by Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
Just over 10 years ago, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Richard Myers referred to a process he called “fusion” during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a term he said which identifies “targeting relay” wherein a surveillance drone acquires targeting information and networks or “fuzes” data into a targeting and attack picture for commanders. This was used often by the US military during OIF operations. Fusion therefore, as explained years ago at the Pentagon by Myers, includes the networking of a surveillance and targeting system such as the Global Hawk drone and ground-based command and control and ground and air attack weapons systems. These were the early days of what is now evolving into high-speed, AI-enabled armed surveillance drones capable of finding, analyzing and destroying targets in milliseconds largely without a need for human intervention. Fusion still happens now, just at a much faster and more efficient pace, a development arguably suggesting the Myers was on the cutting edge or ahead on his time in the realm of high-speed combat “networking” and information relay.
Targeting detail which used to travel from a GlobalHawk down to a ground-based command and control center for processing and verification before being sent to a fighter-jet or ground-attack platform, can increasingly be done at the “point of collection” by forward-operating single platform. While drones today certain can and do send targeting specifics to ground control stations and fighter jet, yet AI-enabled algorithms enable it to almost instantly send processed information including only the most relevant data necessary for the attack.
These kinds of technological breakthroughs in the realm of data processing, targeting, transmission and high-speed attack likely pertain to recent upgrades of General Atomics “SeaGuardian” drone, a medium-altitude sensing and ISR variant of the US Air Force Reaper configured for maritime warfare operations.
SeaGuardian Drone Gets “Net-Enabled-Weapons” Upgrade
The US military has operated the SeaGuardian on many several occasions for specific exercises such as Integrated Battle Problem and Northern Edge, yet the aircraft may likely also wind up in service with key NATO allies who already fly the MQ-9 Reaper, such as Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.
SeaGuardian operators can deploy, monitor and control sonobuoys from a single Remotely Piloted System. The SeaGuardian has four wing stations available to carry up to 4 Sonobouy Dispensing System pods, enabling it to hold and dispense up to 40 ‘A’ size or 80 ‘G’ size sonobuoys and remotely perform anti-submarine-warfare anywhere in the world.
“SeaGuardian’s range encompasses a mission radius of 1200 nautical miles with significant on-station time for submarine prosecution, providing a low-cost, stand-alone capability or a complement to human-crewed aircraft for manned-unmanned teaming operations,” a General Atomics essay says.
Now, the drone is being massively upgraded, as indicated in a recent General Atomics essay about collaborate efforts to integrate computing and data-link enabled”Net-Enabled Targeting” into the SeaGuardian.
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian integrates with SeaVue multi-role radar from Raytheon, designed to leverage Lockheed Martin’s extensive new expertise to further refine targeting capabilities Initial testing was completed on June 5, 2024, with F/A-18s on the U.S. Navy’s W-289 test range in Southern California, GA data says.
Net-Enabled Targeting for the SeaGuardian is likely to be a paradigm-changing capability for maritime warfare drone operators. Should a medium altitude drone such as the SeaGuardian operate with an ability to simultaneously detect, analyze, identify and then “attack” a critical enemy target itself, the sensor to shooter curve will be massively shortened. Of course, per Pentagon doctrine, humans would still approve the use of deadly force, yet many of the critical sensing, data processing and targeting functions can increasingly be performed by AI-empowered systems at the “edge” or “tip of the spear.”
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“This is a very important system attribute for SeaGuardian to enable naval long-range targeting CONOPS against high-end threats at much less risk to manned platforms,” GA-ASI President David R. Alexander, said in a published company statement.
The GA-ASI essay explains that the new technology enables “expanded targeting applications” for “precision-targeting of long-range weapons.” This, the essay states, creates a much faster “kill-chain.”
While many additional details related to the exact applications of Net-Enabled-Targeting are not specified, the term generally refers to an ability to network sensing data, target specifics and fire-control technology. In cutting edge applications, air platforms increasingly able to pool and process data from seemingly disparate sources of incoming sensor information from otherwise incompatible transport layer technology.
This is often done through systems called “gateways” which essentially “translate” incoming data from one communications layer to another using common IP protocol standards and interfaces. AI-enabled systems can increasingly analyzing larger groups of interwoven data from different sources simultaneously in relation to one another at speeds able to inform human commanders in seconds.
This kind of breakthroughs could also lead to align with, mirror or simply replicate emerging Air Force technology enabling in flight weapons “collaboration” and data sharing. Should weapons operate with an autonomous, built-in computational and data processing ability, weapons en route to a target can share information “together” and adjust to changing target information through data-sharing “collaboration.” This program is maturing quickly as it has been in the process of testing with the Air Force Research Laboratory in recent years. This kind of technology, when “net-abled” changes the paradigm for attacks as it massively increases the speed of target verification and in-flight course-adjustments should targets move or change. Sure enough, in a manner quite similar to this AFRL program, which is referred to as Golden Horde, GA and Lockheed state that the “Net-Enabled-Weapons” will enable LINK 16 to communicate with weapons “in-flight.”
Emergence of the SeaGuardian
The US Air Force operates the Global Hawk and Reaper drones, and the US Navy operates its Triton drone, a variant of the Air Force Global Hawk specifically engineered and tailored to maritime warfare conditions; the Triton is equipped with de-icing technology, special maritime sensors, and ability to change altitude and long-range, high-fidelity sensing systems enabled by high-speed computer processing. The SeaGuardian, as evidenced by this new General Atomics-Lockheed collaboration, will likely further blast onto the scene with newer generations of attack technology.
Increasing, forward operating, AI-enabled sensors will be able to gather, organize, process and analyze more and more information at the point of collection, something which massively decreases latency and information processing in support of conducting attack operations. Should a drone, for instance, be able to survey high-risk areas for days and then, when necessary, identify a threat image by instantly bouncing the information off of an AI-enabled computer to perform “analytics” and make rapid if not near determinations regarding the validity of a given threat, scenario or indication of high-interest gathered by the drone’s sensors.
The Navy continues to upgrade its Triton with more networking, data processing and targeting transmission, and the SeaGuarding appears to be following a similar path. Although the SeaGuardian is a variant of the US Reaper, the Navy Triton is different in that it is a variant of the larger Global Hawk platform. The Global Hawk and Triton operate at a slightly higher altitude than the Reaper and SeaGuardian, however there are similarities between the platform in terms of tactics and concepts of operation. For instance, one this larger drone operators are doing is making sure the Triton, Reaper and Global Hawk surveillance patterns are varied and not predictable. Alternating routes if of course a survivability-enhancing characteristic as it makes the drones less trackable and targetable to an enemy system.
Reaper & Sea Guardian to Attack
While both the Triton and the Global Hawk can greatly support high-speed ISR and targeting, they are not armed for attack in the way a US Reaper is. In fact, the US Air Force Reaper has greatly expanded the scope of its weapons arsenal and attack technology, in large measure due to the integration in recent years of a “universal interface” system which can enable operations from a range of weapons otherwise incompatible with the Reapers technical infrastructure.
The Reaper now fires the AIM-9X in addition to the AGM-114 Hellfire missile, a 500-pound laser-guided weapon called the GBU-12 Paveway II, and GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions or JDAMs.
Yet another Reaper warfare technolog, which could also integrate into the SeaGuardian is identified as the Reaper Defense Electronic Support System (RDESS), an anti-jam, anti-spoofing application which can utilize new aircraft antennas to make essential assessments. An Air Force report a few years ago said the new RDESS supports DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, something which could suggest the new target hardening pod draws upon AI-enabled computer technology. It would not be at all surprising if AI-enable algorithms were used to help discern, organize and even deconflict parts of the spectrum to ascertain where the threats are and, if needed, recommend adjustments to protect against jamming.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
