Urban-Unattended Ground Sensors (U-UGS) for Infantry Urban Warfare/Combat Ops

By David Crane
defrev at gmail dot com

August 29, 2008

Textron Defense Systems (TDS), is actively marketing their Urban-Unattended Ground Sensors (U-UGS) as a core Future Combat Systems (FCS) wireless technology/hardware platform that will watch infantry warfighters’ backs as they maneuver inside the urban battlespace. According to the Textron literature, the U-UGS system of networked, wireless unmanned ground sensors is "capable of detecting, classifying, locating, and tracking vehicles, personnel, and aircraft in both rural and urban environments" that utilizes "advanced communications and technologies to link soldiers with both manned and unmanned platforms and sensors."

U-UGS can be…

utilized during building clearing operations, cave clearing operations, tunnel clearing, sewer clearing, and any other confined space clearing op as a wireless surveillance/monitoring tool. Just place it (i.e. hide it) and forget it. U-UGS takes over from their. U-UGS is lightweight and perportedly low-cost, although DefenseReview hasn’t yet been able to get concrete cost figures on it, yet. We’ll see.

Once placed/hidden, U-UGS will capture field-of-view images of any/all intruders that cross its path in any/all light conditions. It will then transmit those images to the FCS network (or any alternative network with which it’s integrated) for analysis and evaluation.  As this is written, the Future Combat Systems program is in serious trouble, and is likely to be canceled.  If/when FCS is canceled, U-UGS can most likely be easily integrated with any other net-centric warfare (a.k.a. network-centric warfare) system that U.S. Army and Marine Corps infantry forces utilize.

Textron co-developed the Urban-Unattended Ground Sensors system with Honeywell International.

Company Contact Info:

Textron Defense Systems (TDS)
201 Lowell Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
Phone: 978-657-2100
http://www.textrondefense.com