An Assessment of Non-Lethal Weapons Science and Technology (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-11
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From page 1... ...
Navy efforts related to NLWs. These concerns must be addressed by the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, the Navy Secretariat, and the Chief of Naval Operationsor the risk is high that added investments by ONR in non-lethal weapons R&D will be of little value.
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From page 2... ...
; a middle zone for initial engagement to turn away a threat if it is still approaching, at which point non-lethal means may offer the only reasonable alternative to deterring the threat; and a third, inner zone in which lethal force could be employed. In a second area, sanctions enforcement in the Persian Gulf has highlighted the challenges of intercepting and boarding suspect vessels in the midst of heavy commercial traffic and in the face of unknown crew makeup.
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From page 3... ...
In looking beyond the technologies themselves, the committee also discovered the shortcomings in current understanding of non-lethal weapons effects and effectiveness. The impact of this issue on warfighter acceptance of NLWs as a useful and integral operational capability is so profound that the committee devoted two of its four recommendations to the issue.
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From page 4... ...
. Examples of its accomplishments include the qualification and transition to acquisition of non-lethal weapons capability sets for deployment by Marines and soldiers; the establishment, in principle, of the process and capabilities for assessing antipersonnel non-lethal weapons effects through the Human Effects Review Board and the Human Effects Center As noted in the preface, the committee recognizes that it is of paramount importance that the Department of Defense and the Department of State clarify the legal interpretations of the Chemical Weapons Convention so that both the operational and technical communities can move forward under consistent guidelines.
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From page 5... ...
The Marine Corps and Army, as the primary initial sources for reallocation of funds to the JNLWD at its inception, have drawn down their own investments in R&D. Air Force investments for explicit non-lethal weapons research have always been low, although promising directed-energy concepts, funded principally for their lethal potential, have found cofunding from the directorate and other agencies for specific non-lethal weapons applications.
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From page 6... ...
In addition, the warfighter must understand and be able to adapt to the inherently variable effects of NLWs as a specific engagement unfolds, it is essential that the warrior have the ability to obtain and act on immediate feedback to be able to "dial an effect" for re-engagement should that prove necessary. Well-characterized effects and effectiveness are probably the most convincing means of gaining widespread acceptance and integration of NLWs into warfighting capabilities, yet such characterization is currently the weakest aspect of the overall non-lethal weapons program.
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From page 7... ...
The committee agrees that, while progress since the establishment of the JNLWD has been laudable, important areas of concern remain. These concerns led the committee to the following conclusions: · Without compelling new ideas, NLWs will remain a specialty item in the warfighter's tool kit and will never become the effective element of warfighting that countless studies and limited operational experience have affirmed NLWs can be.
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From page 8... ...
At this juncture in the maturing of the JNLWD, the committee recommends that the directorate declare success in its initial phase of meeting the demand for quickly fielded capabilities and, for the future, move to a new and more robust role that is much better aligned with its joint status. This next phase for the JNLWD should focus on two principal roles: (1)
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From page 9... ...
It is emphasized here, regardless of the future direction and focus of the directorate, because the human effects issue is critical for expanded NEW use. The scope of the COEs should be comprehensive and should include responsibilities for the following: · Developing and implementing a focused research agenda to advance the state of fundamental understanding; · Creating and sustaining effects databases, and identifying shortfalls in the knowledge base; · Prioritizing and executing research to fill knowledge gaps; · Developing, validating, and integrating effects models; · Serving as a consultant to the development community to define test regimes and protocols for developmental systems and transition to acquisition; and · Providing expertise to support JNLWD independent assessment function.
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From page 10... ...
Science and technology: In cooperation with the JNLWD and the other Services, ONR should invest in a richer portfolio of NLW-specific R&D activities in the areas of chemicals; directed energy; barriers and entanglements; underwater defensive systems; and platform, sensor, and command and control system enablers. Areas for ONR emphasis include HPM research and development as planned by the Naval Research Laboratory, barrier and entanglement deployment systems for stopping vessels, accelerated research on solid-state lasers for operational non-lethal weapons applications, weaponization of antimateriel chemical NLWs for use in stopping engines and as antipersonnel calmatives, and use of unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned underwater vehicles as delivery platforms.
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From page 11... ...
Suggestions have been made within the Navy about its deployment shipboard for port protection, but the idea should be fully assessed within the Department of the Navy to establish the cost-effectiveness of such a system before development resources are committed. A final recommendation related to S&T is made to the JNLWD, which is currently supporting two chemical laser programs, the advanced tactical laser (ATL)
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