- Okay, and we're gonna get started here
with soldier lethality.
My name's Chris Donahue.
I'm the CFT Director.
Travis Thompson's my deputy, back here.
Chris Schneider and Elliot Kagans are around here.
That worked this with us.
And then, also we have Mr. Sando and General Britto
are also here from the C.O.E.
I would tell you that the one thing about this is
if there's any confusion of.
Are we completely linked in with everything else
that's going on at Fort Benning?
Absolutely.
I would tell you our priorities are their priorities.
If you would go to the next slide.
So, of all the CFTs that are out there.
The one thing that is different about ours is
Dave Lesperance, my partner in crime down there
at Fort Benning.
He is very focused on the next generation combat vehicle.
Ours is very broad, as you can see up here.
So, as you see our programs and our approach.
We had to take a little bit different approach.
And also, we have a much wider depth of what we're going on.
You can see how we're defining soldier lethality down there.
And then, this is one of the things
that we're already working on.
So if you could just read that quote.
And keep that in your mind as we go through this brief.
Next slide.
So, this is the, this is our over-arching purpose.
Fight, win, and survive in combat now and tomorrow.
We have to start delivering capability
for our dismounted soldiers pretty quickly here.
This is overall what our mission statement is.
But really what I wanna talk to you about
is our principles.
So the first thing is,
that if you put anything into a squad.
Specifically, onto a soldier.
You can't really tell us what that impact is.
So we have to define that pretty quickly to make sure
that we're developing the right things going forward.
We're only focused on the 100,000
that close with the enemy.
And that's for two purposes.
The first one is, this is from a scale perspective,
we know that this costs a lot.
So we have to make sure that we're doing that.
The other reason is,
that we wanna make sure that we're taking care of people.
Not just infantry soldiers.
So that includes the platoon medic, the FO, the Cav Scout.
And that's Active, National Guard, and Reserve.
That very tiny part.
So it's just not the infantry, active duty squad.
You can see that we're collaborating with everybody.
You'll see some of our marine partners.
There's some SOCOM guys here as well.
We just did a session, to put this in a example of,
every SOCOM briefed their major programs.
The marines briefed their major programs.
And then we all agreed who was gonna be driving
the different initiatives that are out there.
To make sure that we're doing all the things together.
National Guard members, SOFT,
they're all part of our CFT as well.
To include all the other agencies
that move a product going forward.
These user touch points.
You just saw that quote that was up there.
That's from both mechanized infantry, or ABCT's.
Or Cav Scouts.
And also the traditional Light, Airborne,
and Ranger infantry.
And then, of course, Striker.
Then we wanna move at the speed of war.
And we want the technology to be able to grow.
We know that technology changes pretty quickly.
If it's not,
doesn't have the ability to grow.
We're probably not interested in bringing it on board
as a CFT program.
And then, mister Joe Latoi is running around here.
He's the director
of the Secretary Mattis' close combat taskforce.
We are very well nested with him.
In fact, we spent the morning with him
and we'll spend the afternoon with him.
They've also provided the bulk of the money
for our programs.
So that is a very important
task force that we're very well linked into.
And then the last one here,
is this lethality analysis team.
Back when we stood up in November,
we realized very quickly
that ours was a very broad portfolio.
So we wanna make sure that we were going
after the right things.
So out of all that.
That's where we came up with this.
They're working a number of things for us.
I just told you, we have to have the metrics right
by the squad.
They're working that.
They're also making sure that we understand
what's out there from an enemy perspective.
I see Pete Jones out there.
We're using the Russian New Generation study.
And then also what we're seeing
with other near peers.
To make sure that we are truly developing things
that can accomplish what we need them to.
We're also making sure that all of Industry.
We've had several Industry days for each topic
that we're looking at.
And most recently, when we put this team together
we had about 160 members of Industry in there with us.
To help develop this.
So that's our basic principles going forward.
If you go to next slide.
So these are our initial capabilities
that we're trying to develop above the line.
And these are the future ones.
So as you look at the squad next generation weapon.
The first program is to replace the squad automatic weapon.
Okay, again, very specific.
And that's going after a very specific capability
to defeat a target that's out there.
We've shared that information
with Industry and For Industry Days.
Our first prototype opportunity notice has gone out.
So we know that Industry will come back
with five prototypes
in about a year.
And then, we have one government one
that we're working as well.
So that'll be that.
The next system that we'll go after is the replacement
of the M-4 carbine.
And that's already becoming a program.
And that'll be the next one.
And again, everything we have right now
works very well.
This is changing because of the threat environment.
I wanna make sure everybody understands that.
We're just not changing to change.
It's because of what our peers
and near peers have out there in this equipment.
A couple different things that are with this.
We do know that we'll have to develop new ammunition
for this.
And we're in the process of doing that.
And then also, we'll make sure that we put
the best technology for aim augmentation on there.
So that you will,
what you see is what you kill with your first round.
And that will be build into the very first version.
Next thing is the enhanced night vision goggles.
And really what I describe is,
heads up display, version one dot oh.
The first one, this is dual tube fusion nods.
That we also now will put data and everything
up into the you know, reticles of what we're doing that.
We've already had three soldier touch points
as we test this.
And if you look at the increased lethality of our soldiers.
Just by taking that thermal reticle
off of the weapon and putting it up into their eye.
The testing has been off the chart.
And this is all through existing systems, right now.
The other portion of this is, obviously dual tube.
Which gives you greater mobility.
Gives you depth perception.
Anyone who's ever used single tube versus dual tube.
You realize the different capability.
Especially, if you're doing offensive operations.
The next one is, heads up display three dot oh.
That we're working very closely with General Gervais
in the synthetic training environment.
And we're already starting to prototype
that with Industry as well.
That one should come out in about 18 months.
Our first prototype.
And then the adaptive soldier architecture.
What we realized pretty quickly too
as we looked at this is.
If you just look at any of the,
just take nods as an example.
Every company that builds a nods,
they build their own mount.
If you looked at how much money the United States Army
has spent just on mounts.
It is the taxpayers would not be happy.
I'll put it to you that way.
It is a significant amount.
So you now have a universal mount
that we've put out.
And Chris Schneider is here.
Him and his team, up there at Fort Belvoir
have done a remarkable job.
So we now have a standard mount
for anything that we develop.
That's true for everything that goes onto a soldier
or a squad now.
So we will put out those standards now.
And everything that we put out
for stuff that we wanna get.
The next one is tactical power.
Everything that we do.
We're trying to increase
you know, what we're doing.
From whether it's digital, thermal.
That means that we need more power.
As you know, energy,
anything that we have that produces energy right now
that we can put on a soldier.
That is not going up.
As dramatically as the demand is.
So we now have to make sure that anything we develop.
The demand is either keeping it neutral or down.
And right now we're consolidating things
onto various systems that may increase the energy
for that one item.
But the overall demand is going down.
And you'll see that in the things that we're doing.
And then again.
Training is very important.
So right now we're working with Major General Britto
of the maneuver center of excellence commanders
approved a pilot.
To move from 14 weeks to 21 weeks.
And we're working with General Townsend.
Who's also been briefed on this concept.
And then also, the Chief of Staff of the Army.
And we look forward to that pilot
coming here pretty quickly.
'Cause this is all great.
But if you don't have a trained, ready soldier.
It doesn't really matter.
And that's the last thing we wanna talk about
of the things we're doing.
These are the future capabilities that we're looking at.
And with that, I know we don't have a lot of time.
So I wanna open it up to any questions
from the field.
- [Man] PEO Strive?
- Yes sir? - No, no, you're working
with PEO Strive for training.
You work with PEO Strive for training.
- Absolutely. - Good.
- Sir.
- When it says OSIC and AIT extension
at the bottom there.
What does that look like?
- So, the test program that we're gonna do.
Right now it's currently 14 weeks.
And our proposed pilot that we'll start in July
will move it out to 21 weeks.
And that's, and what we want ultimately
is we want some, you know, any soldier that graduates
from OSIC.
That they can immediately go in and join
any formation that they need to go to.
No matter what phase of the sustained readiness model
they're in.
To make sure they're ready to go.
(woman talking)
Specifically, we're working on a number of things.
The first thing we wanna do is
we wanna make sure that we're training them
on all the skills we assessed they need
to fight against a near peer, okay?
Very important.
Also we wanna make sure that we are,
just as you look at the length of time that we have
and what happens to someone when they show up
to their first unit.
We're gonna make sure that they're ready
and we're not, they're fully prepared.
With any of the physical and mental demands
that they're gonna get.
So, those are the three big things
we wanna make sure we increase.
- Yes sir, I'm a little interested
in the squad operations around the ABCT.
So is there any effort to align
what they're seeing in their heads up displays,
and being able to talk to the vehicles and have a common,
you know, common UI if you will,
a visual so that, you know, when the gunner decides
"Okay I'm gonna be a squad leader",
and he moves out, he doesn't have
a completely new set of optics to learn?
- Yes, so a couple of things here.
One, if you look at all the people
that we're working with across.
So, one, this ties into Major General Gallagher
and the network.
General Gervais and synthetic training.
But also with, you know, Brigadier General Lesperance
and next generation combat vehicle.
So, if you look at that end user device
that General Gallagher already has and is using, okay?
If you drop a pin on heads up display one dot oh.
We're already doing this.
So if you drop a pin of that end user device, okay?
That automatically, when it hits
that end user device for that soldier.
However they set it, it'll automatically populate.
Right, so that Bradley commandeered
off that end user device.
And he's looking at broader than just
the individual soldier.
What we're gonna put on platforms as well.
He'll drop that pin and say,
"Look to the east".
Whenever you look to the east, you'll see that red dot.
That's not make-believe.
We're doing that right now, okay?
So, all those first three user test points.
Again, increase lethality.
By taking that sight
and projecting it up into their reticle.
Tested in January.
What you're describing, all the, you know,
basically icons that we wanna use.
We're just down selecting now.
The soldiers are telling us what they want on that.
So.
- Most of what you describe was even material
or training solutions so far.
Can you talk about the other dot mil pf outcomes
of this work?
- So, one very good question sir.
That's why the importance of we have to be very
well nested with General Britto
and what the center of excellence is doing.
So whenever we talk about OSIC extension.
I would tell you one of the number one things
we wanna do there is
we wanna make sure that we're looking at the performance
of the individual as well.
'Cause that additional seven weeks will make sure
that we can increase both.
Not just what they're doing as far as shooting better
and everything else.
But we're now preparing them better
for a near peer battlefield.
So that's extremely important to us.
- [Man] With next generation squad weapon possibly coming
in at a new caliber.
At what point does Lake City Army Ammunition
plane start looking over your shoulder
and doing some modeling? - So, Colonel Hector,
I'm not sure if Brigadier General Abramson is here or not.
But he and his team are already part of this CFT.
In fact, we're going out to Lake City to go over
what that plan is.
I don't wanna get into the timeline here.
But it's a very aggressive plan to get that first
Saw replacement out.
And I will tell you, we're already
starting that process.
So, we will look forward to getting out there.
But General Abramson and Colonel Hector Gonzalez
are already doing great work with that.
- Thank you sir, I'm sorry.
Major Underwood from System for Health.
The question from my team is: How are we creating a more
independently resilient soldier using
sleep activity and nutrition?
- So, that's not part of this CFT.
But I'll put my infantry comment on hat on.
Colonel Kelly Kendrick, the 198th Commander
out there who runs OSIC.
He's already doing all of that.
He has a study ongoing right now.
To make sure that we're properly feeding
all of our soldiers.
And making sure that when they come out, they're stronger.
So, thank you.
Any other questions?
- Sir, do any of your initiatives up there
provide CAT 1 targeting information to mortars
or other indirect fires?
- So, we're working on that.
So the first thing is, and Chris I'm gonna send it
over to you if you wanna add anything once I say this.
So, whatever we're gonna put up into that nod.
You can actually put MILS and all those other things.
So, we have not with this current version had it
so that you can reach out.
Get a grid off of a target and it automatically
populates up there.
We can do that.
It's just a matter of putting all those systems together.
Now, if you look at what we're gonna put on there
from a small arms fire control.
And Elliot Kagans is back there.
Is it really both of them coming together?
We could do that.
However, okay, that's weight.
So, it's, that's that trays that we're talking about.
So, the first version's,
no, we're not gonna do that.
But I think we could get there over time.
You're probably talking three dot oh
across what this is and what that is.
But the first versions won't have that.
The first version of that Next Generation Squad Weapon
will have, it will send out, when we talk about
aim augmentation.
Laser will go out.
They'll hit a target and come back
and it'll give you a better solution.
Just to shoot the target.
Chris, anything you wanna add?
- Yes sir, you're spot on.
We actually may be able to do that in Heads up one oh.
It'll take the Cat 1 grid information that we get from jets
or LDR3 and put it up into the display.
But the system itself will not generate a Cat 1 grid.
Does that help?
- So to Chris' point, whatever we wanna project
up into that reticle.
That tube, is pretty easy.
It's just a matter of how you get it.
And then, how much data.
You know, so you wanna, you know we don't need out too
much information than they're used to.
That's leadership.
But, you know, we gotta figure that out.
That's why those soldier touch points are so important.
Sir.
I know you're gonna ask me a good question.
I can tell by your demeanor earlier.
- Do any of your initiatives include the weight reduction
on your vertical lift aircraft?
- Um, I just wanna make sure I understand.
Are we trying to make the soldier lighter,
ultimately?
Or how is this linked into FVL?
- (mumbles) Is part of the cross funds
functioning team.
- Absolutely. - Okay, do you wanna reduce
the weight on the aircraft itself
to give you more payload capability?
- I'm an infantryman. - Sure.
- Of course, I want everything to be lighter,
cheaper, shoot better, and do everything else.
That's gonna be trades.
But what I do know about FVL.
I mean, compared to our current helicopters.
That thing's gonna be able to lift a lot.
So but yeah, I think we're very well nested.
By the way, all this stuff right here.
In particular.
That's gonna be of great interest to our pilots
as well.
And so, again, a start point is the 100,000.
But then after that it's a decision
of the army of what's gonna spin out.
Sir. - Any ideas
on what the next weapon's caliber will be?
Any ideas on what the next weapon's caliber might be?
- So again, we put out five prototypes so I hope
that you noticed, part of it is,
we want Industry on every,
they'll come back with their proposals.
We will pick those five.
And then there's the one that we're working right now.
So, what we have given out to Industry.
Part of those Industry days is we have used
government developed, six point eight round
as a point of departure.
But, we do not wanna limit, if someone comes back,
and they come back with some other caliber.
And it is a better thing.
We're interested, of course we are.
We want what's best.
So, but six point eight is the point of departure.
And that's been shared with Industry.
Elliot, anything you'd like to add to that?
Okay, I appreciate everyone's time.
You all have a great day. (man claps)