely stop or significantly impede the movement of occupied vessels with minimal collateral damage in support of either (or both) the maritime defense and interdiction missions. Proposed concepts for use in maritime defense missions must prevent vessel from physically approaching within 100 meters. Proposed interdiction mission concepts must be employable at close ranges (~25 meters) and effective in chase-type scenarios where the targeted vessel is fleeing from the chase platform. Additionally, concepts incorporating the following characteristics may receive extra consideration:

1. Safely stop uncooperative vessels, including high-speed planning vessels (i.e., go fast boats), without the need to pre-emplace at the engagement point.

2. Provide the desired standoff distance (>100 meters).

3. Produce universal effects for outboard, inboard, inboard/outboard and jet drive propulsion (including jet skis). Technologies should address both electronically and non-electronically controlled engine systems.

4. Affect vessels up to 40 feet in length.

5. Deploy from a variety of vessels, including small boats or large ships, fixed or rotary wing aircraft, or remotely piloted platforms.

6. Reversible effects allowing the targeted vessel to be quickly returned to an operational condition with minimal time to repair and minimal repair cost.

B. Facilitate the clearing of buildings (or simple structures) comprised of 3-5 rooms by friendly forces. Proposed concepts should ultimately set conditions for safer entry by friendly forces operating in urban terrain by preventing hostile resistance during the task of clearing the building. Proposed approaches could either disable occupants in place or clear all personnel, both combatants and non-combatants, from the objective building or structure. Concepts that disable occupants in place shall be of a non-chemical nature. Proposed concepts must allow for the delivery of effects from a relatively safe distance so that friendly forces will not have to enter the structure in order to initiate effects. Ideally, the capability will be able to be launched from a range between 2 meters and 90 meters. The completely reversible effects will be temporary in nature, with (T) of 15 minutes to (O) of 45 minutes. The effects must minimize collateral damage, remaining localized on the targeted structure and not covering adjacent buildings or open areas.

C. Safely divert an aircraft in the air or stop and/or disable an aircraft on the ground. The JNLWD requires a systems engineering based study to address the full scope of potential technologies and/or approaches to resolve these non-lethal counter-material capability gaps. The primary focus of the divert an aircraft task is to control the airspace and enforce no-fly or restricted flight zones. Effects should be focused on the aircraft, not the pilot or other personnel on board. The capability should enable the enforcement of flight restriction zones (e.g., metropolitan Washington, D.C.), protection of critical infrastructure and other high value assets from a possible aerial threat. For aircraft on the ground, stop requires the aircraft to come to 0 mph at some point between when it starts to taxi and when it reaches abort speed. The requirement to disable includes actions to render inoperable, deny use, and/or deny access to an aircraft on the ground.

Successful accomplishment of either objective results in keeping the targeted aircraft from becoming airborne. Additionally, concepts incorporating reversible effects which allow the targeted aircraft to be quickly returned to an operational condition with minimal time to repair and minimal repair cost may receive extra consideration.

D. Conduct systematic studies to enhance understanding and management of individual and crowd behavior in environments where less than lethal force is an option. Data should support development of relationships and behavioral rules that relate physiological insult to behavioral response. Investigations should focus on:

1. Historical study of military and law enforcement interaction with individuals and crowds to understand the cause/effect behaviors of the crowd, how the military or law enforcement forces dealt with the situation, and the resulting outcomes (positive and negative).

2. Human effects and effectiveness studies to examine individual and group/crowd behavioral responses when no NLW is employed vice when a currently fielded NLW such as blunt impact, electro-muscular disruption, or riot control agents is employed. Predicted behavioral responses for new or conceptual NLW employment in individual and group/crowd scenarios should also be addressed.

Knowledge gained should support development of techniques and tools for non-lethal weapons training, tactical experimentation, and mission planning.

E. Conduct systematic studies to analyze the human effects/effectiveness and safety thresholds of selected stimuli for non-lethal effects. Investigations should focus on one of the following:

1. Analysis of optical stimulus for significantly enhanced day time effectiveness over current non-lethal technology/prototypes/weapons. Resulting technology should have potential for development into a militarily useful NLW form factor (i.e. size, power requirements, weight, range, etc.).

2. Examination of the bioeffects of high power microwaves for non-lethal counter-personnel applications.

3. Studies of thermal laser effects for non-lethal application. Research should consider various wavelengths that propagate well though the atmosphere (not limited to the 2.0 micron wavelength) and focus on understanding reversible health effects, pulsing methods, and effectiveness through clothing.

4. Studies of the human effects/effectiveness, similar to the thermal repel effect produced by 95GHz millimeter wave radiation, but at higher millimeter wave frequency waveforms.

F. Explore discovery and invention related to non-lethal weapons technology and research via advanced academic research institutions (includes U.S. colleges and universities and military academic institutions).

G. Identify and demonstrate the ability of advanced materials or new payloads to provide new or enhanced non-lethal counter-personnel or counter-material capabilities. Examples of advanced materials and payloads include combustion engine modifiers/inhibitors, rigid foams, anti-traction materials, super adhesives, launchable nets or entangling nets, smart nano-materials, and morphing materials, among others.

H. Fulfill the non-lethal requirements of the unattended, autonomous Intelligent Munitions System (IMS). General research goals include efforts to:

1. Non-lethally counter personnel and/or vehicles using the IMS Dispenser Module (DM) as the payload carrier. The NL payload shall fit within the DM footprint of 24L x 24W x 14.5H. Total volume available is approx 7390 cu in.

2. Non-lethally counter personnel and/or vehicles using the IMS DM as the control source for a NLW. NLWs would not be part of the DM footprint but a stand alone effect that receives a fire command from the DM and must interface to the SPIDER Mission Adapter Module (MAM) connection or current Miniature Grenade Launcher DM ports.

3. For both capabilities described above: counter-vehicle concepts should be effective on civilian-class vehicles; NLWs must be effective in all terrain and allow activation via autonomous/manual means.

PROGRAM SCOPE:

The scope of this program is intentionally broad to address the wide spectrum of desired operational end-points that the funded investigations will strategically support. All research is intended to have the common objective of addressing the technology/ knowledge gaps described above. Strategically, this research will support the development of a family of next-generation NLWs to meet the capability gaps documented in the Joint NLW Capability Based Assessment. In addition to the data and technological gaps identified above, research supported by this BAA is intended to enable technology to overcome the current limitations of existing NL systems.

These limitations generally include but are not limited to:

1) Range, coverage (volume of fire), accuracy and precision.

2) Effectiveness and the ability to quantify it.

3) Providing a universal, repeatable and robust NL effect.

4) Target safety, particularly across a wide-spectrum of the population.

5) Deployability, to include weight and volume.

6) Employability, to include use in complex urban environments.

7) Military effectiveness and utility in complex operating environments such as within crowds, within rooms and buildings, and within vehicles and vessels