Introduction

Emerging technologies within the world are creating opportunities for malicious state actors to cause chaos from behind the joysticks of a Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drone controller.

Business Problem

There are several instances of coalition forces being attacked by UAS platforms with explosives attached. Because these systems are so new and the surface area of the platforms is so small, it is very difficult to find kinetic solutions to eliminate the targets. Over a 5 year service tour, I was tasked with creating and testing a non-kinetic solution that could eliminate these threat actors and provide sustainable support to ground troops using systems that are intuitive.

Solution

On a MATV platform, I integrated a kinetic weapon system (M240G) and a non-kinetic Electronic Warfare (EW) emitter to provide support to maneuvering ground troops in extreme climates. With these weapon systems, the MATV platform has a radar system, a Command and Control interface (FAADC2), and provides a large enough carrying capacity for 4 fully equipped personnel.

Project Timeline

During the 5 year project, the threat was constantly evolving meaning our solution became a moving target.

(2018) Year 1 Feasibility of Support (FoS), Contractor Sourcing, User Requirements

In the first year of the project, a large amount of governance needed to be established for the project. As with any government project, security was at the forefront of these requirements. Several requirements were submitted from troops currently deployed with real time threats they were facing abroad in the middle-east region.

(2019-2021) Year 2-4 Product Build, Reverse Engineer Requirements, Product Testing

During the build phase we conducted rigorous testing on both the kinetic and non-kinetic weapon systems. Over the build phase we optimized requirements sent by operators overseas. The threats were consistently evolving making the solution a moving target.

We optimized these requirements by creating a layout for a driver, navigator, C2 & EW operator, and lastly, the kinetic weapon system operator. After stress testing these requirements in Yuma, Arizona - the product was ready to be stress tested in a live combat environment.

(2022) Year 5 Deploy Product

In the final year, I deployed to the middle-east region with the product. Two prototypes were deployed across separate regional areas as apart of the SPMAGTF 21.2 rotation. Unfortunately, due to security concerns, I am unable to provide specific details or specifications about the product as it is currently being used in combat operations.

My Contributions

I served as a Product Manager for one of the C-UAS solutions the United States Marine Corps (USMC) invested in. Over my 5 year service I was fortunate enough to work with multiple different leaders across the globe and develop my product management skills.

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