Moving onto the objective for SOF often takes methods that are ‘out of the ordinary’. USSOCOM has been discussing new alternatives.
At the inaugural Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week conference in Tampa, Florida in May, service leaders from across the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) highlighted the so-called ‘tyranny of distance’ across the Indo-Pacific area of operation.
As a former deputy commander of the US Indo-Pacfic Command (INDOPACOM), the incumbent USSOCOM commanding general, Bryan Fenton discussed how the rules-based international order continues to be challenged in this particular area of interest and specifically outlined how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is asserting its military power across the region while it “…coerces other nations around the world through economic and diplomatic power”.
Also highlighting the ongoing activities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Fenton described how the Indo-Pacific is witnessing “strategic competition in action” with conventional military action and grey-zone operations below the threshold of conflict.
To help counter these threats, Fenton called for “fluency in technology” as USSOCOM and their international partners across the Indo-Pacific seek to assert influence across a very diverse and large area of the world.
At the same event, USSOCOM’s then acquisition executive, Jim Smith, also discussed requirements for US SOF to benefit from optimal levels in “manoeuvre in contested environments” which included the Indo-Pacific.
Specifically, Smith highlighted a pair of emerging concepts which are being considered by the Tampa-based command: these include the MC-130 Amphibious Capability (MAC) and High Speed Vertical Take-Off/Landing (HSVTOL).
MAC concept
Speaking to Asian Military Review, Smith confirmed USSOCOM continued to have “meaningful partnership with Japan” as they consider lessons learned from their deployment of ShinMaywa’s US-2 amphibious transport aircraft.
“[USSOCOM] is looking at partnering to see what we can learn from experiences from the US-2”, he said although he added it would not necessarily lead to an acquisition of that particular air frame.
USSOCOM first publicly disclosed the MAC concept in 2021, comprising the modification of an MC-130 aircraft allowing it to take-off and land at sea as a “runway independent” solution.
The command had originally expected to test a technology demonstrator by the end of 2023 but defence sources described to AMR how the MAC very much remains in a concept phase.
“AFSOC has a really meaningful partnership with Japan. I won’t say this can necessarily lead to the adoption of the US-2, but we can definitely learn what kind of capabilities it can bring to the unique [maritime] environment. We can also learn what the Japanese have learned from operating them,” an AFSOC official explained.
“From an acquisition strategy, everything is still on the table as we look at different lines of efforts to make sure that we can have a runway-independent or amphibious capability. The MAC is a tough engineering challenge but we are pursuing it and AFSOC is interested in other ways of achieving it which would make all of that water in the Indo-Pacifric a landing zone,” it was added.
Additional mobility concepts suited to the Indo-Pacific which are being explored by USSOCOM include the HSVTOL concept.
On 30 March, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) published a broad agency announcement (BAA) regarding the development of the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane concept which will provide the core of the HSVTOL capability.
According to the BAA, DARPA is seeking an X-Plane demonstrator capable of transporting SOF operators across extended ranges at speeds greater than 400 knots (740 kilometres per hour) and altitudes between 15,000 and 30,000 feet (4,500-9,100 metres) above ground level with an all up weight lying somewhere between 8,000-15,000 pounds (3,600-6,800 kilograms). DARPA also informed industry that it would consider manned, unmanned and optionally-piloted solutions moving forward.
“The SPRINT Demonstrator Project aims to design, build, certify and fly an X-Plane to demonstrate the key technologies and integrated concepts that enable a transformational combination of aircraft speed and runway independence for future air mobility platforms. The SPRINT X-Plane project will seek to validate technologies and integrated concepts that can be scaled to different size military aircraft, provide these aircraft with the ability to cruise at speeds from 400-450kts (740-830km/h) at relevant altitudes and hover in austere environments (near unprepared surfaces),” the announcement read.
Additional requirements call for the X-Plane to have capacity to “hover and perform hover manoeuvres in a stable manner”; in addition to “transition between hover, forward flight and high speed forward flight modes in both directions in a stable manner”, the BAA added.
Finally, the BAA described how the X-Plane must also be capable of landing and taking off within 300ft (90m), potentially carrying payloads up to 1,000lbs (450kg) in weight. Consideration is also being paid to potential for air-to-air refuelling of the X-Plane.
“The SPRINT X-Plane is expected to have useable flight hours left after the DARPA flight demonstration and will likely transition to [USSOCOM] for further evaluation. This evaluation may include integration of a mission package. The X-Plane should have allocations for space, weight and power for the mission package; however, any integration is not part of this solicitation,” the BAA concluded.
Flight tests are expected to begin in 2027 with DARPA stipulating a maximum flight test endurance of one and a half hours and a flight radius up to 200nm (340km).
Speaking to AMR, USSOCOM officials explained how the HSVTOL concept would “close those distances [associated with the Indo-Pacific] in much more operationally relevant timelines”.
“We are looking at range and speed in terms of logistics challenges and support challenges for US SOF And partners. We think the technology fits very well into operating across long range distances.”
HSVTOL
USSOCOM officials informed AMR how Bell Textron had published details regarding an HSVTOL concept which remains in an engineering phase but also stated the DARPA project would focus on a new, clean sheet design.
Nonetheless, Bell has published marketing material illustrating potential concepts of operation for HSVTOL. These include vertical take-off from landing pads at sea before the air frame transitions into a fixed wing mode of flight.
Bell’s concept offers “low downwash hover capability; jet-like cruise speeds over 400kts (740km/h); true runway independence and flexibility; [and is] scalable to the range of missions from unmanned personnel recovery to tactical mobility; and aircraft gross weights ranging from 4,000lbs to over 10,000lbs [1,800-4,500kg]”
On 13 September, Bell Textron announced it had delivered a HSVTOL test article to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico for demonstration and technology evaluation purposes.
“The team will leverage the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Holloman High Speed Test Track to test the folding rotor, integrated propulsion and flight control technologies at representative flight speeds,” a company statement confirmed.
“The HSVTOL test article delivery and start of sled testing operations serves as a major milestone in our mission to develop the next generation of high-speed vertical lift aircraft. The objective of Bell’s sled test operations is to validate key technologies through a full-scale, integrated demonstration in a representative operating environment. Bell plans for the test article to execute a series of HSVTOL high-speed transition manoeuvres, a first of its kind capability for vertical lift aircraft.” Bell also confirmed that it had “successfully completed functional demonstrations at Bell’s Flight Research Center” ahead of delivery to Holloman AFB.
Elsewhere, USSOCOM is considering new concepts to support SOF insertion over and under water with solutions including surface vessels and swimmer delivery vehicles (SDVs) capable of being deployed from larger motherships and even strategic submarines.
Options include a next-generation variant of the Combatant Craft Medium (CCM), designated by USSOCOM’s Program Executive Office – Maritime as the “Mk2 replacement craft”.
Service officials confirmed to AMR how the CCM Mk2 will comprise an “evolution not a revolution” of the original CCM with market research and requirements analysis taking place over the course of 2023.
“We need it now and we need it quickly and are building on lessons learned from the last 10 years to modernise and make it better from a lot of different sources. We are in the beginning stages of laying out an acquisition framework and considering how we move forward with this,” it was explained.
Today, USSOCOM has an inventory of 31 CCM Mk1s used to facilitate the tactical insertion and extraction of SOF units across maritime environments.
Specific areas of interest regarding the Mk2 include alternative precision, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies and capability to process, exploit and disseminate data across an area of interest.
“Relevant real-time data should be able to move in and out and get it in the hands of operators, so they can make operational decisions on the move which is going to be critical. Remember though, we’re limited in space, internal and external, so antenna equipment inside is very limited. So we have to think high capacity, but low space requirement,” a PEO Maritime official explained before suggesting requirement for ability to operate in GPS-denied environments.
“If we get into a GPS denied area, we know our original point, but how are we going to get to waypoints ‘B’ to ‘C’ to ‘D’ and back? How are we going to execute the mission with an ability to navigate in those environments is going to be critical and and technology and will be a benefit to us?’
Under the waves
Similarly, USSOCOM continues preliminary design of its next-generation Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) solution which, unlike the current variant which is entering service with US Naval Special Warfare, will be capable of being deployed underwater from a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) integrated on board US Navy Ohio- and Virginia-class submarines.
“DCS ‘Next’ is in really good shape and there is good competition from the industrial base,” the official confirmed but explaining how the concept is now referred to as the “Submarine Launched Dry Submersible” or SLDS.
“We are pleased with its progress and partnering with the US Navy. We’ve been talking for years about the maritime domain, which is extremely important to what we’re doing in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility,” USSOCOM’s Smith said.
“We had a successful operational test with our dry combat submersible. So that’s going well, and we’ve got good traction on what the next-generation of that dry combat submersible looks like,” he added.
PEO Maritime is also looking at a next-generation DDS solution which would extend submarine-launched capabilities yet further into the future. The future variant will be approximately 30 percent larger in terms of capacity, meaning it will be able to accommodate the original DCS model as well as the SLDS upgrade when it finally enters service.
The “DDS-Next” will comprise a “21st century large ocean interface solution module, leveraging the strengths of both legacy and modified DDS to be compatible with the current and future Virginia-class submarines”, according to PEO Maritime.
“The next generation SOF asset will be a weight optimised topside hangar, capable of launching large unmanned undersea vehicles, undersea dominance group three payloads and other technology as required,” documents declared before highlighting a series of operational use cases including wet and dry, manned submersible missions; autonomous launch and recovery; surface-launched unmanned aerial vehicle missions; and “mass swimmer lock-out missions”.
“We are looking forward with increased capability. We want something that’s bigger that can help us get into the rest of the century and increase our capability. A big key to the DDS-Next will be remote operation. That’s one of the things that we’re looking for that obviously involves the host submarine architecture interface,” PEO Maritime’s official concluded.
At SOF Week in May, PEO Maritime also highlighted the NEREUS containerised launch and recovery system for SDVs including the DCS and potentially SLDS in the future. Comprising a total of three shipping containers, NEREUS includes a crane capable of lifting up to 30,000lbs (13,600kg) in payload.
On the ground, SOF are facing a very different operating environment as governments witness a sizeable pivot away from counter-insurgency towards operations associated with strategic competition.
Speaking to AMR, vice president at Polaris Government and Defense, Nick Francis explained how SOF employ lightweight and highly mobile vehicles to insert via tactical air platforms into austere locations around the world.
“Size and weight are among the most critical design elements,” Francis said. “Polaris military platforms are lightweight, which helps keep the allowable cabin load low to maximise range of the helicopter without refuelling and can allow the units to carry both vehicles and personnel in a single aircraft.”
According to Francis, the company’s MRZR family of vehicles are all capable of being operated as internally transportable vehicles or ITVs a variety of air frames including V-22; H-47; Mi-17; and CH-53. He also described how larger helicopters had capacity to carry multiple vehicles providing additional capability for SOF on the ground.
Other design considerations for internal air transportability, Francis continued, include collapsible roll-over protection systems and integrated aircraft tie-downs.
“Being able to fit into multiple aircraft is paramount for interoperability – the cornerstone of the global SOF community – as forces work together and often use local assets, including rotary wing aircraft.”
Once deployed on the ground, Francis explained how expeditionary SOF units need “off-road capable and modular vehicles to maximise their load for the days to weeks they’ll be in the field”.
“All Polaris tactical vehicles are designed to traverse unforgiving off-road environments at full payload, whether that payload is supplies, combat medicine or communications equipment, mortar systems, drones or counter-drone systems.
“These vehicles also need to have excellent range to maximise the area of operation and available routes. Expeditionary forces also want greater exportable power from our vehicles– the more the better for power-hungry systems – so we’re working on systems to address that and deliver as much as 5kW from the MRZR Alpha, stationary and on-the-move,” he added before suggesting Polaris develops its fleet of vehicles for a “global theatre of operation”.
“The MRZR Alpha exploits everything we’ve learned from previous conflicts and anticipated threats. The fully enclosed cab shelters occupants from the environment, while the low ground contact pressure of the track system allows it to travel over adverse terrain like mud or snow, even at full payload.
“Our customers – be they SOF, conventional light infantry, maritime units or other expeditionary forces – are demanding more capability from every platform and in the light mobility space, multi-mission assets are critical. Having a single vehicle that can be reconfigured for various payloads and environments helps reduce the burden on acquisition, training, concepts of operations and logistics. Common equipment and assets maximise interoperability, allowing multi-national forces to work as one,” he concluded.
by Andrew White
