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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon

Unclassified Summary

______

Committee on Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon

Board on Army Research and Development

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences


Consensus Study Report

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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This activity was supported by Grant/Contract No. W911NF-18-D-0002-0001 with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology (DASA(RT)) and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-45480-3
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-45480-8
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26129.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

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The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

Rapid Expert Consultations published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are authored by subject-matter experts on narrowly focused topics that can be supported by a body of evidence. The discussions contained in rapid expert consultations are considered those of the authors and do not contain policy recommendations. Rapid expert consultations are reviewed by the institution before release.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
×

COMMITTEE ON ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF THE STRATEGIC LONG RANGE CANNON

LTG JOSEPH ANDERSON, Rafael Systems Global Sustainment, Co-Chair

KARI D. ANDERSON, Mobius Consulting, LLC, Co-Chair

KAUSHIK BHATTACHARYA,1 California Institute of Technology

RODNEY D.W. BOWERSOX, Texas A&M University

IAIN BOYD, University of Colorado Boulder

ALISON BROWN (NAE), NAVSYS Corporation

GEORGE (RUSTY) T. GRAY III (NAE), Los Alamos National Laboratory

JAMES E. HUBBARD, JR. (NAE), Texas A&M University

GREG H. PARLIER, GH Parlier Consulting, Madison, Alabama

SUHITHI M. PEIRIS, Air Force Research Laboratory

KELLY STEPHANI, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Staff

WILLIAM “BRUNO” MILLONIG, Director, Board on Army Research and Development, and Scholar

SARAH JUCKETT, Program Officer, Study Director

NIA JOHNSON, Program Officer (as of November 2020)

STEVEN DARBES, Program Officer

LINDA WALKER, Program Coordinator (until April 2021)

AANIKA SENN, Program Coordinator (until August 2020)

TINA LATIMER, Program Coordinator (as of April 2021)

TRAVON JAMES, Program Coordinator (as of September 2021)

CAMERON MALCOM, Research Assistant

CLEMENT MULOCK, Program Assistant

CHRIS JONES, Senior Finance Business Partner

Consultant

THOMAS PERISON

___________________

1 Resigned from the committee in December 2021.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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BOARD ON ARMY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

HON. KATHARINA McFARLAND, Retired Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology), Chair

MICHAEL BEAR, Booz Allen Hamilton, Vice Chair

LTG JOSEPH ANDERSON, Rafael Systems Global Sustainment

DAVID AUCSMITH, University of Washington

JAMES BAGIAN (NAE/NAM), University of Michigan

JOAN BIENVENUE, University of Tennessee

LYNN A. DUGLE, Independent Consultant

JOHN FARR, United States Military Academy at West Point

GEORGE T. GRAY III (NAE), Los Alamos National Laboratory

MG WILLIAM HIX, New Horizon Partners, LLC

GREGORY JOHNSON, Lockheed Martin

JOHN KOSZEWNICK, Achates Power, Inc.

DUNCAN McGILL, Independent Consultant

CHRISTINA MURATA, Deloitte

ADI PADHA, Deloitte

JOHNNY SAWYER, The Sawyer Group, LLC

ALBERT A. SCIARRETTA, CNS Technologies, Inc.

KELLY STEPHANI, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

GEOFFREY D. THOME, SAIC

JAMES THOMSEN, Seaborne Defense, LLC

JOSEP TORRELLAS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

DEBRA WADA, Military Child Education Coalition

BRIAN HOLMES, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ex officio)

Staff

WILLIAM “BRUNO” MILLONIG, Director and Scholar

LIDA BENINSON, Senior Program Officer (until November 2021; with Board on Higher Education and Workforce)

SARAH JUCKETT, Program Officer

NIA JOHNSON, Program Officer (as of November 2020; with Intelligence Community Studies Board)

STEVEN DARBES, Program Officer

LINDA WALKER, Program Coordinator (until April 2021)

AANIKA SENN, Program Coordinator (until August 2020)

TINA LATIMER, Program Coordinator (as of April 2021)

TRAVON JAMES, Program Coordinator (as of September 2021)

CAMERON MALCOM, Research Assistant

CLEMENT MULOCK, Program Assistant

SAMUEL ZINKGRAF, Program Assistant

CHRIS JONES, Senior Finance Business Partner

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
×

Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Kevin Bowcutt (NAE), Boeing,

Graham Candle (NAE), University of Minnesota,

Saryu Fensin, Los Alamos National Laboratory,

MG John Ferrari, QOMPLX,

John Fisher, Energetic Technology Center,

Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, University of Minnesota,

MG William C. Hix, Next Horizon Partners, LLC,

Thomas Kurfess, Georgia Institute of Technology,

Roger McCarthy (NAE), McCarthy Engineering, and

Kaliat Ramesh, Johns Hopkins University.

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Eric Ducharme (NAE), General Electric Aviation (retired). He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Preface

The 2018 National Defense Strategy states that “Long-term strategic competitions with China and Russia are the principal priorities for the Department, and require both increased and sustained investment, because of the magnitude of the threats they pose … today, and the potential for those threats to increase in the future.” This focus is reinforced by the recent Interim National Security Guidance and the Secretary of Defense’s “Message to the Force,” which prioritizes “freedom of action in contested, complex operating environments.” The Army, seasoned and shaped by 20 years of counterinsurgency, is undertaking a transformation effort that will “provide the Joint Force with the range, speed, and convergence of cutting-edge technologies that will be needed to provide future decision dominance and overmatch required to win the next fight” by delivering “mobile long range fires, sustainment, protection, and forces able to maneuver within an adversary’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) layer.” The adversary’s reliance on A2/AD, attendant investment in its own long-range fires, and emerging investment in hypersonic capabilities mean fire and maneuver, in particular, will take on a new meaning in this much more contested operational environment.

The Army’s operational concept, Multi-Domain Operations, “proposes a series of solutions to solve the problem of layered standoff” rapidly and continuously integrating “all domains of warfare to … penetrate and dis-integrate enemy anti-access and area denial systems,” particularly by employing “cross-domain fires to defeat the enemy’s long-range systems and begin the neutralization of the enemy mid-range systems.” Consequently, the Army is actively pursuing long-range hypersonic weapons, medium-range missiles, and shorter-range cannons. The Strategic Long Range Cannon (SLRC), originally conceived to address threat capabilities that exceeded Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty limits, is one possible hypersonic solution for a 1,000-mile-range weapon system. It is important to note that the SLRC is currently a science and technology project with the objective of test firing a demonstrator in 2023.

This report highlights some of the challenges associated with the system on the path ahead and makes recommendations to inform the community of interest on how to improve this project.

We would like to thank the committee members for their dedicated time and steadfast professional efforts towards this study. Their intellectual curiosity and teamwork resulted in a very thorough and valuable report. We also appreciate all of the agencies and organizations that provided the committee with information and contributed

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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to this study. Lastly, we are grateful for all of the support given to us by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine staff in order to keep us organized and focused on our objectives and timelines and in the development of this report.

Joseph Anderson and Kari Anderson, Co-Chairs
Committee on Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon: Unclassified Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26129.
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The U.S. Army is working on a major science and technology development program to build the Strategic Long Range Cannon to fire a hypersonic projectile 1,000 miles. At the request of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, the Committee on Assessing the Feasibility of the Strategic Long Range Cannon made recommendations for the U.S. Army in the following categories: organizational, operational, and technical demonstration development areas. This publication is the unclassified summary of the full, classified report.

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