Strategic Technologies for the Military: Breaking New Frontiers

Strategic Technologies for the Military

Strategic Technologies for the Military Breaking New Frontiers

Ajey Lele

Copyright © Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Jointly published in 2009 by SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India www.sagepub.in SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square, Singapore 048763 and Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) No. 1 Development Enclave (near USI) Rao Tula Ram Marg, New Delhi 110 010, India Published by Vivek Mehra for SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/12 pt Times New Roman by Excellent Laser Typesetters, Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lele, Ajey. Strategic technologies for the military: breaking new frontiers/Ajey Lele. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Military art and science—Technological innovations. 2. Strategy. 3. Military planning. 4. Strategic planning. I. Title. U39.L45

355'.07—dc22

2009

ISBN: 978-81-321-0241-0 (HB) The SAGE Team: Elina Majumdar, Pranab Jyoti Sarma, Amrita Saha and Trinankur Banerjee

2009032027

To my son, Nipun

Contents

Preface Introduction

ix 1

SECTION ONE

PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES 1. 2.

Near Space Technology: Relevance in the Evolving Security Environment

19

Military Robots

44

SECTION TWO

WEAPON TECHNOLOGIES 3.

Speed of Light Weaponry: Directed Energy Weapons

71

SECTION THREE

EMERGING AND CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIES 4.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

111

5.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

139

6.

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

167

Conclusion

180

Select Bibliography Index About the Author

194 201 210

Preface

This book is for everyone interested in the future of ‘security’. It is a bit about technologies which are finding their way on the battlefield right at this moment. The other bit is about the appreciation that how possibly such technologies could challenge the existing concept of the battlefield. The technologies addressed in this book are dealt with from a point of view of a person interested in this field and do not necessarily require technical background to understand them. The first problem faced by the author is the enormous length and breadth of the field in respect of every technology discussed here. Also, these technologies find their basis in various branches of sciences from physics to biology. It was a delicate task to appreciate the ‘art’ behind every ‘science’ which finally gets translated into ‘technology’. A huge mass of source material exists in respect of various technologies discussed here. However, when it comes to contextualising them at the backdrop of security, many gaps were found. This book is an attempt to contribute towards filling few of them. I owe thanks to Mr Narendra Sisodia, Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for allowing me to undertake this work and providing constant encouragement. I also would like to thank my parents for their support. Finally, thanks are due to my wife Dr Pramada not only for being there but also for useful discussions on various facets of science and technology.

Introduction

Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), a great visionary, a brilliant science fiction writer and a great forecaster through his writings, compelled the scientific community in many parts of the world to think differently. This radar technician with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War foresaw communication satellites, a nationwide network of computers and interplanetary travel. He had predicted in the 1940s that there would be man on the moon by 1970s. His famous three laws of prediction which were first published in his ‘Profiles of the Future’ (1962) are as follows: 1. 2. 3.

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past into the impossible. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.1

It needs to be said that Sir Arthur Clarke has been proved correct with most of his predictions. As envisaged by him, the growth of technology in the 21st century appears near magical and many things once thought of as impossible are on the verge of becoming real. This growth of technology is all pervasive and has become an important premise of study in various facets of life, including security. In the context of conflict resolution, the definition of ‘security’ depends on one’s perspective. At the simplest level, security may be defined as ‘the quality or state of being secure’, ‘freedom from danger’ or ‘freedom from fear or anxiety’. Security could be analysed at various levels like individual, group, regional, national and global. The understanding 1

Arvind Mishra, ‘Rip: Arthur C. Clarke’, Science Reporter (May 2008): 31.

2 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY of security varies as per the level. On the individual level, security essentially relates to safety. The understanding of security for the group level is almost the same as for the individual level. Here instead of the individual, the group expects safety. However, at group level, security also gets indirectly related to ‘freedom from discrimination’. Regional security depends on how one perceives the region and its boundaries (it could a part of a state or in some cases, could be a grouping of states mostly sharing geographical borders). Here expectations are the perseverance of economic, political or religious interests. National security is probably the most often examined and contentious definition of security. The nation-state often assumes the role of guarantor for individual security, group security and perhaps regional security. The national security could be broadly defined as: ‘The entirety of conditions—political, economic, military, social and cultural—necessary to guarantee the sovereignty, independence and promotion of national interest …’2 The concept of war (either its presence or absence) is closely related to security. During the period 1945–88, the notion of international security was related to the absence of war.3 History shows that the nature of warfare is always an evolving process. However, in regard to the object of war, the Clausewitznian concepts still holds good. He had argued that ‘[w]ar is the continuation of politics by other means’.4 Therefore, a close link exists between war and politics. While on the other hand, security, whether individual, national, regional or international, ranks prominently among the evils facing the civilisation. The context of security changes with the level at which it is being addressed. National security is fundamental because states mostly dictate various conditions that determine security. Creation of stronger states is important for both individual and national security. It is not necessary that the stronger state would fully guarantee security, but absence of it will bring in insecurity. Presence of weak states is a worrying trend in regard to security. Weak states

2 Omario Kanji, Security, Beyond Intractability, eds, Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess (Boulder: Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, 2003), http://www. beyondintractability.org/essay/security (accessed on 30 July 2008). 3 E. Rodriguez, ‘The Concept of International Security’ (Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA’s 49th Annual Convention, Bridging Multiple Divides, Hilton San Francisco, CA, USA, 26 March 2008), http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p251184_index. html (accessed on 3 February 2009). 4 Carl von Clausewitz, On War, translated by J.J. Graham (New York: Penguin, 1982).

Introduction 3 may serve some short-term economic, political and military interests of the stronger states; however, the danger of conflict escalation always exists. The majority threats of international area involve a host of intricate factors which make both their direct outcome and their broad consequences highly uncertain. This intricacy increases as threats begin to interact with the measures taken to meet them, a process most clearly illustrated by arms race and trade wars. However, security is not the only concept through which the national security problem can be approached. Traditionally, this problem has been approached based on concepts of power and peace. For the last couple of years, the issue of security has been seen primarily in terms of national power by both policy makers and strategists. In the recent past, the perceptions of security are found to be changing; however, the tenets of security remain more or less the same. In the 21st century, it is incorrect to address the issue of security on pure military terms. In an era of rapid technological advances, rising economic interdependence, globalisation and dramatic geopolitical change, there is no option but to perceive security in comprehensive terms across the globe. Certainly, up-to-date knowledge about external threats to the nation, the battle against terrorism, a country’s strategic outreach, its geopolitically derived sense of its national interest and the way in which it articulates and projects its presence on the international stage, are all intertwined.5 Today most security policies are designed to insure ‘social autonomy as a group and a degree of political status, not merely to ensure the physical survival of individuals within national boundaries.’6 A relatively new concept called Global Security is being discussed for last few decades. One can associate organisations like the United Nations with this. However, global security could be undermined by national security concerns and loses its relevance if one nation is being threatened by another. Providing security itself creates a dilemma. It is perceived that security is provided with a strong military that can deter attack. Yet, the development of military strength can be seen as a threat by the other side which then increases its own military

5 Shashi Tharoor, ‘Threats to Global Security’, The Hindu, 19 August 2007, www. shashitharoor.com/articles/hindu/threats2security.php (accessed on 15 July, 2008). 6 Nye, J.S., Jr., ‘Problems of Security Studies’ (Paper presented at the XIV World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August 1988).

4 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY investment. This, then, actually decreases both sides’ security, rather than increasing it.7 Interestingly, the development of military follows a technological logic. Scientific knowledge and technological ability increase regardless of the particularities of international relations. Even though explicit defence concerns do shape the technological imperative, they are not totally responsible for it. Scientific and technological instruments come as much from civil as from military sources. For obvious reasons, industrialised societies cannot escape military implications and technological progress. Military implications of new technologies will be much starker and much more compelling when international tensions are high. But they will be continuing factors operating on their own logic.8 Tools of modern day war-fighting are driven by technology and that makes technology an important theme in the study of international security. The impacts of science and technology on international security environment are all-encompassing. Technology has been instrumental in influencing the ‘concept of war-waging’ in the minds of both political as well as military leadership for many centuries. Presently many emerging technologies are been talked about which show promise for the betterment of the human condition. There exists an interrelation between security and technology. However, development of scientific knowledge and its transformation into technological knowledge is a complicated process with a large number of complex determinants. Before embarking on any study of the consequences of emerging technologies, it is important to understand why these technologies that have been generated assume the form and move in the direction that they do.9 It is not always possible to undertake such an analysis. Social scientists have generally been reluctant to examine the causes of technical change, preferring instead to analyse its consequences.10 This could be because consequences of technical change play a dominant role in bringing economic and social change and hence, social scientists are more interested in the cost. It is understood that the Omario Kanji, Security, Beyond Intractability, eds, Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess (Boulder: Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, 2003), http://www. beyondintractability.org/essay/security/ (accessed on 30 July 2008). 8 Barry Buzon, People States and Fear, 2nd edition (Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1991), 271. 9 Martin Fransman, ‘Biotechnology: Generation, diffusion and policy’ (Working Paper No. 1, UNU/INTECH, United Nations University, The Netherlands, 1991), 6–7. 10 Ibid., 13. 7

Introduction 5 technical change is a dynamic entity and is constantly evolving, and naturally its impact on society changes with the changes in technology. These technical changes affect almost every facet of life and mostly include industry, education and military. Over the years, the methods of war-fighting have been constantly changing with the change in technology. It has been observed that the advances in technology dramatically expand the options available for the use of force. Particularly post-1980s, military technologies have witnessed an extraordinary progress. The revolution in information technology and communication technology has brought about significant changes in various battlefield technologies. The latest trends in technology development for military purposes indicate a two-pronged approach: at one level new technologies are being developed and freshly inducted into militaries like the space technology which was never a part of 20th century warfare. On the other hand, inventions form other technologies are being juxtaposed on existing military hardware. For example, innovations in microelectronics, material sciences and information technology are making aircrafts, tanks, missiles and ships to run more faster, carry more weight and have highly improvised accuracies. Even though many discussions on warfare mention how developments in technologies play a crucial role in deciding the fate of war doctrines, it is important to mention that historical facts do not necessarily support this argument. As Barry Buzan, a famous thinker and Professor of International Relations at London School of Economics, observes: The military technology of Roman legions changed little in the six centuries between the conquest of Greece and the fall of Rome; similarly, the galleys used by the Ottomans and the Christians during their Mediterranean wars as late as the sixteenth century were quite similar to those used by the Greeks against Xerxes in 480 BC. Napoleon’s astonishing victories at the end of the eighteenth century were based almost wholly on innovative use of existing types of weapons, and scarcely at all on innovations on weapons themselves. By the middle of nineteenth century, however, a fundamental transformation in military technology was underway. The industrial revolution, with its ever expanding use of energy and machinery in the process of production by that time developed such momentum that major changes in technology began to occur frequently.11 11 Barry Buzan, ‘An Introduction to Strategic Studies: Military Technology and International Relations’ (London: Macmillian, in association with International Institute of Strategic Studies, 1987): 17–19. A similar argument is also given by M. Matheswaran, ‘RMA and Aerospace Technology (Part 1)’, Air Power Journal (2005): 30–31.

6 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY It is important to understand that the technologies have not always got inducted into any system purely based on their merits and requirement. In some cases their induction in various parts of societies does have non-technological biases. Particularly, in the field of defence there are many powerful international cartels with vested business interests which try to introduce technologies of their choice. At times copycat syndromes exist with states for the induction of specific military technology; these technologies are incorporated based on perceptions without even logically analysing the requirement. Also, few technologies are introduced based on their ‘theoretical’ capabilities rather than undertaking testing in a realistic battlefield scenario. This leads to action–reaction syndrome. Differing states invest in introducing counter technologies. This entire scenario at times leads to the embellishment of the potential impact of technology on defence awareness levels of nation-states. Today, military planning is undergoing a rapid transformation. The defence leadership is attempting to define and organise a more efficient and effective armed forces. They are selectively transforming key capabilities to meet futuristic needs of warfare in the 21st century. However, this process of transformation is a complex one: In the past, success in warfare was defined as accomplishing the mission objectives by coercing or compelling force on the enemy at the operational level or below, should deterrence fail. Increasing public demand for a ‘cleaner’ war has changed the equation for success, however. Success still requires accomplishing the mission objective, but the mission may have to satisfy additional conditions such as keeping friendly losses to a minimum and keeping non-combatant casualties and collateral damage at an acceptable level.12

The wars fought after the end of Cold War, particularly the military campaigns undertaken in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan demonstrate the clear advantage the technology faring nation gets over its rival. This success of technology with various war-waging mechanisms has dictated a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)13. The key features of the 12 RAND—Research Areas National Security, ‘Warfare in a New Millennium’, http:// www.rand.org/natsec_area/products/futuretech.html (accessed on 3 December 2008). 13 The US DoD’s Office of Net Assessment under the leadership of Andrew Marshall developed a definition of the RMA as: ‘A major change in the nature of warfare brought about by the innovative application of new technologies which, combined with dramatic changes in military doctrine and operational and organizational concepts fundamentally alters the character and conduct of military operations.’

Introduction 7 RMA are information-driven computer networks that confer information superiority which stresses precision strike, dominant manoeuvre, information warfare and usage of space-based assets for militaristic purposes.14 Among the more important aspects of the RMA is the advent of unfailing standoff weapons which, on being launched from large distances, find their way to their targets while those who deliver them remain safe, much away from the enemy line of fire.15 However, the concept of RMA grows much beyond technology. This revolution occurs when along with induction of new technology, a nation’s military transforms its strategy, doctrine, training, organisational structure, operational procedures and tactics to achieve its aim.16 For last few decades, states all over the world have been engaged in modernising their militaries by adapting emerging technologies. It could be argued that from developed nations to developing nations, militaries are adapting to RMA in some form or the other. Particularly, the rich and technology savvy nations like the US are adopting a ‘full-scale RMA model’ in their defence doctrines. Countries like India are moving ahead with their own strategy of military modernisation. India is following a two-pronged approach of investing towards indigenous development of technologies and also getting into agreements of technology purchase/ transfer with other countries. Presently, the Indian Armed Forces have a mix of both conventional as well as emerging technologies. Overnight India cannot change its policies of rejecting the existing military hardware altogether. Under this reality, India does not seem to be capable of opting for a ‘full-fledged RMA’. States like India are said to be opting for hybrid RMA17 model combining both conventional and modern technologies. RMA technologies are changing the nature of war-waging by enabling precise destruction of targets from a distance and speeding up of the processes of decision-making. This quest for modernisation caters to emerging capabilities of a state’s potential adversaries, cost factor and raising technological threshold of armed forces.18 14 Mark Herman, ‘Entropy-based Warfare: Modeling the Revolution in Military Affairs’, JFQ (1998–99): 89. 15 Marshall Beier J., ‘Outsmarting Technologies: Rhetoric, Revolutions in Military Affairs, and the Social Depth of Warfare’, International Politics 43, no. 2 (2006): 271. 16 William Cohen, ‘Definition of RMA’ in ‘Annual report to the President of the US’ (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, GPO, 1999), 122. 17 Paul Dibb, ‘The RMA and Asian Security’, Survival (1997–98): 93–116. 18 ‘The Future of Warfare’, The Economist, 8–14 March 1997, pp. 21–24.

8 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY When viewed historically, every industrial revolution had outcomes in form of technology innovation. Steam engine, textile industry and mechanical engineering were noteworthy outcomes of the first industrial revolution (1780–1840). The second industrial revolution (1840–1900) saw the emergence of railways and steel industry. The third revolution (1900–50) produced electric engine, heavy chemicals, automobiles and consumer durables. We are currently witnessing the fourth revolution that started in 1950s which has taught us the importance of oil industry and computers.19 During the last five to six decades, the growth of technology has been exponential in many areas. All this growth in some way or other has contributed towards developing new military technologies. Technologies like nanotechnology, biotechnology, and so on are expected to emerge in a big way to make the fifth industrial revolution possible. All these emerging technologies have a direct relevance for the military and would dictate the future of RMA. Temporarily, post Cold War it was thought that because of the change in geopolitical settings, the relevance of technology on military could slowly diminish. However, technology is not only important for fighting wars but is also important for peace building. Technology has played an important role in defining nuclear deterrence during the Cold War era and is also playing an important role in the post-Cold War era. Looking at the current rate, growth of technology and the direction in which the political leadership is taking it, it could be argued that a shift of focus could take place from the nuclear age to space age. From the military and political leadership point of view, technology is seen as an enabler of RMA. It allows the leadership to make changes as they respond to political, economic and social changes. At the same time it could also act as independent variable forcing uncomfortable changes and sometimes, eroding stability and order. New and emerging technologies have the potential to alter not only tactics and operational methods, but also military strategy itself.20 At the same time it needs to be understood that technology is not an end in itself but is just one of the means for achieving greater security. From a military perspective it has certain inherent limitations. Such limitations have been exposed during the recent Afghanistan campaign (2001) and the invasion of Iraq (2003). Technology played a very 19 20

Punit Kumar, ‘Dawn of a New Revolution’, Science Reporter, April 2007, 39. S. Metz, ‘The Next Twist of the RMA’, Parameters (2000): 40–53.

Introduction 9 significant role when the war in a ‘classic’ sense was fought during both these campaigns. But, when it came to fighting the American concept of ‘global war against terror’, the technology has not always provided the solutions as expected from it. However, this need not be looked only as a limitation or failure of the military technology. It is also about what is understood by technology, how it can be used in particular places at particular times and for particular reasons, and how it is often used in particular places and times for reasons other than those widely anticipated.21 Conventional warfare scenario has been dominated by technological revolution in modern history: The 20th century began with the birth of aerospace technology, which subsequently revolutionized war doctrines and security perceptions during two world wars. In the past five decades phenomenal achievements and technological advances have been made in space technologies, which have added a new dimension of outer space to security and threat perceptions. At the same time key enabling technologies, such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, computers, lasers and photonics, have greatly enhanced overall technological capabilities and system performances. Apart from this WMD [Weapons of Mass Destruction] technologies have also evolved fairly quickly during the last four–five decades.22

Over the last few years, the range of information technologies has increased the general efficiency dramatically in almost every field of life. Apart from bringing economic growth and prosperity, the induction of information technologies has revolutionalised the war-fighting scenario. Few analysts even use the term ‘information-based RMA’ instead of RMA. It is argued that the idea of information-based RMA is revolutionary, and not evolutionary.23 It increases the combat capability of the armed forces manifold. In terms of technology, it is the combination of various high-tech sensors, robust information systems and stealth technologies which support the C4ISR (Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) architecture of the armed forces. 21 Brian Rappert, ed., Technology and Security, (Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2007), 4. 22 Amitav Mallik, ‘Technology and Security in the 21st Century’, SIPRI Research Report No. 20 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 105. 23 Leonard G. Litton, ‘The Information Based RMA and the Principles of War’, Air Power Journal (2007): 163–67.

10 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY At the same time, this technology has also made military systems, which now have almost become totally dependent on information technology, more vulnerable. This has given rise to new threats like bloodless wars (cyber wars). This indicates that the induction of new technologies do bring along with them a different set of problems. However, states do undertake a cost–benefit analysis in this respect and induct technologies. Luckily, in most of the cases the technology itself comes handy to device the counter and counter–counter measure tactics. It needs to be pointed out that the RMA is also a contested concept.24 This is mainly because it confers a thought process that ‘weapons win wars’. But war is not all about bombardment. The question arises if the human players decline to be intimidated, then ‘what next’? Also, information-based RMA, at times, implies that the soldier is not important but in reality the forces are dependent on soldiers who are good at war-fighting. Also, RMA-led C4ISR at times ends up creating a myopic vision and fails to factor in intelligent enemy using asymmetrical techniques to negate the technological imbalance. For the purpose of this book, although it looks at various emerging technologies for its military relevance at the backdrop of RMA, it is not looking at the RMA to its fullest potential but tries to address its technology dimension. On the other hand, criticism to induction of new technology itself is not new. But earlier the criticism was restricted more towards the management of technology than challenging the actual technology per se. However, this is not going to be the case in the future. ‘The development of road, rail and air traffic did not trigger any fundamental political debates; the issues were mostly administrative in nature.’25 Also, actions like mass vaccination against diseases were mostly taken in good spirit in most parts of the world. However, this is not going to be the case for emerging technologies. The developments in genetic engineering give scientists the so-called potential to play God. If technologies like molecular nanotechnology becomes a reality, then the future of mankind becomes extremely difficult to predict. When such technologies would be used by armed forces, then it would become difficult for them to exploit their fullest potential. Because of the unacceptability of such 24 Colin S. Gray, ‘The RMA and Intervention: A Sceptical View’, Contemporary Security Policy (2001): 52–65. 25 H.M. Kepplinger, ‘Individual and Institutional Impacts upon Press Coverage of Sciences: The Case of Nuclear Power and Genetic Engineering in Germany’, in Resistance to New Technology, ed. Martin Bauer (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 357.

Introduction

11

technologies to the global community, the issues of arms control, export control and disarmament would gain a major prominence and few states with vested interests could attempt to guard their interests by blocking various treaty measures. Militaries need to factor various advantages, disadvantages and limitations of emerging technologies into their future planning. For militaries, the 21st century challenges are more complicated than the past. In the past, success in warfare meant accomplishing the mission goals by coercing or compelling force on the enemy at the operational level or below, should deterrence fail. However, over the last few years, rising public demand for a ‘just’ war has changed the moralities of war-fighting. The end result of any war still relates to ‘winning’ but in the process states have remained careful and are expected to avoid non-combatant casualties and collateral damage as far as possible.26 New technologies are categorised under various labels, namely, emerging technologies, modern technologies, transformational technologies, and so on. However, this work restricts itself towards looking at the usage of promising technologies for strategic purposes. States invest in such technologies with a long-term plan of action designed to maintain its security. In the arena of technology, the current advances are occurring in various fields like nuclear science, information technology, biotechnology, space technologies, and so on. Every such field has some relevance for defence industry. In a holistic sense, military security is only the subset of security. There are various other challenges like human security, environmental security and energy security. For a state, defining strategy means looking at all these aspects of security together. Hence, it could be argued that even climate technologies or energy technologies fall in the realm of strategic technologies. However, this work restricts itself towards analysing few of the strategic technologies which have more of a military relevance. Many reports (particularly of western origin) are available, identifying various thematic areas for technology development. Normally, information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and cognitive27 26 John Matsumura et al., ‘Preparing for Future Warfare with Advanced Technologies’ (Issue Paper, Rand, Santa Monica, 2002). 27 The word ‘Cognitive’ refers to the mental process by which knowledge is acquired and used. Cognitive Technology aids to understand a person’s cognitive functions like comprehension, perception, memory, problem solving and reasoning.

12 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY sciences28 are being grouped together as a major component of strategic technologies. A slightly more critical and micro-level analysis identifies the following twenty critical military technologies.29 1. Aeronautics 2. Armament and Energetic Materials 3. Biological 4. Biomedical 5. Chemical 6. Directed and Kinetic Energy Systems 7. Electronics 8. Energy Systems 9. Ground Combat Systems 10. Information Security

11. Information Systems 12. Lasers, Optics and Imaging 13. 14. 15. 16.

Processing and Manufacturing Marine Systems Materials and Processes Nuclear System

17. 18. 19. 20.

Positioning, Navigation and Time Signature Control Space Systems Weapons Systems

Such identifications of technologies carried out by various agencies prompt one fundamental question: ‘Which are the technologies vital for the future war-fighting, and how should they be prioritised?’ States all over the world, particularly the developed nation’s militaries, are thinking on this issue and are trying to identify critical military technologies. Such identification could vary from state to state mainly depending on their political culture, threat perceptions, level of technological base and affordability factor for investments in research and development. This book is an attempt to look at a few of the emerging technologies with strategic relevance. Here, by design, no methodical assessment of various technologies has been carried out from a particular state-centred perspective. The principal objective is to assess a few of the emerging scientific and technological developments for their defence utility. The technologies discussed are those which could have a wider military applicability and a universal security appeal. They are expected to influence the future of global industry in general and military industry in particular. Work on most of these technologies is under progress for the

28 Expert Group, ‘Foresighting the New Technology Wave’, State of the Art Reviews and Related Papers, 14 June 2004, http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2004/ntw/pdf/ soa_en.pdf (accessed on 8 November 2008). 29 ‘Militarily Critical Technologies List’ (Pentagon, VA: Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, October 2005).

Introduction

13

last few years and in few cases even for the last few decades. In some cases the rate of success is not as good as it was envisaged; however, scientists mostly have received very positive indications from the work carried out so far and are working with remarkable zeal towards major breakthroughs. This book could be viewed as a pseudoscientific work—an interface between science and social science written with a purpose that it could become an useful tool for policy makers, military leadership and technologists to appreciate the current trends in the field of strategic technologies and build their strategies on these inputs. It may provide an essential framework for analysis but not necessarily tell everything about every possible strategic technology. The approach is of a descriptive–analytical work. The book talks about technologies which fall in the realm of all basic branches of sciences, namely, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and their derivatives. The approach followed towards understanding these technologies is extremely simple—first try to explain the technology, then look at its present global status and simultaneously try to analyse its implications for the military. Examining the place of every technology discussed in the ‘strategic’ realm essentially demands not only understanding the technology with a narrow prism of its militaristic needs but also to question its validity from a broader-security perspective. However, limitations of the analyses have been kept at a level where a reader with a non-technical background can easily have a broad understanding of the technology and its strategic relevance. Technology validation has not been attempted for various reasons, which also include author’s limitations. This book addresses five key technologies and introduces two additional technologies which demonstrate sanguinity for military applicability. The core technologies discussed are (a) Near Space technology, (b) robotics, (c) directed energy weapons, (d) nanotechnology and (e) biotechnology. The additional two technologies discussed are Ambient Intelligence and Cognitive Technology. The technologies under discussion are selected at random. However, care has been taken to select only those technologies, which are of significant importance to defence forces and are being constantly talked about in the strategic community. Also, literature survey was carried out and it was found that these five technologies are being seriously researched for the last few decades for their military applicability, and significant investments are being made to induct them into the armed forces by developed and few developing states. Another factor is that

14 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY they are recommended by various military technologists, policy makers, scientists and military leadership in India and abroad during the discussions with the author. This entire process of the selection of technologies made the author realise that the militaries consider technology adoption as an instrument which offers them an edge over the adversary. On the other hand, it has also been observed that the military leadership understands that the investments in new technologies offer them a unique opportunity to enhance their defence potential though there is an inherent reluctance for fast adoption. At times there is information vacuum in regard to what could be possible with the adoption of emerging technologies. Experience shows that when technologies are partially or fully developed for their military applicability, normally the ‘sharks’ from the global military industrial complex start selling them, at times with a lot of disinformation regarding their actual capabilities. In view of this, it is important to recognise the exact status of the much discussed, debated and advertised technologies when they are actually in the state of evolution. The technologies selected here are various transformational technologies which are currently at different stages of development but have an explicit military applicability. Also, care has been taken not to select technologies only from a particular group of technologies. This was essential because the purpose of this work is not to concentrate on a very specific, narrow area of technology progression but to identify technologies, which have a wider applicability for defence and the capability of bringing in revolution in military technology affairs in years to come. Key technologies selected here are from the arena of Platform Technology and Weapon Technology. Also, it was felt that there is a need to glance at various cutting edge developments taking place in a few important fields of science. There are few technologies which characterise new and significant developments. Some fields of science show stronger interconnections and it is necessary to discuss the technologies emerging out of such interconnections. As the backdrop, few emerging and converging technologies which may have wider ramifications for defence in future are also discussed. Modern day platform technologies fundamentally involve investments in hybrid technologies (technologies of mixed origin or composition) in military vehicles, usage of new types of materials which could reduce the weight either that of the platform or that of the power sources (batteries), develop autonomous vehicles and juxtapose artificial intelligence on various existing platforms.

Introduction

15

There could be many platform technologies which are under varying stages of research and development at this juncture. Such technologies are probably either being developed for armoured fighting vehicles or for submarines or for aircrafts/spacecrafts. However, it was thought that the basic purpose of many of such technologies is restricted merely towards improvising the existing platforms. Discussion on such types of technologies has been avoided. It needs to be mentioned here that significant developments in military science during the last few years is rapidly thinning the line between delivery platforms and munitions. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could be said to be a platform technology or a robotic technology, but at the same time an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV)—which could go and blast itself on the target—could also fall into the category of munitions technology. However, for the purpose of this work, the segregation of technologies is being done based on the broad characteristics of such technologies. Internet has been a major source of information for this work. Normally plentiful usage of Internet sources is viewed against the basic scholarly practices because such sources lack academic rigour and many times these sources lack authenticity. However, the peculiar nature of the subject on occasions has limited the choice for non-Internet sources. Hence, on occasions official and reorganised websites of various government/defence establishments, scientific organisations and defence industry have been referred to. Care has been taken in choosing the other websites and mostly reputed sites have been consulted. More importantly, many reputed publishing houses have their journals/books available on the cyberspace and on occasions they were referred to from the Internet instead of their print versions. The first section of this book analyses two platform technologies. The first chapter explores an alternative path to space-based platforms, which are cost effective, easy to launch and almost capable of performing the same functions which the standard satellites do, whereas the second chapter analyses the robotic technology. The second section of the book deals with weapon technologies. A weapon is an instrument used by various militaries to damage life or property for centuries together. The doctrines of 21st century militaries demand a restraint on the use of weapons against civilians, and there is an increasing global requirement towards minimising collateral damage during the wars. Over the years, weapon technology has evolved from swords and knives to fully automatic rifles to nuclear weapons to smart bombs. Laser weapons are a new addition to this family of weapons and

16 STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE MILITARY are a subset of Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) family. Chapter 3 of this book discusses the DEW technology. This technology which has a potential to offer various combat solutions is successful in parts to the degree that few weapons based on this technology have already proved their battle worthiness, while in some other cases development is still at embryonic level. DEW technology has been researched vigorously for the last few decades because it offers flexibility to militaries in tailoring their responses (for example, lethal or non-lethal) to different types of targets (humans or machines). NBIC, an acronym for nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science, is currently the most popular term for emerging and converging technologies, and was introduced into public discourse through the report titled ‘Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance’,30 a document sponsored by the US National Science Foundation. The convergence of NBIC technologies is creating a set of powerful tools that have the potential to significantly transform militaries. The third section of this book discusses NBIC technologies. Nanotechnology and biotechnology have been discussed in Chapters 4 and 5, respectively. These technologies are discussed in detail because recent developments indicate that these technologies demonstrate an increased capacity for fast innovation and invention. Chapter 6 talks about cognitive technology and ambient intelligence at a macro level. These technologies are still in early days of their evolution and hence their direct induction in the armed forces is yet to start, but it appears to be only a matter of time. The ever increasing computing power, availability of high speed networks, interactive broadband, distributed genomic discovery and the likely onset of Internet 2 are expected to bring all future innovations closer, making military systems more intelligent, fast and accurate. It is the interplay of key technologies, the synergy of technology trends together that will create the most comprehensive impact on militaries.31

30 Mihail C. Roco and William Sims Bainbridge, eds, ‘Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance’, National Science Foundation sponsored report, June 2002, Arlington, Virginia, http://www.wtec.org/ConvergingTechnologies/1/NBIC_report. pdf (accessed on 12 February 2009). 31 James Canton, ‘Designing the Future, NBIC Technologies and Human Performance Enhancement’, https://www.clayandiron.com/news_file.jhtml?id=689&file=NBIC_ Human_Enhancement_Research.pdf (accessed on 26 February 2009).

Section One Platform Technologies

1 Near Space Technology: Relevance in the Evolving Security Environment

The earth’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the erstwhile Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. More than five decades have passed thereafter and mankind has made a remarkable progress in the space arena and has even conquered the moon. The space quest that started by placing the satellite into the lower earth orbit, approximately at the height of 250 km during 1957, has now reached to a stage where states have started reaching out to the ‘deep space’ region.1 Now, satellites of a few states have been positioned at a height of approximately 400,000 km which even enable observation of the moon from extremely close quarters. Over all these years, states have launched more than 6,000 satellites into various orbits of the earth, either independently or with the help of other states. Satellites in the uppermost orbit, commonly known as geostationary orbit, are positioned at the height of 36,000 km. During the period 2007–08, states like Japan, China and India have successfully placed their satellites in the lunar orbit. Space technologies have utility in regard to remote sensing, communication, navigation, meteorology, education, astronomy, and so on. Conversely, these technologies inherently being dual-use technologies have a military dimension too. Satellites play a prominent role towards

1 Deep space is the region which is considered to be a region above 100,000 km from the earth’s surface.

20 Strategic Technologies for the Military military communication and navigation. Also, satellites are being used for many years for military purposes like intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance. The theoretical possibilities exist where satellites could be armed and used to fire weapons at targets on the earth.2 On the other hand, there are chances that ‘Weaponisation of Space’3 could become a reality where the states would adopt such techniques to destroy the satellites of rival countries. On 11 January 2007, China successfully conducted an anti-satellite (ASAT) test which destroyed its own dysfunctional satellite by firing a ballistic missile from the ground (this is known as kinetic kill vehicle or the KKV technology4). Also, it is likely that a few states have developed satellite jamming technologies which could be used for temporarily jamming the satellites of other states. This technology essentially involves the usage of ground-based lasers to jam the satellites. The satellite era, in regard to militaries, could be said to have started with the 1991 Gulf War. Earlier during the Cold War period the satellites were used by the then superpowers, namely, the US and the erstwhile USSR for the purposes of monitoring nuclear activities. The world is witnessing a marked increase in the usage of space technologies for military-aid in the post-Cold War era. These technologies have transformed the modern-day battlefield significantly. Apart from dual-use technologies, military specific projects like spy satellites are also being developed. Entire world has witnessed with awe, the usage of space technologies by the US and its allied forces during the 1991 Gulf War. Subsequently, these technologies have been used with some success during Kosovo conflict and during the US invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). All these campaigns saw intense use of space assets by the US and its allied forces. 2 The concepts like ‘rods from the god’ talk about putting tungsten rods in the satellites and fire them over the target on the earth from the space. 3 ‘Militarisation of Space’ means using space assets in aid of military for purposes like communication, navigation and intelligence gathering. Space-faring nations are using their assets for these purposes for many years and this usage does not violate any international norm. However, ‘Weaponisation of Space’ means usage of weapons either from ground or from space to damage the assets of other country. There is no support for this activity from any country; however, there is also no globally acceptable treaty mechanism to ban such weapons. 4 KKV technology involves fixing a metal piece on top of a missile and firing that piece of metal towards the target. Here the target gets fragmented into small parts because of shear impact and the kinetic energy generated during the process. No ammunition per se is required to do the job.

Near Space Technology

21

Space science and satellite technologies involve significant financial and technological investments. The launcher technology, a technology used for putting satellites into the space, is closely associated with ballistic missile technology. At global level, the technology transfer in this area has mostly remained a selective proposal. Hence, both financial and technological limitations in this field have kept many states away from this technology. Until early 2009, only nine states in the world have proven their capability towards indigenous manufacture and launch of satellites. Among this group, a few are recent entrants and have very limited capabilities. All these years, the US has made substantial investments towards the growth of this field (both civilian and military). Also, a few European states have made steady investments by forming a European Space Agency (ESA). Russian investments had depleted for some period due to economic compulsions but not any more. However, all these states with strong economic and scientific bases along with sustained investments of four to five decades are finding it difficult to continue with ambitious space agendas. This could be mainly because of the skewed nature of cost–benefit curve in regard to space exploration. Hence, in the civilian arena of space exploration, a few states have come together to undertake experimentation in the outer space. International Space Station (ISS) is the best example of such cooperation where 16 states (US, Russia, Japan, Canada and a few European states) have come together towards establishing a space station, at approximately 450 km above the earth’s surface to undertake various experiments. To a certain extent, India’s first moon mission, Chandrayan-1, also could be an endeavour of international cooperation where various sensors from ESA, Bulgaria, formed part of the mission. Unfortunately, international collaboration is not always a trouble-free situation. States are forced to undertake a few decisions due to geopolitical compulsions, and then there are competitions among the states. In the end military demands of the states get precedence over other requirements. The states are not ready to share ‘everything’ with each other because of the inherent characteristic (dual-use) of space technology. At the backdrop of above, states are looking for alternative platform technologies which could offer them similar benefits as spacecrafts, but which are cheaper and technologically less challenging. They are looking for technologies which could be developed indigenously. Moreover, the biggest disadvantage with the satellites is that its life period is more than a decade. The rapid developments in the sensor technologies do not

22 Strategic Technologies for the Military instantly find a place on board of satellite and the sensors which are on board of such platforms do not always remain in the bracket of ‘state-ofthe-art’. Under such circumstances, there is a need to have economically viable space platforms with shorter life period. A new frontier of technology is being discussed and researched for the last few years, which is cost-effective and could provide most of the benefits, the satellites offer. Near Space technology is gaining prominence in security thinking of a few states particularly with the US after the 2003 Iraq war. Like satellites, this technology also has its utility in the civilian field. The term ‘Near Space’ could be defined as a region between 20 and 300 km altitude. The seam between what had traditionally been regarded as high altitude (usually aircrafts over all international flying routes fly approximately at 12 km height, most of which happen in troposphere; higher altitudes are the ones which could be said to be lying above troposphere and form a part of stratosphere), and low Earth orbit (LEO, usually considered as the region till 400 km above the earth’s surface), is of interest to the military for several reasons. The inflatable airships operating in this region are likely to fulfil many of the missions now assigned to satellites or to high-altitude aircraft, such as the U-2 or the Global Hawk UAV. These could be the key to the collection of affordable persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) information5. This chapter explores the relevance of Near Space technologies from a security perspective.

CONCEPT AND PRESENT STATUS OF TECHNOLOGY The Air Force’s operating domain is frequently called the ‘vertical dimension’. Traditionally it has been defined as that area ranging from the surface of the earth to geosynchronous spacecraft orbits (36,000 km up in the space). However, this definition is more of a notional definition. In reality, Air Force aircrafts fly approximately at the heights of 12–15 km and satellites are placed into various orbits6 of the space, which also

5 Taylor Dinerman, ‘Near Space: A New Area of Operations or a New Pentagon Buzzword?’ 20 September 2004, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/230/1 (accessed on 12 January 2007). 6 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) could be said to be the region from 100 to 400 km above the earth’s surface. Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) is above that and geostationary orbit satellites are positioned at an approximate height of 36,000 km.

Near Space Technology

23

provide useful information for the purposes of national security. A large slice of space in this domain where neither aircrafts fly nor do satellites operate has been ignored until now. This place in question is the region sandwiched between an altitude close to the internationally accepted upper limit of controlled airspace and an altitude which is the lower limit of space.7 At present, this region is a ‘no man’s land’. Air is too thin to support flight by most operational military aircraft, and yet gravity is too strong for a satellite to sustain itself in orbit. As a result, neither any aircrafts fly nor any satellites are placed in this particular Near Space region. Many defence officials believe that this space could prove to be a key operating area in future.8 According to the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI), the realm of Near Space officially lies between 14.2 miles (~23 km) and 62.5 miles (100 km). However, many consider a wider range that extends up to 200 km or even more, particularly, till an envelop where it becomes safe for satellites to remain in orbit without being dragged down by friction with the residual atmosphere, as an outer edge of Near Space. The vehicles that traverse this high altitude domain are called nearcraft. These include sub-orbital rockets, which make quick jumps into and out of near space, and high-altitude balloons that can loiter there for extended periods. Weather balloons routinely go up to 27 km and scientific balloons go up to 42 km and remain at high altitudes for several days.9 Until very recently, the distinction of space as a set of effects instead of a medium was irrelevant because the only platforms that could deliver space effects were satellites. However, a convergence of several technologies has changed the landscape of capabilities. This is an important distinction. Evolutionary advances in several disparate disciplines have led to a revolutionary advance in capability. Particularly, the advancements in microelectronics and material sciences are impacting various other fields of technologies. Some technologies contributing to this 7 An individual is qualified to become an astronaut if his/her craft reaches a height of 90 km or more. There is no globally accepted understanding in regard to what could be called as the lowermost boundary of space. Since the eligibility to become an astronaut is to fly above 90 km; it is generally perceived that the region above 90 or 100 km could be known as the beginning of space. 8 Hampton Stephens, ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine 88, no. 7 (2005), http://www. afa.org/magazine/july2005/0705near.asp (accessed on 26 January 2007). 9 Paul Verhage, ‘Near Space: The Shore of our New Ocean’, http:// www.hobbyspace. com/NearSpace/ (accessed on 16 February 2006).

24 Strategic Technologies for the Military revolution in capability are: (a) power supplies, which includes thin and lightweight solar cells, small and efficient fuel cells and high energydensity batteries; (b) the tremendous miniaturisation of electronics and exponential increase in computing power, enabling extremely capable, semi-intelligent sensors in very small, lightweight packages and (c) very lightweight, strong, flexible materials that can resist degradation under strong ultraviolet illumination and are relatively resistant to low atomicmass gases.10 Such technologies have made the development of Near Space platforms feasible. These small platforms which are powered by long-lasting and efficiently renewable power supplies are capable of performing almost all the tasks which other conventional satellites can perform. Such Near Space platforms need a further push in regard to research and development to make them military-compatible.11 Near Space platforms have already found a utility in the civilian arena. Some industrial houses in the US are using such commercially developed platforms for purposes like communication.12 Amateurs are also designing and building various models of Near Space kits with considerable success. The heart of any such Near Space programme is its near spacecraft design. The simplest design even permits the use of a zippered, soft-sided, reusable lunch bag normally available at the local departmental store. More complex designs, airframes are built from specific materials. A secure method for carrying the Near Space craft on its mission is to cover it inside a cloth jacket, which prevents the avionics and batteries from getting too cold during the mission. The avionics could be as simple as a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker or as complex as a complete flight computer. A recovery parachute (approximately 6 feet in diametre) to get the craft back to the earth is a must.13

10 Lt Col Ed ‘Mel’ Tomme and Col Sigfred J. ‘Ziggy’ Dahl, ‘Balloons in Today’s Military?’ Air & Space Power Journal, Winter 2005, www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ airchronicles/apj/apj05/win05/tomme.html. 11 Edward B. Tomme, ‘The Paradigm Shift to Effects-Based Space: Near-Space as a Combat Space Effects Enabler’ (Research paper, Airpower Research Institute, Maxwell, 2005), 5. 12 Jennifer Thibault, ‘Developing the Near Frontier’, Military Aerospace Technology 4, no. 3 (2005) http://www.military-aerospace-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=1210 (accessed on 26 December 2007). 13 L. Paul Verhage, ‘The Poor Man’s Space Program’, 27 October 2003, http://www. thespacereview.com/article/55/1 (accessed on 26 December 2007).

Near Space Technology

25

Among the major global military powers, the US Air Force (USAF) has maximum (almost 50 years) experience with high altitude balloons. When used as research tools, they have played a useful role in development of escape systems for pilots and in developing the recovery capsule for spy satellites. Numerous space probes have been tested using the Air Force’s balloon capability. According to the 1997 Air Force report, ‘The Roswell Report: Case Closed’, it was these balloons that set off the notorious UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) incident.14 For the last few years, particularly post-1990, a number of aerospace corporations are devoting considerable time and effort towards exploring this realm. Also, the USAF has started looking at it more seriously for its military utility. This has brought in some amount of secrecy into the recent developments in the field and hence, it is difficult to judge the exact status of technology. The Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), has been working in this field for more than a decade. The APL Near Space concept calls for a balloon type vehicle and sensor package to be tightly packed into an aircraft and missile, which could fly the highaltitude reconnaissance vehicle (HARVe) to high altitude, then dispenses it. The airship would self-inflate and automatically activate its solar powered electric-propulsion system and sensors. Here solar-recharged batteries are expected to enable round the clock HARVe operation in a particular region, serving as an over-the-horizon communications node/ relay or ISR platform.15 The physics behind putting the Near Space flight in higher latitudes is very unique. Near Space technology is still in nascent stage and yet to overcome many technical challenges to make this technology operational. For example, the carrying capacity of balloons depends partly on their size. The physics of volumetrics and diminishing return as one increases payload capability and altitude are pretty challenging. It is envisaged that increasing payload or time on station will demand innovation and induction of few additional technologies apart from increasing the size of the balloon. So far, demonstrations have explored how balloons floating above a battlefield could be used to improve tactical communications. By attaching radios to balloons, the range of line-of-sight radio Taylor Dinerman, ‘Near Space: A New Area of Operations or a New Pentagon Buzzword?’ 20 September 2004, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/230/1 (accessed on 21 December 2007). 15 William B. Scott and Colorado Springs, ‘Near-Space Frontier’, Aviation Week and Space Technology (2005): 72. 14

26 Strategic Technologies for the Military communications can be significantly extended. Such a set-up could dramatically improve close-air-support operations.16 Some commercial concerns are already using Near Space equipment like balloons for business purposes. This is possible because their technical requirements are not stringent as that of the military. As mentioned earlier, a few oil and gas producers in west Texas and Oklahoma receive data from wells transmitted through high-altitude communication balloons. This system is found to be useful and much more cost-effective than trying to establish a cellular network in such sparsely populated regions.17 Such balloons collect and transmit information, such as how much oil is being pumped from rigs in remote areas with the help of very little communications infrastructure.18 Understanding the commercial viability of such economical communication techniques, commercial houses have already started thinking on lines of developing a network that may challenge the existing cellular network. These houses are taking their wireless broadband network ideas to new heights. They are prototyping High-altitude Airship Platforms capable of transmitting various types of wireless communication services currently handled from cell towers and satellites. Such airships are 100 per cent reclaimable, utilising proprietary lifting gas technology.19 Apart from the US, countries like Japan are also making investments in this field. They are eyeing large stratospheric airships. An aeronautic research arm of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is sponsoring the ‘Stratosphere Platform Project’. They oversee a network of huge unpiloted airships that stay afloat, high in the stratosphere, outfitted with telecommunications gear and sensors. Japanese authorities expect to use them for the purposes of broadcasting, earth observation and disaster monitoring.20

16 Hampton Stephens, ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine 88, no. 7 (2005), http://www. afa.org/magazine/july2005/0705near.asp (accessed on 26 December 2007). 17 ‘Air Force Revisiting Balloons for Missions’, 5 July 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/ story/0,2933,161534,00.html (accessed on 12 December 2007). 18 Jeremy Singer, ‘U.S. Air Force Prepares to Buy Near Space Vehicles’, C4ISR Journal for Net-Centric Warfare, 6 May 2005, http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=831726 (accessed on 21 December 2007). 19 Leonard David, ‘Sky Trek to the ‘Near Space’ Neighborhood’, 9 November 2005, http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/051109_airships.html (accessed 24 February 2007). 20 Ibid.

Near Space Technology

27

COST–BENEFIT ANALYSIS Near Space assets are capable of providing similar services (to a significant extent), as compared to the satellites which are cost-effective and have greater flexibility. A basic cost–benefit analysis of space systems versus Near Space systems shows that putting a platform in Near Space is easier and much less expensive than launching a system into orbit. Near Space could be seen as a low-threat, high-payoff environment. In terms of payoff, the vehicles would be 20 times closer to the earth than LEO satellites, which offers large coverage areas.21 Here, it could be said that a lesser cost Near Space platform could offer almost the same coverage as provided by an LEO satellite over the area of interest. In certain cases, more than one Near Space platform would be required to be launched for this purpose. However, still it would remain an economical option. In view of this, it is expected that the Near Space systems will probably provide the same responsive capabilities to war fighters that are currently provided by the orbital platforms. Also, the time taken for conceiving such systems, from drawing board to commissioning them in the Near Space environment, is expected to be far less compared to the existing or other space systems. The nature of Near Space system will essentially decide the cost of the system. Many existing proposals for Near Space craft vary in complexity. Some free-floating balloons would cost only a few hundred dollars and would be afforded to be dispensed if lost to the winds. A glider with a payload and some capability to manoeuvre and also with the ability to stay longer over the target would naturally cost higher. More expensive proposals, such as a massive blimp22 called the High Altitude Airship, move beyond the realm of expendable balloons. Such a design could also carry bombs or other weapons to drop on ground targets. These would cost much more. But, here the platforms are expected to stay aloft at least for a couple of years.23 Near Space platforms will defiantly be less durable than satellites that can stay in orbit even for 30 years or more. As per estimates, cost of 21 Hampton Stephens, ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine 88, no. 7 (2005), http://www. afa.org/magazine/july2005/0705near.asp (accessed on 26 December 2007). 22 Blimp is an informal term applied to non-rigid airships. Such airships have no rigid structure that holds the airbag in shape. They are different form aerostats, which are tethered to the ground while blimps are free flying aircraft. 23 ‘Air Force Revisiting Balloons for Missions’, 5 July 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/ story/0,2933,161534,00.html (accessed on 12 December 2007).

28 Strategic Technologies for the Military micro satellite is 1 per cent of the cost of conventional satellite and its lifetime can be anything between two to 10 years. When compared at the backdrop of the micro satellite, Near Space technology is expected to be more cost-effective.

MILITARY UTILITY From the foregoing paragraphs, it is apparent that the Near Space technology is evolving and offers many benefits over the conventional satellite technologies. Major aerospace manufacturing houses are yet to make significant investments in this field and in a few cases, this technology is just reaching a stage next to the drawing board. Also, ‘space dependence for security’ is yet to evolve fully in regard to many militaries. Naturally, many states are yet to factor-in this technology in their current and futuristic military planning. In view of this, it is essential to understand the efficacy of this technology for the militaries from various angles. Otherwise, like it happens with other technologies, Near Space technologies also will be accessible only by a limited few. More importantly, it becomes imperative to remain involved in this technology because there exists a danger that a few interested states may come together and formulate some sort of internationally binding legal mechanism which may restrict the assess of others to this technology when it gets fully developed and become commercially and militarily viable. During informal discussions, a few western experts have indicated that they would not like to call this technology as Near Space technology because it could then bind the states to follow international rules and regulations applicable to space technologies. Such approach clearly indicates that because of the strong significance of space technologies, military states may not like to expose the developments in this field to others. There is a need to understand various facets of this technology from a military perspective.

Background Much before the Wright brothers discovered flying aircrafts, the first man-made objects to fly were balloons (in the 17th century). By then, Science had already discovered that certain gases like hydrogen are lighter than air and also that air becomes lighter when heated. In the 17th century, France pioneered the civilian and military uses of balloons. Balloons were used for the first time for military purposes during

Near Space Technology

29

French Revolution and Napoleonic wars (1792–1815). France created a balloon corps called Aerostiers in 1794 and had even used balloons for aerial bombardment.24 Balloons tethered to ground (they drifted uncontrollably in winds) and carrying observers in a suspended basket were used for tracking enemy troop movements. This conferred a priceless advantage on the French Army and contributed to many of its victories. Later this technique was also used during the American Civil War (1861–65).25 State of development of aviation and related fields, like electronics and explosives largely affected the evolution of warfare during the 19th and 20th centuries. During the same time period, rocket technology—the decisive weapon carrier technology—came into being (in the Napoleonic wars, in 1807, the city of Copenhagen was set on fire by thousands of rockets fired from British naval ships), which may not be exactly in the same form as we see it today, but definitively gave indications about the future of that technology.26 During the last few decades, this technology has developed very rapidly from short-range rockets to long-range Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles. Further large, liquid fuelled rockets brought-in revolution in communication by launching satellites in outer space. Over the years, this satellite technology has been used increasingly for various military purposes, such as communication, meteorology, navigation and intelligence gathering. In short, it could be argued that the technology like balloon technology (which could also be called as the 17th century ‘Near Space’ technology), showed tremendous utility for the armed forces during early period of the 17th century but the promise died down soon and almost became extraneous subsequently.

Technology Relevance Particularly, post-World War II, the militaries all over the world became overly obsessed with rocket technologies and satellite technologies, hardly realising that they were overlooking a cheaper and more effective substitute particularly in regard to the collection of information from 24 ‘Balloons: The Beginnings of Aerial Transportation’, http://www.aeragon.com/air/ bal/index.html (accessed on 26 December 2007). 25 K.V. Gopalakrishnan, Impact of Science and Technology on Warfare (New Delhi: National Book Trust, India, 2003), 72–73. 26 Ibid.

30 Strategic Technologies for the Military the space and developing mechanisms for long-distance communication. Now, it appears that the militaries are taking Near Space technology a bit more seriously after the 2003 Iraq War. Enhanced communications systems, network relays and intelligencesurveillance-reconnaissance capabilities could use the Near Space realm to quickly meet battlefield demands. Lighter-than-air vehicles operating in Near Space could quickly and inexpensively provide the capabilities that troops and commanders demand. Near Space platforms carrying critical systems into the far reaches of the atmosphere could include balloons, airships or anything else that is persistent, cost-effective, survivable and responsive. There is a potential for Near Space platforms to provide some of the same capabilities as space-based platforms. Air-breathing intelligencesurveillance-reconnaissance aircraft is perpetually overtaxed and could be denied access over hostile territory. Here, Near Space concept opens up an entirely new realm of possibilities for the armed forces. Near Space is expected to provide many of those effects more responsively and more persistently than space itself.27 It is perceived that high-altitude balloon relays can play a major role in the close air-support missions. Ground forces often do not have satellite access, and thus require communicating directly with aircraft operating in their line-of-sight to call-in air strikes. This means aircrafts need to loiter near the battlefield, which increases their vulnerability. High altitude balloons could be used to reduce this vulnerability. Near Space crafts could also perform radar and multi-spectral imaging missions as communication nodes (mini-Milstar, a military strategic and tactical relay satellite and a satellite system by the same name also exist, which provide secure, jam-resistant, worldwide communications to meet wartime requirements for the US military), and in future, it could even relay laser beams from a ground-based source against a wide assortment of targets.

Military Investments In the US, work on a new generation of lighter-than-air vehicles has been going on for many years under many guises. Since the US Navy got out of the blimp business in the late 1950s, the military use of these

27

Edward H. Allen, ‘The Case for Near-Space’, Aerospace World (2005): 15.

Near Space Technology

31

craft has been limited to things like aerostats.28 In the Iraq war (2003), such systems were used to provide the limited area surveillance for the US bases. They are also commonly used in border protection and for costal radars.29 Since the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a lot of excitement particularly in the US military and air force about Near Space and its potential. The USAF is actively exploring ways to use helium-filled free-floating balloons and remotely controlled glider-like aircraft to protect the US convoys, track friendly forces, assess battle damage and boost communications among the groups of troops in military hot spots like Afghanistan and Iraq. It has been reported that the US Air Force (USAF) is evaluating about 10 different concepts for aircraft that could be used for surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance and perhaps to augment a fleet of global positioning satellites orbiting the earth.30 The US administration’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is investing in a heavier-than-air vehicle that produces lift through advanced breakthrough technologies in aerodynamics, thrust vectoring and gas buoyancy generation and management. They also plan to develop and evaluate a very large airlifter which aims to move loads up to 1,000 tons across international distances. This could carry a complete army brigade right from the fort to the fight.31 In Afghanistan conflict, the NATO forces faced difficulties to get their logistical supplies delivered by ground route. Pakistani Taliban had destroyed much of their logistical supply. Under such circumstances, Near Space logistical supply units could have become very useful. The situations like this demonstrate the urgent necessity for the states to invest more in research and development in regard to this technology.

28 An aerostat is a tethered or moored balloon often shaped like an airship and usually filled with helium. Aerostats differ from airships and balloons in that, airships and balloons are both free flying whereas aerostats are tied to the ground. 29 Taylor Dinerman, ‘Near Space: A New Area of Operations or a New Pentagon Buzzword?’ 20 September 2004, http://www.thespacereview.com/article/230/1 (accessed on 12 January 2007). 30 Andrea Shalal-Esa, ‘U.S. Air Force Excited about Near-Space Prospects’, January 2005, http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wmub/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ ID=729021 (accessed on 10 March 2007). 31 Leonard David, ‘Sky Trek to the “Near Space” Neighborhood’, November 9, 2005, http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/051109_airships.html (accessed 24 February 2007).

32 Strategic Technologies for the Military Apart form developing a heavy lift platform, the DARPA is also working towards building a stealthy Near Space craft without metal that could be equipped with special sensors and remain in the air for months. Such craft when fully developed would help meet the demand for persistent surveillance, which is difficult with current satellites that revolve at altitudes above 300 km.32 The US administration is also involving private defence industry to invest in various Near Space ventures. After spending two years on the drawing board, an experimental, unmanned blimp which is designed to float in ‘Near Space’ to help the US military test missile warning systems is getting prototyped. The United States Missile Defence Agency has awarded defence contractor Lockheed Martin USD 150 million contract to build a prototype of a high-altitude airship—a 400-feet long, solarpowered and sensor-laden blimp. The aircraft is expected to float in the outer fringes of the atmosphere, high above rough weather and the jet stream.33 The maiden flight of this craft is projected to take place at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. This airship is part of the US military plan to test how well airships can perform as geostationary platforms for short- and long-range missile warning systems. Hovering at 65,000 feet below satellites, but much higher than most aircraft, a reusable high-altitude aircraft could also help with communications and weather surveillance.34 The military establishments are looking at this platform not only as a sensor platform but also for moving cargo probably because the blimps are cheaper, more responsive, and avoid many of the hassles and waiting involved with more traditional platforms like spacecraft and aircraft. The USAF has plans to establish a full-fledged programme office for buying high-altitude atmospheric vehicles that provide satellite-type services. Space Command is also eyeing for significant commitment of Near Space funding in the budgets.35 For the USAF a private company 32 ‘US Plans Spy Craft in Near Space Zone’, 15 December 2004, http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CCE21042-9632-4D8B-9A15-5CD8B5468C4F.html (accessed on 22 December 2006). 33 It is a strong wind current of the order of 120 kmph or more covering a wide area of few thousands of kilometres, almost 10–20 km above the ground level. 34 Alex Gronke, ‘Blimps in Near Space’, 8 December 2005, http://www.redherring.com/ Article.aspx?a=14829&hed=Blimps+in+Near+Space+# (accessed on 12 December 2007). 35 Hampton Stephens, ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine 88, no. 7 (2005), http://www. afa.org/magazine/july2005/0705near.asp (accessed on 24 July 2007).

Near Space Technology

33

with already proven credentials in flying data-relay balloons for oil and gas companies has demonstrated a prototype ‘Near Space craft’ called Combat SkySat modified for military utility during 14–17 March 2005. This untethered demonstration vehicle basically was a hydrogen-filled balloon carrying a military radio. The balloon was purposefully filled with hydrogen because the gas can be easily generated from water in the field, and thus does not impose the same logistical burdens as other lighter-than-air gases like helium. The entire platform was weighing less than 2.3 kilograms. The cost of the demonstration vehicle was about USD 20,000, but it is believed that the produced versions could carry a price tag of about USD 2,000. The demonstration focused on the utility of high-altitude balloon relays for close air-support missions.36

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY The benefits of Near Space technology are numerous and they offer a very inexpensive solution to communications over specific regions on the globe. Military near-space vehicles would operate above the weather, be inherently stealthy, and fly above the range of nearly all threats. Most importantly, this technology gives a cheaper and quicker access to space-like conditions when compared to a launch to orbit. The cameras at that high altitude can see for several hundred miles farther than with aerial photography and also access to a given area is more flexible than with the infrequent fly-over by remote sensing satellite.37 Near Space platforms have utility for militaries both during wartime and peacetime. Such platforms could be used for secure communications, border control/ border surveillance, security duties, earth remote sensing and surveillance, battlefield control, as well as to address non-military threats like global warming. Military technologists are of the opinion that, armed forces can build a Near Space vehicle capable of hovering over one point, at an altitude of about 23 miles. It could remain on station for months, far longer than an unmanned aerial vehicle and a period approximately equal to the mission duration of certain satellites. This would be an inexpensive substitute 36 Jeremy Singer, ‘U.S. Air Force Prepares to Buy Near Space Vehicles’, C4ISR Journal for Net-Centric Warfare (2005), http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=831726 (accessed on 16 January 2007). 37 Paul Verhage, ‘Near Space: The Shore of Our New Ocean’, www.hobbyspace.com/ NearSpace/ (accessed on 16 February 2007).

34 Strategic Technologies for the Military for a low-orbiting satellite constellation that would probably have 40 or 50 satellites.38 High-altitude balloon relays can play a major role in close air-support (CAS) missions. Such missions involve the use of combat aircraft (fighter aircrafts like F-16, Mirage, Su-30) to assist and support ground units in the successful completion of their tasks. Ground units engaged over tactical battle area often do not have satellite access, and thus must communicate directly with aircraft operating in their line-of-sight to call-in air strikes. This means aircraft needs to loiter near the battlefield, which increases their vulnerability. The use of high-altitude balloons could reduce this vulnerability. The results of technical experimentation in this arena are encouraging. The tests indicate that ground-based forces can increase their communications range with aircraft from 13 km to approximately 320 km.39 Vulnerability of Near Space vehicles to enemy fire is not a big concern. The balloons are difficult to detect using infrared or radar sensors, and operate at altitudes that are above the range of fighter aircraft. It is possible for the ground-based missiles to take out high-altitude relay balloons but this cannot be a cost-effective solution.40 The technical challenges posed by this technology are not completely known as it is still being evolved. Many ideas are only theoretical possibilities and are still at the conceptual level. The major hindrance for these systems appears to be the weather and prevailing atmospheric conditions at that point of time. Even though these systems are likely to remain in a no-weather area, they will have to withstand significant ultraviolet radiations and other tough environmental conditions, such as handling the corrosive effects of ozone. One other factor that might limit the effectiveness of untethered, high-altitude balloon relays is wind.41 The issues of particular concern would be the jet streams. Such streams

38 Hampton Stephens, ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine 88, no. 7 (2005), http://www. afa.org/magazine/july2005/0705near.asp (accessed on 24 July 2007). 39 Jeremy Singer, ‘U.S. Air Force Prepares to Buy Near Space Vehicles’, C4ISR Journal for Net-Centric Warfare, 6 May 2005, http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=831726 (accessed on 16 January 2007). 40 Ibid. 41 Winds are relatively low between 65,000 feet and 80,000 feet, usually less than 20 miles per hour but mostly during the ascent of the balloon and sometimes even in the NearSpace atmosphere, they are high.

Near Space Technology

35

are strong, narrow, continuous currents of air with speeds exceeding 120 kmph. However, such currents are present only at specific latitudes and have seasonal variations. The basic drawback of the Near Space craft is the lack of ability to recharge the air vehicle’s power source. Passive regeneration of batteries does not handle the required electrical load. The problem becomes acute because fuel cell technology is not yet fully developed and lithium–iron batteries add weight to the blimp. Incidentally, the technology to regenerate the air vehicle power through a laser source is still under development and is showing a great promise.42 There are several other problems which need to be resolved—such as, the weight to be placed high above the terra firma, durability of the air vehicle, power regeneration and several others.43 Also, there are a few gray areas about the efficacy of the system in general, especially for the purposes of military usage. This could be because of less publicity and support it has received so far, and that may be the reason why very few major research and development are being done in this field. There is also a need to discuss the issues like what could be the likely countermeasures adopted against this technology. On the other hand, technology developers also need to think of some form of hardening technology for these platforms to avoid the ill effects of any likely mid Near Space collisions of two or more platforms. Also, a few counter measures could be thought of, to be put onboard of this platform, in order to deceive or duck enemy fire. There is a likelihood of breach of international norms from the usage of this technology. Normally, Air Forces regard Near Space altitudes as a part of their country’s sovereign air space, unlike orbital space that is open to all. So the military would be violating internationally accepted practices and law if it sent an intelligence-gathering balloon over another country without permission.44 Also, there exists a possibility of a Near Space craft making an uncontrolled landing in a hostile or neutral country

Alex Gronke, ‘Blimps in Near Space’, 8 December 2005, http://www.redherring. com/Article.aspx?a=14829&hed=Blimps+in+Near+Space+# (accessed on 12 December 2007). 43 Leonard David, ‘Sky Trek to the “Near Space” Neighborhood’, 9 November 2005, http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/051109_airships.html (accessed 24 February 2007). 44 ‘Air Force Revisiting Balloons for Missions’, 5 July 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/ story/0,2933,161534,00.html (accessed on 12 December 2007). 42

36 Strategic Technologies for the Military adjacent to a war zone. The induction of technology is likely raise a debate on space laws in general and outer space treaty45 in particular.

NEAR SPACE: AN ASSET TO DEVELOPING STATES Apart from the US, Russia and ESA, a few states like China, India and Brazil are investing intelligently in various space programmes which are essentially civilian in nature. But, the technology being dual-use in nature, naturally, would have military ramifications for these states. Such developing states have financial as well as infrastructural limitations in regard to investments in space field. On the other hand, they do not have global military interests like the US. Hence, their military expectations from the space technologies are limited to a particular geographic area. There investments in military space technology would mainly remain restricted towards gaining communication and ISR capabilities. To undertake a macro analysis of what utility the Near Space technologies could serve to developing nations which are investing in space technologies, a typical case study of India is undertaken.

CASE STUDY: INDIA Indian Space Programme, with a history of almost four decades is globally appreciated for its professionalism. As per a Chinese scholar: ‘Indian space programme shows stamina of a long-distance runner in space technology and in recent years have made great achievements and continually rewrote its own records on annual basis.’46 India’s space programme is civilian in nature. Surprisingly, in spite of having a high quality civilian space programme, India as a state has not invested into a full-fledged military space programme. Over the years, 45 The Outer Space Treaty provides the basic framework on international space law and it came into being in 1966. Incidentally outer space, also called just space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. Outer space is used to distinguish it from airspace (and terrestrial locations). The Federation Aeronautique International has established the Karman Line at an altitude of 100 km (62 miles) as a working definition for the boundary between atmosphere and space. The US designates people who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) as astronauts. Airspace means the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a particular country on top of its territory and territorial waters or, more generally, any specific portion of the atmosphere. John J. Kelin, Space Warfare (London: Routledge, 2006), 6. 46 Tang Yun, ‘India Dreams of Being a Space Giant’, Beijing Review (2003): 16.

Near Space Technology

37

Indian Armed Forces are getting limited benefits out of India’s space developments, particularly in the field of communication, meteorology, and so on. The reasons for India not investing into this fourth dimension of warfare could be many, but knowing the increasing relevance of space technologies into armed forces, because of revolution in technology as well as changed nature of warfare, it would be unwise on part of India to neglect this space dimension. However, this does not mean that the Indian administration is totally neglecting the importance of space. Under Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) a ‘space cell’ has been formed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to look after the space needs of Indian Armed Forces. In regard to Indian Air Force (IAF), it is envisaged that the IAF could utilise development in space technologies in the following manner:47 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

To build real-time situational awareness through space communication and space sensors. To link radar and other communication networks over the entire span of the country. To assist in Ballistic Missile Defence. To gather real-time intelligence about enemy aircraft, missiles and space-borne threat. To prevent the enemy from using their own space assets, by jamming.

The strategic vision of the IAF also puts ‘space’ as a very important element. It is foreseen that future wars are going to be lethal, fast-paced and will demand faster decision-making and implementation. This brings in the concept of net centric warfare (NCW) to the fore. IAF understands that apart from communication and reconnaissance role, the space assets can bring in significant improvement in speed of action, accuracy of weapon delivery and flexibility of operations.48 Apart form the Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Navy have their own understanding in regard to utility of space assets for their individual requirements and also for the overall military requirements. Under the backdrop of these realities, it could be argued that Indian Armed Forces are likely to have more dependence on space technologies 47 K.K. Nair, Space the Frontiers of Modern Defence (New Delhi: Knowledge World, 2006), 179. 48 Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, ‘Indian Air Force in the Evolving Security Environment’, Defence Digest (March–April 2006): 6–7.

38 Strategic Technologies for the Military in years to come. Indian Armed Forces are likely to have enhanced utility of space technologies for the purposes of communication, surveillance, reconnaissance, meteorology and navigation. Military is also expected to invest more towards the usage of the space-based geographic information systems (GIS) tools. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched a few remote sensing satellites which also have military utility. A cartographic satellite CARTOSAT-1 was launched during 2005. This was followed by CARTOSAT-2 in 2007 and CARTOSAT-2A in 2008. During 2006, the IAF retired its aging strategic reconnaissance aircrafts (MIG-25) because they were neither cost-effective nor had a strategic use for India. Now, India proposes to use INSAT 2B, multi-purpose satellites to assume the role carried out by these aircrafts.49 All these developments indicate that the phenomenon of usage of space assets for security purposes has just began in India and there is a further need to invest in emerging technologies to gain maximum advantage for India’s overall security apparatus. Probably, till date, India has deliberately not invested much in military space programme, may be as a matter of choice. At the same time, financial reasons and technological limitations also could have played a significant role towards not perusing a military space agenda. But, now when India has already established itself as a key player in the global civilian space arena and, on military front, is facing difficult challenges from changed nature of warfare, it becomes imperative to invest more in space technologies for security reasons. Near Space technologies could offer India the most viable and economical option. At present, global thinking on space issue is essentially dictated by the the US philosophy because of it being the world’s leader in the use of space. However, even for the US, the Cold War attributes of their existing space programmes, limit their ability to maintain space superiority required in today’s rapidly changing strategic environment. Specifically, the mission criticality that grew out of the Cold War, and the very high cost of their sophisticated, highly capable space systems, lead to a high consequence of failure. The required corresponding riskmitigation strategy places a premium on expensive, long-lasting, heavy, multi-mission payloads. Such heavy payloads require high cost launch vehicles. Also at times operational and tactical capabilities are decided 49 ‘India to Replace Ageing Spy Planes with Satellites’, 1 May 2006, http://www.forbes. com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/05/01/afx2709565.html (accessed on 12 November 2006).

Near Space Technology

39

merely as an afterthought.50 The Indian state is yet to make substantial investments in military space arena. Essentially, the state’s remote sensing assets appear to be employed into an additional role, as for the defence purposes. In the absence of any dedicated satellite military communication network, it appears that the existing networks could have been tasked for military purposes. In view of this, India could plan to invest in Near Space technologies, which can have direct military utility for tactical communication and earth observation purposes. Also, it needs to be emphasised that aerospace power has limits. First, flying aircraft for military purposes is very expensive. Second, the combination of complexity and cost, results in smaller aircraft inventories. Third, prudence dictates that expensive and relatively scarce airframes and crews should be put at risk, and expensive weapons should be expended only against lucrative targets. Last, the most significant vulnerability of aerospace power occurs whenever the aircraft leaves its operating environment which means when they are on ground nearheroic measures are required to protect them like hardened shelters.51 Similarly, over the years, it has been observed that space technologies also have various limitations. Launch operations are complex, timeconsuming, manpower intensive and costly. Many satellites do not provide continuous coverage.52 Under this backdrop, for developing states like India, if Near Space technologies are found capable of taking even 10 per cent load of reconnaissance missions and are also able to ensure information dominance for the military commanders and provide environmental data to support military operations, then it could still be considered as an intelligent investment. Also, vulnerability of close air-support missions could be reduced over Tactical Battle Area because of improved communication networks. Micro- and nano-class satellites are perceived as the most viable and economic options by many. Besides, since India still does not have the ‘launch on demand’ technology; the other option could be a Near Space technology. However, in this field also India needs to do some 50 A.K. Cebrowski and J.W. Raymond, ‘Operationally Responsive Space: A New Defence Business Model’, Parameters (2005): 71. 51 Dennis M. Drew, ‘The Essence of Aerospace Power: What Leaders Need to Know’, Air Power Journal 1, no. 1 (2004): 48–49. 52 ‘Space support to Army Operations’, Document No. FM 110–18, 20 July 1995, United States Army, http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/army/fm100-18/59 (accessed on 24 March 2006).

40 Strategic Technologies for the Military investments initially in the arena of research and development. The biggest drawback of this technology could be that it is not a time-tested technology. Naturally, there could be many challenges involved in developing such a technology. Fortunately, the recent advances in microelectronics and micromechanical engineering do allow catering for requisite paraphernalia that weigh only a few hundred grams for microsatellites.53 Similar technology could be developed to suit the requirements of Near Space technologies. One of the reasons for Near Space technologies for not becoming a reality till date, in spite of having capabilities to send the balloons to upper stratospheric layers, could be the absence of lightweight sensors and battery technologies. In India’s neighbourhood, China is emerging as a major space power and was correctly predicted to have covert investments in ASAT weapons.54 Pakistan is a peripheral power but is likely to get into the Chinese space wagon in the near future.55 For China, there is a strategic logic towards developing ASAT capabilities. China’s decision to conduct ASAT is an indication of its long-term strategic goal of weakening the American monopoly on military space capabilities. China may focus on asymmetrical weapons such as ASATs to counter this dominance.56 The Chinese January 2007 ASAT test has demonstrated that, even though satellites are not very easy targets, they still can be attacked. Chinese preparation may not be India-centric but is definitely a concern for India. ASAT capability could be said to be an extension of ballistic missile capabilities and India’s neighbour, Pakistan possesses ballistic missile capabilities. Near Space investments are not a deterrence to ASAT but provide an alternative to low earth orbit satellites. As per the existing status of technology, only LEO satellites can be targeted. Hence, near space assets could reduce instances of the enemy states targeting the LEO. This does not mean that Near Space platforms themselves are not going to be lucrative targets. However, the cost factor and launch 53 W. Gouveia Jr, ‘An Assessment of Anti-satellite Capabilities and Their Strategic Implications’, Astropolitics (2 July 2005): 175. 54 The Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2005, Annual Report to Congress (Washington: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2005), 36 and Cheng Ho, ‘China Eyes Anti-Satellite System’, Space Daily, 8 January 2001. 55 Ajey Lele, ‘Pakistan’s Space Capabilities’, Airpower Journal 2, no. 1 (2005): 143, 148. 56 W. Gouveia Jr, ‘An Assessment of Anti-satellite Capabilities and Their Strategic Implications’, Astropolitics (2 July 2005): 176.

Near Space Technology

41

on demand capability with such platforms allows the state to undertake additional launches in case of any loss of earlier platforms. Space capabilities are of utmost importance for any missile defence system. In general the fate of missile defence would eventually be decided by politics, availability of technology and in many cases by the cost factor. In the case of India, despite its obvious merits, pursuing missile defence could be unrealistic for various reasons. However, it is incumbent upon the government to take atleast some steps to protect its people against the small risk of deterrence failure by error, accident or twisted design. A limited missile defence to protect major targets (cities, nuclear facilities) is desirable for this purpose.57 From an Indian point of view, since satellite programmes are expensive and generally have a long lead-time before capabilities are realised, it could be prudent to invest in Near Space technologies as a part of any missile defence architecture which could prove to be far more beneficial. In the end it could be argued that a state like India which is surrounded by nuclear neighbours, cursed by terrorism, lacks monitoring of energy lines travelling through a vast area of Indian Ocean, prone to frequent natural disasters and marred by internal security problems, needs help form space assets to safeguard its security. Near Space tools show a potential to provide cost-effective, technologically viable and opportune solutions in this regard.

CONCLUSION Today, there is a pronounced trend in the growing role of space technologies in modern day warfare and without doubt, the dual-use space technologies are transforming the global security architecture radically. The Gulf wars (1991 and 2003), the conflicts in Afghanistan and Kosovo have clearly proved the efficacy of space systems in modern day warfare. However, it has to be noted that the growth of space technologies is limited to a few countries for the want of knowledge and financial sources. The financial costs of sustaining space dominance are enormously high so much so that even the space superpower like the US finds it difficult to sustain its existing and proposed space missions both 57 Rajesh M. Basrur, ‘Missile Defence and South Asia: An Indian Perspective’, in The Impact of US Ballistic Missile Defenses on Southern Asia, eds, Michael Krepon and Chris Gagne (Washington: Henry L. Stimson Center, Report No. 46, 2002): 19.

42 Strategic Technologies for the Military in military and civilian domains. Given its economical viability, Near Space platforms have the capacity to fill in the void and can be regarded as a ‘suitable’ replacement for investment-intensive space technologies. In such scenario, relatively inexpensive vehicles flying in Near Space environment could complement satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. Although the Near Space technology is in an incipient stage and not fully exploited, its potential cannot be wished away. Currently, a few analysts suggest that there is an urgent need to develop science and technology strategy that represents operational issues defined by combat commanders. The changing nature of warfare is also demanding quick real-time inflow of information to the soldier on the ground, which may not be always possible from existing space assets. Hence, Near Space platforms could be critical. Over the years, no major investments in Near Space platforms have taken place. There could be various rationales for it. First, balloons are neither appealing nor exciting when compared to airplanes and spacecrafts; this could be one of the reasons for Near Space getting neglected. This demands a shift in the mind-set from political leaders to military managers. Second, industry may have vested interests in stopping the growth of this technology because of the low cost factor, less market volume and profit margins. Third, Near Space is an uncomplicated and affordable technology. This would remove the monopoly of few states in the space filed. Naturally, such states could feel vulnerable and this could force them to stall any further progress in this field (imagine availability of this technology with states like Iran). Fourth, there could even be a possibility that a few are trying to oversell this technology and actually it may not have the utility as it claims. But, in spite of all these rationales, the commercial success of this technology has shown an upward trend during the last few years. This clearly indicates that Near Space technology has great potential for its military utility. Like satellites, Near Space platforms have certain duel-use utility. As such they are already in use for the purposes of communication with a few private enterprises, and it is predicted that it may open various avenues for business like Near Space tourism and hotel industry. It is likely that this technology may give a run for money to the mobile telephone operators. Direct to home (DTH) television technology depends entirely on satellite technology; however, there could be a possibility that this technology could offer a viable alternative at least over a limited area. Also, various amateur groups and non-government organisations could use this technology for popularising science. Ham radio operators who

Near Space Technology

43

mostly play a significant role during disasters could also get benefited from this technology. Finally, it is a considered view that for states like India, facing multidimensional security challenges, there is an incisive need to evolve a space strategy for its armed forces. Cost could be one of the prime hindrances for India not investing in military space technologies. Near Space platforms could, if carefully considered, become a cost-effective solution capable of enhancing the already existing space infrastructure. In view of the dividends that can accrue from Near Space technology, there is a need for a well-researched, well-planned and gradual induction of this technology in the armed forces. The need of the hour is to do out of the ‘atmosphere’ thinking.

2 Military Robots

Evolution of robotics depicts how science fiction ends up becoming a reality. There are incidences as old as from the period dated back to 270 BC when an ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibus made organs and water clocks with movable figures,1 which could be termed as robotic arms in modern day terminology. In 1921, Karel Capek’s2 play RUR put the word ‘robot’, derived from the Czech ‘robota’ (forced labour), into the English language.3 Subsequently, the famous science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) used the word Robotic4 in a short story titled ‘Lair!’, which first appeared in the May 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Unfortunately, science fiction writers and mainly few Hollywood movies have depicted robots as artificially created replicas of men or women, which are either programmed/controlled remotely or are human machines having their own intelligence. This indirectly affected the minds of scientists who initially ended up spending much of their energy and money to replicate humans artificially. This in turn could have contributed towards delaying the development of other mechanically operated systems, which could be referred to as robots in today’s context. In simple terms, a robot can be defined as a programmable, selfcontrolled gadget consisting of electronic, electrical or mechanical 1 Mary Bellis, ‘Understanding a Robot and Robotics’, http://inventors.about.com/ library/inventors/blrobots.htm (accessed 6 February 2009). 2 This Czech author produced his best known work, the play RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which featured machines created to simulate human beings. 3 Modern day Czechs and Slovaks tend to use ‘robota’ to refer to work that’s boring or uninteresting. 4 Oxford English Dictionary, 2001.

Military Robots

45

units.5 Robots are essentially used for jobs that need to be carried out under extremely high/low temperatures or in airless conditions. In the 21st century, states are increasingly finding this technology useful to handle both forms of warfare, that is, conventional as well as unconventional. This chapter gives a broad overview of this technology and attempts to understand how progress has been made in this field from the military point of view and what lies ahead in the future.

THE GENESIS The initial understanding of robotics was based on the premise that robots may not be able to do anything on their own. But, the very nature of their existence implied a slave–master relationship with humans. Almost seven decades back in his science fiction works, Isaac Asimov devised three laws of robotics to guarantee their good behaviour, which even today stand to the test of logic and fair play. They are as follows: 1. 2. 3.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Later, Asimov added the Zeroth Law: ‘A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.’6 Asimov explores the philosophical relationship between man and robot and the limitations of machine intelligence. This professor of biochemistry may not have directly articulated the usage of robots for militaristic purposes, but had clearly understood the human–robot relationship and hence formulated laws to avoid any sort of violence among these ‘species’. Asimov’s understanding about the ‘security’ facet of robotic technology has come true. Presently, militaries all over the world are in search of innovative technologies, which could offer advantages over their opponents or which could simplify their job. Naturally, military 5 ‘Mary Bellis, Understanding a Robot and Robotics’, http://inventors.about.com/ library/inventors/blrobots.htm (accessed 6 February 2009). 6 Michael Webb, ‘The Robots Are Here! The Robots Are Here!’ Design Quarterly, no. 121 (1983): 6–7.

46 Strategic Technologies for the Military leadership in many countries is interested in using robotic technology to their advantage. Initially, militaries used robotic techniques to undertake difficult jobs like landmine identification or for the purposes of gathering intelligence. However, 21st century military demands are somewhat different and now robots are being thought of as a tool to harm humans (read enemy forces/terrorists) if the need arises. It could be said that the robots used by the Americans in the Iraq war (2003) were the first ones to break Isaac Asimov’s First Law of Robotics because they were employed to cause damages to human beings.7 In modern times, the term ‘robot’ has been applied to diverse devices and systems without any general agreement as to its meaning. The Robot Institute of America, an independent trade group defines a robot as ‘a reprogrammable, multi-function manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks’.8 Since the early 1980s, both the global defence and commercial industries have been actively involved in the development of various systems and technologies pertinent to defence forces in the field of robotics. Some of these efforts, described most appropriately as manufacturing technology, involve the manufacture of robotic systems and components exclusively for the battlefield. The militaries all over the world are also investing in fringe technologies. These systems include a variety of remote sensors and associated artificial intelligence, and controls that are required for data interpretation and in some cases even decisionmaking. The militaries have also been involved in the development and use of a variety of tele-operated systems for such applications as the remote handling of hazardous materials.9 In addition air, ground and underwater vehicles that are remotely piloted have been developed. Also, robotic equipments are gaining increasing importance for various purposes in outer space missions. However, robotic equipments are yet to mature with various fields in defence forces. From an industry point of view, to participate in defence acquisition, robot companies need an array of competencies, such as logistics, supplier management and other infrastructure, and design 7 These machines were subsequently withdrawn; http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/ Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=320 and http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/ScienceFiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1580 (accessed on 9 February 2009). 8 Otto Friedrich, ‘The Robot Revolution’, Time 116, no. 23 (8 December 1980): 4. 9 James Lawson et al., ‘Technology for the Factory of the Future’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 470, no. 1 (1983): 60.

Military Robots

47

tools. Many robot companies with substantial science and engineering capabilities and innovative culture still lack the ability to transform those assets into marketable products.10

ROBOT: A MILITARY TOOL Relationship between military and robots has a long history. In military parlance, unmanned vehicles could be said to be the major contribution of the revolutionary robotic technology. Such vehicles are being used in various forms since World War I. For many years, the major emphasis of military scientists has essentially remained focused towards developing robotic technology capable of destroying targets from the air, identifying landmines or operating on their own over a rugged terrain. The basic robotic technology that is being used by the armed forces is the technology of unmanned vehicles.

Unmanned Vehicles Till date the flying robot—UAV—is the best known application of the robotic technology and is used with considerable success by many armed forces. These machines are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment or other payloads. They are being used in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering since the 1950s.11 The present progress in this field indicates that more challenging roles are envisioned for such type of robots and increasingly they are also being used for combat missions UCAVs. The robots designed to undertake ground operations for army purposes are known as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and their water friendly counterparts are known as underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs). The design and development of UAVs is much easier than their ground and underwater counterparts. This is mainly because UAVs fly in a medium where they do not have to contend with very many obstacles.12

Joseph W. Dyer, ‘Robots Makes War More Survivable’ AFJ 145, no. 4 (2007): 27. ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)’, http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/uav. htm (accessed on 30 November 2007). 12 Major George M. Pierce II, ‘Robotics: Military Applications for Special Operations Forces’ (A research report submitted to Air Command and Staff College Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, April 2000, 3). 10

11

48 Strategic Technologies for the Military Israeli armed forces were among the first to develop and adopt UAVs for reconnaissance and electronic warfare operations.13 UAVs have demonstrated their operational worthiness in many battles. With the advent of satellite technology, the UAVs are being enabled by advances in satellite guidance and communications, computerised flight control systems and sensor technologies. In recent conflicts, these air robots are found assuming variety of additional roles. This has become possible because of considerable improvements in range, endurance, on-board sensors and data transmission. Only one kind of UAV, the Pioneer, was deployed during the Gulf War in 1991 while 10 different types of UAVs were employed in the Iraq War (2003) to provide persistent situational awareness of the location, identity and movement of hostile forces within a cluttered battle-space. They were used principally in surveillance and reconnaissance roles during earlier conflicts, but by 2001 UAVs have evolved into sophisticated, air-breathing, hunter-killer platforms.14 Apart from information gathering and offensive role, these airborne robots have utility in few other arenas too. The concept of multiple UAVs for man hunting operations that can focus simultaneously on moving targets is being increasingly envisaged. Also, few automated softwares are making it possible for UAVs to cooperate with one another coordinating their search, tracking and interception of the target in a small airspace with a minimum input from the operator.15 For the last couple of decades, significant investments have been made in the UAV sector of military robotics arena. Presently, this sector is considered to be the most dynamic growth sector in the world aerospace industry. As per the 2008 market study report prepared by Teal analysts,16 it is estimated that UAV spending will be more than double over the next decade, that is from the current worldwide UAV expenditures of USD 3.4 billion annually to USD 7.3 billion within a decade, which is close to a total of USD 55 billion in the next 10 years. It further states that the most significant catalyst to this market has been the enormous Henry Kenyon, ‘Israel Deploys Robot Guardians’, Signal 60, no. 7 (2006): 41. Robert P. Haffa Jr and Robert E. Mullins, ‘Trends in America’s Post-Cold War Military Conflicts: The Implications for Sea Power’, The Navy League of the United States (2003), http://www.navyleague.org/sea_power/jul_03_13.php (accessed on 1 December 2007). 15 Nicholas Merrett, ‘UAV Advancements for MOUT Roles’, Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter 33, no. 8 (2007): 58. 16 Teal Group, Washington is a team of analysts and service professionals founded in 1988. They research and publish information on the aerospace and defence industry. 13 14

Military Robots

49

growth of interest in UAVs by the US military, tied to the general trend toward information warfare and net-centric systems. The study suggests that the US will account for 73 per cent of the worldwide RDT and E (research, development, test and evaluation) spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 59 per cent of the procurement.17 Modern day military practitioners are required to address various asymmetric threats. This has necessitated employing UAVs in various roles under a hostile environment. To suit such requirements, UAV designers are looking for inspiration in the ‘aerodynamic’ characteristics of the birds. There are incidences where a 30-inch robotic spy plane is modelled after a 225 million-year-old pterodactyl.18 This drone, featuring a strange design of a rudder at the nose of the craft instead of the tail, gathers data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmits information back to a command centre. Such systems are expected to play a major role particularly in urban warfare environment. Over the years, UAVs have proved their operational utility in air. However, robots on ground (UGVs) are still in their early stages of development. This is because the ground environment is very complex for automated navigation.19 It is easier for an UAV to move in a three dimensional space with almost no obstacles after a particular height when compared to reacting to the events on ground. The major hurdles UGVs encounter are negotiating with the terrain, which could be rocky, snowy, deserted or with or without vegetation. Presently, UGVs come close to human performance levels on welldelineated roads during daytime in dry weather conditions. On an average, they could touch the speed of 60 mph under such conditions. Off-road operations are more problematic for UGV operations. Particularly, navigation and obstacle avoidance are a major concern here and current 17 ‘Teal Predicts UAV Market Will Reach Nearly 55 Billion Dollars Over Next Decade’, Washington DC (SPX), 6 December 2007, http://www.spacewar.com/reports/ Teal_Predicts_UAV_Market_Will_Reach_Nearly_55_Billion_Dollars_Over_Next_ Decade_999.html (assessed on 6 December 2007). 18 Pterodactyls existed 228 to 65 million years ago from the late Triassic Period to the end of the Cretaceous Period. They dominated the Mesozoic sky, swooping over the heads of dinosaurs. Their sizes ranged from a sparrow to a Cessna plane with a wingspan of 35 feet. ‘Ancient Airways: Flying Drone Design Based on Prehistoric Flying Reptile’, Science Daily, 13 October 2008, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081013140010. htm (accessed on 10 February 2009). 19 Henry Kenyon, ‘Israel Deploys Robot Guardians’, Signal 60, no. 7, (2006): 44.

50 Strategic Technologies for the Military robotic designs are not fully capable of handling such issues. Also, few other difficult issues like requirement of colour sensors for object identification, anticipating obstacles and hazards at a greater distance (because faster moving UGV would require a greater stopping distance) need to be resolved.20 Like UGVs, the robots which operates underwater (UUVs) are also being explored and could be said to be a work in progress. They are predicted to be more cost effective than submarines; at least for some tasks till fully developed systems become operational. Apart from standard ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) operations, the UUVs are also used in sea mine warfare and undersea environmental sensing and mapping. The autonomous seaplanes form a part of the overall UUV architecture. University of Michigan, with the help of funding from DARPA, has developed an unmanned seaplane. The autonomous craft is believed to be the first seaplane that can initiate and perform its own takeoffs and landings on water. The researchers named the robotic plane ‘Flying Fish’ after its inspiration. The takeoff and landing are GPS guided. In future, this plane is expected to have built-in solar power and additional sensors.21

ROBOTS IN WARS Historically, the employment of UAVs during the American Civil War could be said to be the first battlefield usage of robots. During this civil war period, the UAVs were not designed in the form of craft but were in the form of a balloon. Here, the aim was to launch balloons with explosive devices, under suitable high altitude wind conditions and allow them to fall into the other side’s ammunition depot and explode. During World War I, there were efforts to insert robotic technology into aerial platforms. These attempts primarily focused on remote-controlled dirigibles. The first breakthrough in this field came in during the World War II when a modified B-17 successfully performed unmanned flights. The balloon-robot concept was used by the Japanese during the World War II but not with much success. ‘Perception Guides the Future of Automatons’, Signal 58, no. 9 (2004): 43–44. ‘Flying Fish Unmanned Aircraft Takes Off and Lands on Water’, 6 December 2007, http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Flying_Fish_Unmanned_Aircraft_Takes_Off_ And_Lands_On_Water_999.html (assessed on 6 December 2007). 20 21

Military Robots

51

Since then, flying robots are being deployed for various military roles. Present generation UAVs owe much to the design of the cruise missiles that were used in World War II by the US and British forces. At the close of World War II, contract was given to Chance Vought Aircraft Company to develop these machines. That was the beginning of the UAV. UAVs/drones that played extensive role in reconnaissance and combat were used for the first time during the Vietnam War. In the recent past, Israel has been responsible for much of the development in this sector. The Israeli UAVs in the Bekka valley war, had caused havoc to the Syrian Air Force.22 The Hunter and the Pioneer crafts, which are being used extensively by the US military, are direct derivatives of Israeli systems. The other popular UAVs like Predator also have combat capabilities and are loaded with Hellfire missiles for attack purposes. The UAV called Global Hawk, carrying a wide range of sensors, operates at around 60,000 feet and has an endurance of 24 hours.23 In recent times, UAVs have made their presence felt in the Gulf War and Kosovo conflict. UAVs have played a major role during Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) conflicts. Currently they are being regularly employed over Afghanistan–Pakistan border. It is likely that in future wars, the UAV’s would be given the responsibility to drop hundreds of small robots from the sky over the battlefield. Such robots could be of various shapes and sizes, and could have various missions ranging from intelligence gathering to actual involvement in combat. For the last few years, UGVs have also made their entry into the battlefield. Despite their technical limitations, the US forces have had some success in Afghanistan conflict with the introduction of their PackBot robots.24 They were the US Army’s first battlefield robots, intended to check the trails ahead and send back pictures. They were used for clearing caves and checking buildings missions for the US Army in Afghanistan.25 22 R.A. Mason, War in the Third Dimension, in Manned and Unmanned Aircraft, ed., Michael Armitage (London: Brassey’s Defence Publishers, 1986), 193. 23 ‘Brief History of UAVs’, http://aln.list.ufl.edu/uav/UAVHstry.htm (accessed on 23 March 2009). 24 PackBot is a series of military robots deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. They perform various jobs like bomb disposal, detection of chemical and radiological agents and detection of explosive materials. 25 Nick Robertson, ‘Meet Packbot: The Newest Recruit’, 1 August 2002, http://archives. cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/08/01/packbot/ (assessed on 3 December 2007).

52 Strategic Technologies for the Military The first known wartime deployment of underwater robots (UUVs) was in the support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Naval Special Clearance Team (NSCT)-1, along with Royal Navy and Australian forces, during March 2003, handled the task of exploratory mine hunting to provide a safe port for incoming humanitarian aid shipments. This mission was accomplished with the aid of UUVs. They also conducted additional UUV operations further up the river at Az Zubayr and Karbala in Iraq. NSCT-1 went into action by initially checking the bottom for mines.26 Subsequently, these units were tested for their efficiency particularly in regard to mine detection in hostile waterways, in the course of the US Navy’s exercises in military drills like Exercise Howler, during 5–12 May 2006.27 The ongoing Iraq campaign could be said to be the first military campaign where robots are being used for multiple roles. This is the first conflict in the history of humanity that the machines are carrying guns.28 Special weapons observation remote reconnaissance direct action system (SWORDS) robots armed with M249 machine guns were deployed in Iraq. They are modified versions of the bomb-disposal robots used throughout Iraq.29 The danger with such machines is that they have a tendency to spin out of control from time to time. To remove these flaws, the radio-controlled robots were retooled for greater safety by the US technicians. The arming of SWORDS has opened up host of new jobs for robotic systems on the battleground (it could be a combat zone or an area under attack by the terrorists) beyond just bomb disposal. New tasks could include street patrols, reconnaissance, sniping, checkpoint security as well as guarding observation posts. Such systems could be specially 26 ‘Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUV)’, http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/systems/ uuv.htm (accessed on 20 November 2007). 27 Damien E. Horvath, ‘NSCT 1 Sailors Participate in Exercise Howler Aboard Stiletto’, 22 May 2006, http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=23737 (accessed on 10 February 2009). 28 Such systems are called as Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle (UGCV). They are also known as the Network-Integrated Remotely Operated Weapon System (NROWS), which is a standalone networked weapons platform designed to provide a remote lethal response to intruders. Such systems could be deployed by unmanned ground vehicle, or fixed in place to provide a remote response capability for a wide variety of security operations and other tactical missions. For more information on this, refer to http://www. spawar.navy.mil/robots/payloads/nrows/nrows.html (assessed on 10 November 2007). 29 Noah Shachtman, ‘First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq (updated)’, http://blog.wired. com/defense/2007/08/httpwwwnational.html (assessed on 12 September 2007).

Military Robots

53

used in urban warfare scenario, such as going first into buildings and passageways where insurgents might hide. SWORDS’s ruthless abilities could result in even more daring missions. For example, the robot can drive through snow and sand and even underwater down to depths of 100 feet, which means it could pop up in quite unexpected places. Likewise, its battery allows it to be hidden at some place, in sleep mode, for at least seven days and then wake up to shoot away at any foes.30

COLLABORATIVE ROBOTICS The current robot control and coordination architecture shows that the ‘optimal’ solution comes from combining the technologies in a manner to exploit each method’s comparative advantages. From military perspective it is felt that instead of asking the robots to work in a standalone mode it could be advantageous to allow the robot to work in the company of humans. Under this scenario technologies could be built in to also allow the robots to keep an eye on human activities and vice versa. This brings in focus the requirement of collaborative robotics architectures. Normal robot is designed to be programmed to work more or less autonomously while a collaborative robot is designed to assist human beings as a guide or assistor in a specific task. A collaborative robot allows a human to perform certain operations successfully if such operations fit within the scope of the task and to steer the human on a correct path when the human begins to stray from or exceed the scope of the task.31 The collaborative robotics architecture allows a wide array of heterogeneous multi-robot/multi-system cooperative interactions. Traditional systems often require a single unit to be a generalist, capable of performing all possible tasks. Such units at times, have limitations because efficiency/accuracy gets compromised. This happens because system designers and system manufacturers try to fit many functions in the single unit. On the other hand, collaborative robotics assumes a diverse collection of specifically equipped and enabled units that can respond with added force, command and accuracy than any general unit. Through collaborative robotics, agents will be able to accomplish tasks more effectually and with more precision. P.W. Singer, Wired for War (The Penguin Press: New York, 2009), 31–32. ‘Collaborative Robot’, http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213864,00. html (accessed on 7 January 2009). 30 31

54 Strategic Technologies for the Military The use of collaborative robotic technology has many significant military and defence applications. The main effort in this field has been taken towards the use of robot workforces and their coordination for field reconnaissance, demining and teams of unmanned aerial vehicles/ unmanned ground vehicles. This technique allows teams of autonomous robots to actively collect and maintain timely and accurate situational awareness. It facilitates control of multiple robotic units by a single operator and allows for dynamic deployment of robotic resources depending on the environment.32

FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES In future, robots could be made to act like a team member, operating with some form of independence. The US army has already tested a decontamination robot, which is capable of detecting chemical agents on vehicles and automatically applies a cleaner, without the need for an operator. Also, there are plans to have robotic ‘mules’ that will automatically follow soldiers, carrying their equipment.33 For DARPA and US Army, a prototype of a mule called BigDog has already been prepared—it is one of the world’s most ambitious legged robots. This robot is made from advanced system of hyper responsive hydraulic joints and a suite of sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes. It can walk, climb, maintain its balance and work effectively on diverse terrain (from deserts to snow covered mountains). It can also carry several hundred pounds of supplies on its back.34 By the end of March 2009, the US administration took a decision to employ this Boston Dynamics built BigDog robot in Afghanistan. This animal shaped robot is capable of running as fast as 4 mph. It can also walk slowly, lie down or climb slopes up to 35 degrees. It has sensors which can survey the surrounding terrain and become alert to potential danger. It is also capable of carrying more than 300 pounds of equipment. Along with this, the US administration is also deploying a helicopter 32 Surya P.N. Singh and Scott M. Thayer, ‘Arms: Autonomous Robots for Military Systems’ (A report prepared for DAPRA by Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2001). 33 Liam M. Truchard, ‘Army Alters Robots’ Role in Military Service’, November 2003, http://www.um-mrp.org/newspage.php?NewsID=45 (accessed on 1 December 2007). 34 John Mahoney, ‘DARPA’s Amazing Robot Pack Mule Keeps its Balance On Ice’, http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2008-03/darpas-amazing-robotpack-mule-keeps-its-balance-ice (accessed on 12 February 2009).

Military Robots

55

UAV called K-MAX. This robot would basically function as an aerial truck. This is a time-tested machine and would be tested for the first time for its battlefield utility. This pilotless helicopter is expected to transfer heavy loads at high altitudes.35 It is expected that UUVs could play a vital role in respect of tactical oceanographic measurements. Such measurements in politically sensitive or denied areas are the hardest to obtain.36 Work has been under progress in this field for more than a decade and scientists have received some encouraging results. Modern day UUV technology is taking clues from the Biomimetics37 (principally the underwater animal kingdom) for designing new products. Researchers are working towards developing the designs based on the structures of Lobsters, which can move and operate on sandy bottoms as well as rocky, cave like environment. Such RoboLobster’s would carry sensors that would detect metal, chemicals, explosive signatures and plumes of other underwater vehicles.38 In the RoboBusiness Conference (2008) in Pittsburgh, it was mentioned by the US army officials that it is difficult to operate such type of machines with lethal capabilities and at times these machines do move in wrong directions. However, it has been observed that the flaws in the system mostly occurred due to minor glitches like loose wires. As of date, UGV manufacturers are not comfortable in allowing such systems to operate independently. Various UGV manufacturers are of the opinion that it is important to have a ‘man in the loop’ when dealing with armed robots. As Predator drones have demonstrated, an unmanned vehicle is capable of friendly fire, but the decision to engage should always be made by a human operator.39 35 Matt Sanchez, ‘Robots Take Center Stage in the US War in Afghanistan’, 23 March 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509684,00.html (accessed on 24 March 2009). 36 Mark Hewish, ’Robots Form the Deep’, Jane’s International Defence Review 34 (2001): 46. 37 Biomimetics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Roots of such concept are found in behaviour-oriented artificial intelligence (AI) research. Luc Steels, ‘The Artificial Life Roots of Artificial Intelligence’, in Artificial Intelligence, Vol III, ed. Ronald Chrisley (London: Routledge, 2000), 15–50. 38 ‘Lobsters Populate Navy Robot Platter’, Signal 58, no. 9, (2004): 49–51. 39 ‘The Inside Story of the SWORDS Armed Robot “Pullout” in Iraq: Update’, 15 April 2008, http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4258963.html (accessed on 10 February 2009).

56 Strategic Technologies for the Military Apart from robots being used for defensive and offensive purposes, there are a few other allied areas where robotics could be of help to the armed forces. During peacetime as well as during wars, it becomes impossible for the armed forces to have support of full-fledged medical facilities. Normally, casualty evacuations are carried out with the help of aircrafts/helicopters, and patients are ferried to the hospitals. Now methods like tele-surgery holds the promise of many new, efficient and cost-effective ways of providing advanced healthcare services. Specially designed robots can perform surgery, driven by surgeons seated at a console far away from the patient. A team of surgeons and scientists have shown that the surgeon and robot can be linked via a 4,000 mile Internet connection, or by satellite.40 For armed forces, availability of such services means a lot because this may reduce the burden of casualty evacuation and injured troops would get timely medical treatment. Also, during peacetime such facilities could be of much use for military units, which are deployed at remote places. Robotic artificial limbs have become a boon for the soldiers injured in the battlefield: Instead of the wooden peg-legs or steel hooks of yesteryear, today’s wounded warriors are increasingly equipped with electrically powered prostheses. These robotic limbs are programmed to such things as automatically match the intended stride of the human or automatically bend whenever the body weight shifts. These devices are also being directly wired into patients nerves. This allows the soldier to control their artificial limbs via thought as well signals wired back into their peripheral nervous system.41

It appears that the developments in cognitive science would boost the science of military robotics in a big way. Apart from this, the nature of deployment of robots for various military tasks, and success achieved thereof may decide the further development in this field. The 21st century armed forces need to look at different usages of robotic technology in different ways. Few projects under progress are dealing with developing sentinel robots those could be stationed inside or outside buildings equipped with all modern 40 ‘Surgery by Satellite: New Possibilities at Medicine’s Cutting Edge’, Science Daily (7 June 2007), www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070606235422.htm (assessed on 15 June 2007). 41 P.W. Singer, Wired for War (New York: The Penguin Press, 2009), 374.

Military Robots

57

sensors and gadgets to stop any uncalled entry/intrusion.42 Scientists are also working towards incorporating artificial intelligence solutions to overcome obstacles particularly in the arena of UGVs. Here the systems inbuilt with artificial intelligence are of utmost importance to get robot to reliably climb stairs, negotiate a ditch or identify barriers it can neither cross nor climb.43

ROLE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY It is forecasted that the development in nanotechnology is likely to have a major impact on the science of robotics. Many works are available giving predictions about how this technology could influence the science of robotics: Evolutionary robotics is a new method for the automatic creation of autonomous robots. Inspired by the Darwinian principle of selective reproduction of the fittest, it views robots as autonomous artificial organisms that develop their own skills in close interaction with the environment and without human intervention. Drawing heavily on biology and ethology, it uses the tools of neural networks, genetic algorithms, dynamic systems and biomorphic engineering. The resulting robots share with simple biological systems the characteristics of robustness, simplicity, small size, flexibility and modularity. In evolutionary robotics, an initial population of artificial chromosomes, each encoding the control system of a robot, is randomly created and put into the environment. Each robot is then free to act (move, look around, manipulate) according to its genetically specified controller while its performance on various tasks is automatically evaluated.44

This technology is expected to impact military operations once it reaches the complete level of operationalisation. 42 In the year 2000, the world’s first armed robot security guard that can open fire on intruders while controlled through the Internet was unveiled in Bangkok. Torrey Hoffman, ‘Bangkok robot security guard’, 17 August 2000, http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/21.02. html#subj8 (assessed on 10 December 2006). 43 Michael Y. Park, ‘Military Robots Prepare to March Into Battle’, 11 January 2002, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,42725,00.html (assessed on 27 August 2007). 44 Stefano Nolfi and Dario Floreano, Evolutionary Robotics: The Biology, Intelligence, and Technology of Self-Organizing Machines (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2004), 1–317, http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10196 (assessed on 17 July 2007).

58 Strategic Technologies for the Military

GLOBAL INVESTMENTS Largely, the military robotics industry is playing a very important role towards the design, development and induction of robotic technology in the armed forces. This is not just because they produce robots but the industry itself has a leading role in defining the military use of robotics and this being an emerging technology the industry’s capabilities and ideas on solutions are leading in most robotic projects.45 This could be an unsatisfactory situation and probably do not have any immediate remedies. There is a need for military commanders to invest themselves in understanding the strengths of this technology and try to juxtapose it on its requirements and then task the industry accordingly, rather than the industry following its own agenda. At the global level, robotics is a very active field. Countries like Japan,46 South Korea and the European Community invest significantly large funds in robotics research and development for the private sector than the US. The US currently leads in research and development areas like robot navigation in outdoor environments, robot architectures (the integration of control, structure and computation), and in applications to space, defence, underwater systems and some aspects of service and personal robots. Japan and South Korea are leaders in the technology fields like robot mobility, humanoid robots and some aspects of service and personal robots (including entertainment). In contrast to the US, South Korea and Japan have national strategic initiatives in robotics. Presently this entire development of robotic technology, from the military point of view, is mainly driven by the US military largely through DARPA and various other Marine, Army and Air Force research offices. This agency is the single largest funder of work with robots and artificial intelligence.47 DARPA programmes are highly applied and short-term oriented. Presently, there appears to be less support from DARPA for basic research in robotics when compared to yesteryears.48 ‘Bridging the Gaps in Military Robotics’, Military Technology 30, no. 11 (2006): 34. Japan’s greatest success has been in integrating robots into the production process. By 1980s they had employed more than all other countries combined—a total of 14,000 robots. Michael Webb, ‘The Robots Are Here! The Robots Are Here!’ Design Quarterly, no. 121 (1983): 17. 47 Sherwin Chen, Ted Hsieh, James Kung and Vlad Beffa, ‘Autonomous Weapons’, http://cse.stanford.edu/classes/cs201/Projects/autonomous-weapons/ (assessed on 24 January 2007). 48 Based on WTEC Panel Report on George Bekey et al., ‘International Assessment of Research and Development in Robotics’, World Technology Evaluation Center, Inc., Maryland, January 2006. 45

46

Military Robots

59

Around the year 2003, the US Joint Forces Command had formulated a rapid idea analysis group (Project Alpha)49 to study the concept of developing and employing robots that are capable of replacing as many human being as possible to perform various combat functions on the battlefield. Here the purpose was to identify high-impact ideas from industry, academia and the defence community that could transform the Department of Defence into an organisation better equipped to deal with the uncertain landscapes of the future. This study, appropriately titled ‘Unmanned Effects: Taking the Human out of the Loop’, suggests that the presence of autonomous robots, networked and integrated, on the battlefield, as early as 2025, might not be an exception, but, in fact, the norm. The main focus of this project was essentially to develop a detailed policy related to tactical autonomous combatant (TAC).50 Till date the discussion on this subject revolves around where we can and where we have the capability of replacing humans. The employment of such systems is perceived at the tactical level mostly in the battlefield scenario. The degree of autonomy that needs to be given to these systems still remains the basic debate. The rationale could be to award adjustable autonomy or supervised autonomy. In the end, humans will still have to interact with the machines and help guide them. However, the project was discontinued later either because of technological limitations or due to financial hurdles. It needs to be emphasised that this was one of the ideas that could have got shelved but interest and investments in military robotics has never been reduced. Robots are a crucial part of the US Army’s effort to rebuild itself as a 21st century fighting force. The US Army has done substantial investments to the tune of USD 127 billion towards the formation of Future Combat Systems (FCS), and robotics is an important element of this programme. This FCS is envisioned to be an ensemble of manned and potentially unmanned combat systems, designed to ensure that in future the US forces would be strategically responsive and dominant at every point on the spectrum of operations from non-lethal to full-scale conflict. The proposed robotic component of this system is very large and consists 49 ‘Military Robots of the Future’, 4 August 2003, http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/ weapons/a/robots.htm (accessed on 2 January 2007). 50 A TAC is mainly designed to work in various environments like ground, air, space or undersea environments, and in harsh conditions such as extreme heat or cold. In addition, TAC’s, unlike humans, would be able to operate in chemically, biologically or radiologically contaminated environments.

60 Strategic Technologies for the Military of both ground and aerial robots. The main robotic systems under design and development are the Multifunction Utility/Logistics Equipment (MULE) Vehicle, which is an unmanned platform that provides transport of equipment and/or supplies in support of dismounted manoeuvre, the Soldier UGV (SUGV) which is a man-packable small robot system and a family of several types of airborne vehicles, including the High Altitude/ Long Endurance (HALE) UAV, small UAV (SUAV) and the Organic Air Vehicle (OAV) to provide the individual soldier with the capability to detect the enemy concealed in forests or hills, around buildings in urban areas or in places where the soldier does not have a direct lineof-sight.51 Countries like China are also doing investments in robotic technology. Apart from investing into technology like tele-operated robot, antiterrorism robot and humanoid robot,52 they are mainly investing into nanorobots.53 However, most of these experiments are still at an early stage of their development and mainly focus on civilian utility. China’s first official unit of bomb-disposing robot militia54 was deployed in Zigong (southwest Sichuan province) in the early part of 2007. The robot named ‘Jianbing I’ is capable of conducting many battle operations, such as scouting, disposing of bombs and making attacks on the battlefield. Among other countries of Asia, the South Korean government in the year 2005 has put a plan intended to develop robotic soldiers. This is a joint project between their ministries of defence and information and communication to build an army of six- or eight-legged (or wheeled) killbots. These full-sized, insect-like robots are proposed to be used to scurry around battlefields, detecting landmines and unleashing a hail of firepower on unsuspecting, technologically-backward enemies.55 Realising the importance of robotic technology for military purposes, Dr Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India announced in 2006 51 Refer to http://www.army.mil/fcs/; see also‘Future Combat Systems’, http:// www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/fcs-back.htm (assessed on 10 December 2007). 52 Xianzhong DAI, ‘Some New Progress of Advanced Robotics in China’, http://www. iai.csic.es/iarp/sapr/05_CHINA_IARP_JCF_2003.pdf (assessed on 14 July 2007). 53 ‘China Develops Robots for Cell Work’, Beijing Time, 24 May 2002, http://english. people.com.cn/200205/24/eng20020524_96402.shtml (assessed on 24 June 2007). 54 ‘Bomb-disposing Robot Recruited in China’, http://english.people.com.cn/200705/29/ eng20070529_378773.html (assessed on 10 October 2007). 55 Evan Blass, ‘South Korea to Develop Robot Soldiers’, http://www.engadget.com/ 2005/09/21/south-korea-to-develop-robot-soldiers/ (assessed on 12 January 2006).

Military Robots

61

India’s decision to pursue this technology for raising a robot army.56 For last few years India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)57 and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) are involved in the development of a range of UAVs/UCAVs. Lakshya the indigenously-developed pilotless target aircraft was inducted into the IAF during July 2005. The Indian Army is interested in another UAV called Nishant, which has an endurance of three hours. DRDO is also involved in developing the know-how for a swept wing, stealth design and composite construction technical demonstrator that will demonstrate ‘the technical feasibility, military utility and operational value for a networked system of high performance’ weaponised UCAVs.58 Indian scientists have also developed autonomous vehicles that could clear minefields. DRDO’s Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) in Pune, has developed a state-of-the-art Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). It can operate over a range of 500m line-of-sight both in cross country and urban environment. It can handle suspected objects that weigh up to 20 kg. This robot could be deployed for duties like diffusing the IED and for mine detection. The ROV is also designed for carrying out nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance and can even monitor the contamination levels using its sensors and detectors.59 BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL) is collaborating with Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to develop precision robotic systems and manipulators for nuclear reactors.60 Plans are also afoot to equip Indian soldiers with high-tech gadgetry so that they become more autonomous. DRDO scientists are working on the concept of ‘soldier as a system’. This programme will lead to ‘robotic soldiers’ 56 Evan Blass, ‘India Announces Plans to Develop Robot Army’, http://www.engadget. com/2006/05/18/india-announces-plans-to-develop-robot-army/ (assessed on 25 September 2007). 57 HAL was involved, way back in 1979, in the design of a pilotless target aircraft for airborne target training purpose. For details on it please refer standing committee on defence (2006–07) report titled ‘In-depth Study and Critical Review of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)’, May 2007. 58 Ravi Sharma, ‘India Joins Select Group to Develop UCAV Technology’, The Hindu, 27 August 2007, http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/27/stories/2007082759890400.htm (accessed on 12 January 2009). 59 http://www.drdo.org/pub/nl/feb06/feb06.pdf (assessed on 18 December 2007); and Brig (Retd) R.K. Anand, personal communication with the author (10 January 2009). 60 The Hindu, 27 February 2009, http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/27/stories/ 2009022755151300.htm (accessed on 12 March 2009).

62 Strategic Technologies for the Military trained for autonomous warfare. Apparently, the robotic soldier programme is in a very preliminary stage and it may take more than decade to fructify this concept. The DRDO has under its wings, a Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), which is tasked to develop new robots and applications for the same. CAIR has developed few robots for public sector organisations in India. They have also developed robots for non-destructive testing and ammunition loading. Both wheeled and legged miniature mobile robots have been developed.61

TERROR ROBOTS International terrorist organisations are using robotic technologies to wedge wars against their opponents. The use of this technology by the terrorists for various purposes such as detonation of roadside bombs, car bombs and other incendiary devices can be called a rudimentary form of robotic terrorism. In such cases, the bomb blasts are carried out by using remotely operated devices. There are reports where non-state actors like Hezbollah had used radar-guided missiles to attack a warship during the Lebanon conflict.62 It is envisaged by few that this is a classic case of full circle of ‘robotic’ technology transfer: Israeli technology sold to China, repackaged to Iran and subsequently transferred to Hezbollah. Particularly during the last few years, terrorist organisations have shown interest towards using UAVs as a terror tool. Apart from UAVs, there exists a possibility that with further developments in ‘remote operated ground vehicle technologies’, non-state actors can even use remote techniques like unmanned ground vehicles or sea vehicles to create terror. Even the possibility of using suicide bomber cars without the driver cannot be ruled out.63 The growing interest in UAV technology among the terrorist organisations in the present century has become a cause of concern. These terrorist groups can even use these robotic platforms to launch attacks by weapons of mass destructions (WMD). In fact, UAVs in the hands of terrorists can cause considerable damage even if they carry conventional payloads on board. The most worrisome situation stems from model 61 http://www.drdo.org/labs/ecs/cair/achieve.shtml (assessed on 19 December 2007) and Brig (Retd) R.K. Anand, personal communication with the author (10 January 2009). 62 Normally, cruise missiles are considered as UAVs, while ballistic or semi-ballistic vehicles and artillery projectiles are not considered unmanned aerial vehicles. 63 R.K. Pruthi, ed., Robotic Warfare (Delhi: Prashant Publishing House, 2009), 29, 33.

Military Robots

63

aircraft where, there exist an uncontrolled access to the knowledge, skills and equipment required for mini-UAV assembly. The existing air defence system is ineffective against terrorist mini-UAVs, since they are not developed to detect such type of threats. More importantly, there are very little technological options available to get warned against such type of threats and this is where the real challenge exists for the state.64 There have been various media reports, particularly post-9/11, giving indications that various terrorist groups are interested in using toy planes or UAVs as a tool for terror. These reports indicate that no terror outfit has yet used this technology, but definitely has plans to use it, and many of them are in the possession of the required hardware for the same. As the hardware required to build such type of weapons can be easily made available, the states would find it difficult to curb the proliferation of UAVs/toy planes/gliders in the days to come. Such remotely operated vehicles loaded with conventional or unconventional payloads in the hands of non-state actors can cause considerable damage.

ROBOT DILEMMA The critics of robotic technology argue that, in its present format, it is not correct to call the robotic technology as an independently working technology. In its present avatar, robots are being routinely used for jobs like reconnaissance, countermine operations and few other operations, but still they are teleoperated and not autonomous. They are essentially semi-autonomous robots. The goal of today’s military scientists is to develop fully autonomous, independently-operating machines. The inability of technologists to develop self-thinking, fully autonomous robots could be a blessing in disguise, as such drawbacks have helped in keeping this technology at a manageable level, at least for now. However, the rapid growth in this technology and resonable futuristic assumptions, in regard to growth of this technology, indicate that there is a need to channelise the growth of this technology into correct direction. Till date, the negative possibilities of this technology have been largely ignored or poorly addressed. But, it is important to closely examine the related social issues before continuing to research on such advanced and potentially powerful technology. Eugene Miasnikov, ‘Threat of Terrorism Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Technical Aspects’ (Paper presented to Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies at MIPT, Dolgo-prudny, June 2004) 26. 64

64 Strategic Technologies for the Military Today, military robots have succeeded in changing the application of warfare in a variety of ways but they are still essentially the tools in the hands of military. In their most sophisticated versions, they are designed to perform certain acts without an immediate human in the decision loop. But, they are still programmed before every mission with the limitations desired by the commander on the ground. All moral responsibility for their acts lies solely with human directing them.65 In near future, there exist the possibilities of military pilots flying combat missions from their office cubicles thousands of miles away from the combat zone. A possibility exists when wars could become easier to start and the moral and psychological barriers to killing will dilute. Even the concept of warrior ethos and code of honour and loyalty, which are integral to conventional militaries’ upbringing, could wear down.66 This could all happen when the robots would be asked to take decisions on their own. Developments in the field of artificial intelligence and cognitive science could allow this to happen in not very distant future. Currently, there is an ongoing debate on whether robots should remain slave in the years to come or should they end up becoming master. Few suggest that by the end of this century, there will be virtually no humans on the battlefield. Also, an opinion has been expressed that within a decade a technology may exist that would permit life and death decisions to be made by the robots. However, the issue is ‘the humanity’, which is one of the uniquely positive attributes of the combat soldier, particularly in an inhuman environment. Under this scenario, the question that becomes crucial is: should robots be controlled by the humans or should be allowed to take their own decisions?67 This power-to-robot dilemma is going to swell along with the futuristic developments in this technology. The current outlook in this regard is cogently summarised by an US Army officer who fought in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and served in Afghanistan War in 2003. He states: It is unethical to create a fully autonomous military robot endowed with the ability to make independent decisions unless it is designed to serene its decision through a sound moral framework. Without moral framework, its 65 David F. Bigelow, ‘Fast Forward to the Robot Dilemma’, AFJ 145, no. 4, (2007): 19–20. 66 P.W. Singer, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and 21st Century Conflict (New York: Penguin, 2009 ). 67 Daniel L. Davis, ‘Who Decides: Man or Machine?’, AFJ 145, no. 4 (2007): 23–25.

Military Robots

65

creator and operator will always be the focus of responsibility for the robot’s actions. With or without moral framework, a fully autonomous decision maker will be responsible for its actions. For it to make the best moral decisions, it must be equipped with guilt parameters that guide its decision making cycle while inhibiting its ability to make wrong decisions. Robots must represent our best philosophy or remain in the category of our greatest tools.68

Ultimately, it is the human who should decide whether to kill other humans or not. If armies are using robots as an additional tool in war-fighting, then it could be said to be a ‘just’ act on behalf of the state. But, the issue is: Should states allow the robots to take independent decisions? Particularly, states like US have already employed robots in Iraq–Afghanistan Theater who could fire on their own. Similarly, the robots likely to be employed for guarding perimeter fence could also have the power to decide and fire on their own. Is this moral? The ‘Just War Theory’ aims to provide a theoretical framework for debate about morality of specific choices and actions with regard to war by instituting a small set of principles that effectively capture general moral feelings. Rather than dismissing war as an immoral act, it seeks to differentiate those specific acts that are moral.69 It is generally assumed that the use of force is clearly governed by universally valid moral and legal standards; it is distinguished further by the resolve with which these standards are understood, as making the fairness or injustice of war primarily dependent upon the conditions immediately attending the initiation of force. In substance the Just War is a war fought either in self defence or in collective defence against an armed attack.70 By applying this definition at a very narrow tactical level, questions could be raised: Do the robots have a right for self defence? Can they really decide when to react and how to react to an enemy attack? Do they have the proper judgemental skills to actually decide, who the enemy is? Who should be held responsible for their misjudgements? In the years to come, with further developments in robotic technology, nation-states are likely to debate many such issues. The United Nations is expected to get engaged in finding solutions to issues like autonomous technologies challenging sovereignty. Possibilities exist that certain David F. Bigelow, ‘Fast Forward to the Robot Dilemma’, AFJ 145, no. 4 (2007): 22. R.K. Pruthi, ed., Robotic Warfare (Delhi: Prashant Publishing House, 2009), 234–54. 70 Robert W. Tucker, The Just War (Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 1960), 11. 68

69

66 Strategic Technologies for the Military accidental acts by robots could even lead to the initiation of a war. Nation-states will have to guard themselves against this and a need could crop-up to establish certain universal norms once this technology reaches the maturation stage.

CONCLUSION For all these years, militaries in many parts of the world have looked at robotic technology as a ‘force multiplier’, particularly when they are expected to handle high-risk situations. But, in years to come, robotic technology could transform itself from the taxonomy of force multiplier to a brute force itself. Militaries would not hesitate to employ more robots for various on and off battlefield duties. This is because ‘casualties wouldn’t be a problem because when a robot gets hit, you just take it to the repair shop’.71 Robots are being increasingly used for services like perimeter defence system, intelligence and reconnaissance or even as a weapon system (UCAV/UGAV). Futuristic battlefield is going to depend hugely on deployment of standoff weapons and virtual presence technology. Robotic technology is likely to play a major role in such type of scenario. Presently, military robots are essentially used as UAVs or for landmine/explosive search. Few developed armies are using them for counterterrorism purposes. However, all these present generation robots are not true, autonomous robots with positronic brains. Mostly, their performance still depends on man behind the machine. Robotic animals could be of much use for states like India, which depends on mule forces for supporting their mountain divisions. The mules with Indian army have significant utility for carrying logistic supplies to higher mountain ridges. Robots could augment such establishments and, over a period of time, if found useful could replace animal forces. Robots have great future because militaries are interested in utilising them beyond the existing limited role of aerial drones or explosive identification/disposal devices. The growth of technology in this arena also shows promise for future development. The juxtaposition of artificial intelligence on robotic technology makes the future more exciting from a military utility point of view. By incorporating new synchronisation and 71 This argument is put forth by Globalsecurity.org director John Pike in his various writings.

Military Robots

67

control methods and increasing levels of automation, military robots are expected to reduce the burden and risk for future warriors. Developments in cognitive technologies, which essentially deal with man–machine interaction, are likely to develop the science of robotics further. Increasing militarisation of robotics technology is expected to be a reality of tomorrow. Naturally, defence industry is expected to invest more in this field in the years to come. As it happens with any other form of warfare/military technology, the counter measures/technologies are expected to be devised in robotic field too. Few forward-looking thinkers/ businessmen are already toying with ideas to find ways of defending enemy robots. As per few unconfirmed reports, efforts are on to develop weaponry against robotic creatures! It is premature to comment on these developments with conviction, but it may be possible that states could develop high energy microwave device or jamming devices to block the march of robotic armies. In the years to come as robots are going to become more autonomous, the issue of morality is likely to emerge in a big way. This is because the question may arise as to who should be held morally responsible for actions taken by an autonomous robot particularly in regard to actions like killing a human being. Logically, armies should restrain from giving this authority to autonomous robots. In short, human should decide to kill other humans and not the machine. It needs to be ensured that human’s monopoly over war is not broken. Finally, Asimov’s perception of fair-play in the relationship between man and robot should hold the key. The limits of machine’s intelligence should not be overstretched to such a limit that the robot on its own starts causing harm to the humanity. Asimov’s laws of robotics should not be allowed to fail.

Section Two Weapon Technologies

3 Speed of Light Weaponry: Directed Energy Weapons*

A weapon is an instrument used to obliterate, trounce or harm an enemy. Since time immemorial human race has been involved in designing and developing various types of weapons for such purposes. Anything that is capable of causing damage, even a psychological one, to the enemy could be called a weapon. All weapons are not lethal and there exists a separate category of non-lethal weapons. A stone could be termed as a weapon when thrown at an enemy and so is the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Various types of weapons could be delivered from various platforms like aircrafts, ships, submarines, tanks or even satellites. Weapon systems are normally classified based on three facets:1 (a) who uses it, (b) what the target is, and (c) how it works. The categorisation is also subject to the combat environment, in which the weapon or its platform is used. It could be land, water, atmosphere or space. The launch platform and the environment dictate various facets of weapon designing. ‘What it targets’ refers to what type of target the weapon is designed to attack; that is, whether the weapon is anti-aircraft, anti-ship or anti-submarine. ‘How it works’ refers to the construction of weapon and its operating procedure; that is, whether it is a biological weapon, chemical weapon or an energy weapon. At present, there is a dizzying array of weapons available with many countries which come in various forms. Energy, which is the * Author would like to thank Prof. Amitav Malik and Dr Subrata Ghoshroy for their useful comments. 1 The argument is based on information provided at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Weapon (accessed on 23 February 2009).

72 Strategic Technologies for the Military most fundamental part of our universe, also plays a vital role towards the development of such weapons. Energy is found in different basic forms, such as light, heat, sound and motion, which could be put into two basic categories—kinetic and potential. Simplistically speaking, ‘kinetic energy’ is related to the movement of an object and ‘potential energy’ is related to the position of an object. Potential energy is the energy that is stored within a system and is known by this name because it has the potential to be converted into other forms of energy, say kinetic energy: All weapons use some form of energy towards the target for its destruction/ incapacitation. The intensity of energy a weapon can direct to a target depends on combination of power the weapon can generate and its ability to concentrate that power on the target. The power the weapon can generate depends on efficiency and capacity of the means it uses to convert stored or generated energy into the needed form.2

Modern day weapons use various forms of energy to increase their lethality, say from nuclear energy to kinetic energy. A new breed of weaponry, called DEW, is expected to revolutionalise the 21st century, perhaps in a similar way nuclear weapons brought in a revolution during World War II and the period thereafter. Such weapons could be further categorised as lasers, high-powered microwaves and particle beams.3 They are capable of preventing an enemy from conducting operations, either by destroying the target or by stopping the enemy.4 These weapons release energy on a target and do not need a projectile for this purpose. These weapons damage the target with electromagnetic power. Currently, a few such weapons are available with developed militaries and many are under development/conceptualisation. The critical difference between the conventional weapons and DEWs is that conventional weapons rely on chemical or kinetic energy in the form of a projectile and DEWs use subatomic particles or electromagnetic radiation impacting at, or near, the speed of light while supersonic or

Robert Preston et al., Space Weapons: Earth Wars (Washington: Rand, 2002). Leonard David, ‘E-Weapons: Directed Energy Warfare in the 21st Century’, 11 January 2006, www.space.com/businesstechnology/060111_e-weapons.html (accessed on 12 February 2007), A few consider that the particle beam weapons do not exactly fall in the category of DEW (in conversation with Prof. Amitav Malik, the first Director of India’s Laser Lab, 22 August 2008). 4 Doug Beason, The E-Bomb (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 214. 2

3

Speed of Light Weaponry

73

subsonic speeds could typically be associated with projectile weapons.5 So the real difference is the speed of engagement and long range with high precision. The major deployment difference is the lack of report and easily identifiable signature of discharge—‘no bang, no smoke’.6 In nontechnical language it could be said that bombs are conventional weapons. The various other types of such weapons could be rockets, guided missiles, projectiles, and so on.7 Another way to recognise conventional weapons is that normally these are the weapons which are universally acceptable and are not banned under any ‘conventions’ of the United Nations. On the other hand, DEWs are the weapons that generate and project a beam of powerful electromagnetic energy or atomic/subatomic particles on to the target and destroys it. There are environmental groups, human right activists and a few others who oppose the production of certain types of such weapons. Theoretically, there exist three categories of DEW, namely laser weapons, high-power microwave weapons and particle beam weapons. However, at present, DEWs are essentially regarded as lasers and microwaves only. This is because the research during 1980s and 1990s showed that although particle beams8 have much destructive power, they were difficult to generate and propagate through air-means as they were unstable. There are possibilities that the stability problem could be solved for certain conditions. However, the power supply needed to supply stable beams is a big question and this makes PBWs impractical.9 DEWs remained in the realm of fiction for many years and the notion of DEWs was seen more been associated with the science fiction literature and Hollywood than actual war-fighting. However, research of many years has made DEWs a reality, and a few of such weapons have probably been tested under battlefield conditions.10 It needs to Carlo Koop, ‘Directed Energy Weapons-Part I’, Defence Today 56 (2006): 56. Richard Sullivan, ‘Assuming the Offensive: The Laser Threat on the 21st century Battlefield’, Jane’s Intelligence Review 10, no. 2 (1998): 42. 7 Refer to http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/defense/dtap/weapons/ch1001.htm (accessed on 14 January 2007). 8 The term particle beam weapon (PBW) refers to a range of concepts for devices using directed beams of charged or neutral particles at high energies to inflict damage. The particles in question can be electrons, protons, heavy ions or neutrons. As stated in 1979 Arms Control Impact Statements, 229. 9 Doug Beason, The E-Bomb, (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 214. 10 Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) system also known as Nautilus has destroyed during several tests in the USA, some 25 Katyusha in midair during a test. ‘Mobile/ 5 6

74 Strategic Technologies for the Military be mentioned that most of such tests were conducted at missile ranges and not under actual battlefield conditions. There could be some sort of simulated conditions essentially tailor-made for the tests, but no authentic information is available about ‘realistic’ battlefield testing. At present, many militaries are using laser technology in various forms for a variety of purposes, including offensive role. It has also been predicted that the lethal DEWs as well as the non-lethal DEWs would begin to appear on the battlefield with full force within a few years. This is likely to immensely influence the technique of future war-fighting. Lasers and microwaves are essentially the manifestations of the same electromagnetic spectrum. They both consist of photons or electromagnetic waves that have different wavelengths. Laser wavelength run from ultraviolet to infrared—from 0.4 to 0.7 microns—while high power are generally defined as having wavelengths of anywhere from a metre to a centimetre.11 For the last few decades in the arena of DEW, much of the work and investment has mainly been made in the laser category and scientists have achieved considerable success in a few areas of laser weaponry. This chapter discusses the growth and development of the most internationally discussed, experimented and debated weapon technology called DEWs with major focus on laser weapons.

LASER WEAPONS Lasers and Its Types The first working laser was reported in 1960. At that point of time, this discovery was ridiculed as ‘a solution looking for a problem’. Over a period of time, mankind realised the laser’s distinctive qualities—its ability to generate an intense, very narrow beam of light of a single wavelength—and found it extremely useful in various fields of science, technology and medicine.12 Usage of lasers has become a common phenomenon with various military agencies during the last few years and today they could be considered as the most mature form of DEW Tactical High Energy Laser (M-THEL) Technology Demonstration Program’, Defense Update (2004), http://www.defense-update.com/directory/THEL.htm (accessed on 10 January 2008). 11 Doug Beason, The E-Bomb (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 185. 12 Charles H. Townes, ‘The First Laser’, in A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries that Changed Science and the World, eds, Laura Garwin and Tim Lincoln (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 107–12.

Speed of Light Weaponry

75

technology. At present, lasers could be described as a ubiquitous military tool. By selecting the appropriate output power, operating frequency and modulation, lasers can be made to act as weapons, sensors, jammers or communications media.13 Laser is an acronym for ‘Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation’. It is essentially a process that generates an intense beam of light that is very pure (all light rays in the beam are nearly of the same colour) and well collimated (all rays are almost exactly headed in the same direction). These characteristics allow the beam only to spread very little as it travels. Since its invention in 1960s14 lasers have provided solutions to numerous problems. Powerful lasers are even capable of destroying airplanes in flight and the more delicate and precise lasers can repair detached retinas in human eyes.15 Essentially, three basic components are necessary for laser action: (a) a lasing (active) medium, (b) a pumping system to supply energy to the lasing medium, and (c) a resonant optical cavity also known as resonator—it enables the process of simulated emission induced by spontaneously emitted photons in the active medium.16 Accessories like lenses, mirrors, shutters are used to increase power and generate shorter pulses or special beam shapes. Various types of solid, liquid or gaseous material could serve as lasing medium.17 The basic physics behind the working of different types of lasers is almost the same—excite certain kinds of atoms, and light particles (photons) radiate out; reflect that light back into the excited atoms, and more photons appear. But unlike with a light bulb, which glows in every direction, this second batch of photons travels only in one direction and in lockstep with the first. And instead of shining in every part of the spectrum, laser light is of the same wavelength, which depends on the ‘gain medium’—the type of atoms—one uses to generate the beam. Shine enough of the focused light, and things start to burn. The first laser 13 Mark Hewith, ‘What Lies Ahead for Lasers?’ Jane’s International Defence Review (1997): 38. 14 For chronology of laser developments, refer to Samuel L. Marshall, ed., Laser Technology & Applications (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968). 15 C. Breck Hitz, Understanding Laser Technology (Oklahoma: PennWell Publishing Company, 1985), 1. 16 To know more about the theory of lasers, refer to K.L. Gomber and K.L. Gogia, Fundamentals of Physics (Jalandhar: Pradeep Publications, 2007). 17 Bengt Anderberg and Myron Wolbarsht, Laser Weapons (New York: Plenum Press, 1992), 18.

76 Strategic Technologies for the Military experiments in the 1960s used ruby crystals as the gain medium. But solid-state lasers like these originally could not produce more than a few hundred watts of power.18 Utility of the laser is dictated by its power. A few hundred watts are fine for eye surgery but for knocking down a missile, militaries require millions of watts of power. This has been the greatest challenge for laser weapon designers since the beginning. Lasers are categorised differently by different people; probably they categorise them on the basis of its utility. Lasers are being categorised on the basis of nature of material, pumping scheme, operational utility and its strength. The most common form of categorisation is based on the nature of material used in its creation. Based on the materials used to produce the laser light, lasers are divided into three basic categories: gas lasers, solid-sate lasers and semiconductor lasers. However, laser is seldom categorised on the basis of the nature of material used in its optical cavity. Crystalline or glass material is used by solid-state laser, while a gas laser uses a pure gas or a mixture of gases and a chemical laser obtains energy from a chemical reaction. A semiconductor (diode) laser is made of a specialised semiconductor material, and a liquid laser uses an organic or other type of dye in a liquid solution. Free electron lasers (FEL) and X-ray lasers are other significant laser designs. These various types of lasers have got applicability in various fields. The best known gas laser called HeNe (Helium–Neon) laser has got varying applications from supermarkets to laser printers to videodisk players to construction business (for alignment and levelling purposes). A molecular laser like CO2 laser has got various industrial applications. Solid-state lasers have largest applications in tactical military equipment, where they are used in rangefinders and target designators.19 There are a few other lasers like Eximer laser, a shortened form of ‘excited dimer’ for which the lasing medium is an excited diatomic molecule. At present, they are under investigation for use in communicating with submarines by conversion to blue–green light and pulsing from overhead satellites through sea water to submarines below.20

Noah Shachtman, ‘Attack at the Speed of Light’, Aviation and Space (May 2006). Bengt Anderberg and Myron Wolbarsht, Laser Weapons (New York: Plenum Press, 1992), 26–41 and C. Breck Hitz, Understanding Laser Technology (Oklahoma: PennWell Publishing Company, 1985), 191–94. 20 Refer to http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/optmod/lasert.html#c1 (accessed on 10 February 2008). 18

19

Speed of Light Weaponry

77

On the other hand, based on its pumping scheme lasers can be classified as optically pumped laser and electrically pumped laser. Alternatively, on the basis of its operation, lasers fall into the categories like continuous wave lasers and pulsed lasers.21 In addition, lasers can also be identified based on their ‘strength’ and are categorised as high-energy and lowenergy lasers.

Military Applicability22 The scientific work during 1950s that led to the invention of laser was followed closely by the military all over the world. Initially it was observed that the lasers would have various military applications not as a new standalone weapon system but more as a supporting technology to enhance the performance of the existing weapon systems. Almost after two decades since the invention of lasers, military planners started looking at the possibilities of converting laser source into a usable laser weapon. This section discusses various military applications of lasers in the non-weapon mode. Laser technology got introduced in the military by the mid-1960s in the form of laser rangefinders. Normally, a rangefinder is used for precise shooting, as it provides an exact distance to the target which is beyond the visual range. Even today, these rangefinders are a necessary part of the most modern fire control systems. Other instruments like optical range finders emit very short laser pulse—about 10 to 30 nanoseconds—towards the target and measures the ‘time of flight’ which is the time interval between the emission of the transmitted beam and the reception of the reflected beam by the object. As the speed of the laser pulse is known precisely, it is possible to calculate the accurate distance of the target. Most of the modern day laser finders are based on solid-state laser technology. Laser rangefinders have more utility in respect of stationary or slow-moving targets (tanks) than for fast moving targets like helicopters and aircrafts. For such fast moving targets, laser trackers (high-repetition-rate laser rangefinder) are used. This device was first introduced in the late 1980s. It measures coordinates by tracking a laser beam to a retro-reflective target held in contact with the object of 21 Refer to http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Pool/6373/laser3.html (accessed on 12 February 2008). 22 Bengt Anderberg and Myron Wolbarsht, Laser Weapons, (New York: Plenum Press, 1992), 43–62.

78 Strategic Technologies for the Military interest. The accuracy and speed of the laser tracker distinguish it from other portable coordinate measuring instruments.23 It may be noted that tracking and ranging are often simultaneous functions. Laser techniques resolve the problem of pinpoint accuracy for the munitions and the technique used is called laser target designator. In smart munitions a coded laser beam from the laser target designator is directed at the target. The reflected pulses from the target are scattered in many directions. They are detected by the missile’s laser target seeker. With this the missile homes on to the target and destroys it. Normally solid-state lasers like Nd:YAG (Neodymium:Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) lasers are used for this purpose. The other option is a CO2 laser which is relatively expensive. An alternative way to use the laser beam for weapon guidance is to allow the missile to stay within the beam, all the way to the target. In respect of such beam rider systems, the operator aims the laser beam at the target and then launches the missile. The great advantage of the beam riding systems is that the beam is difficult to detect by any electronic countermeasures. Here, mostly the molecular lasers like CO2 lasers are used which inherently have high average power and are capable of operating in turbulent atmosphere/bad weather. Currently, various forms of laser rangefinders and target designators are available and most of them that are used by modern militaries come in the hand-held version. The US military is in possession of systems like AN/GVS-5 hand-held rangefinders with one eye piece and weighing 5 lbs. AN/PAQ-1 Laser Target Designator (LTD) is a near infrared laser rangefinder/designator used to obtain target range. To identify the targets at a greater distance with more accuracy, tripod mounted devices like AN/TVQ-2 Ground/Vehicular Laser Locator Designator (G/VLLD) that weigh more than 50 lbs are available.24 From a military point of view, apart from getting the exact location of target, it is also essential to have an overall idea about the area under surveillance. Laser radar is a system that uses laser scanner to cover the required field of view. It essentially works like a user rangefinder, measuring the range of every point in the field of view, thereby building a complete picture. As compared to the ordinary radar, this system has 23 Bob Bridges and David A. White, ‘Laser Trackers: A New Breed of CMM’, http:// www.qualitydigest.com/feb98/html/lasertrk.html (accessed on 24 February 2009). 24 ‘Rangefinder and Target Designators’, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/rangefinder.htm (accessed on 12 March 2008).

Speed of Light Weaponry

79

short wavelength which results in much higher resolution. Also, the conventional radar sends out radio waves but this radar sends narrow pulses of laser light.25 These radars come in small sizes (difficult to detect and counter), and operate independently in any form of light conditions (even RF or Microwave radars are not affected by any light conditions). However, their performance is heavily weather dependent. Hence, usually, choice of laser is CO2 laser26 which is more weather friendly and offers larger range. Such Laser Radar’s (LADAR or LIDAR) are similar to millimetre wave radars and creates three dimensional27 virtual picture of the area under scan. Due to its capability to scan large areas with very high precision, and its ability to gradually build a detailed picture of the area under surveillance, LADAR sensors are usually employed on loitering systems (say a UAV mountable system), which looks at the target from different angles and match them to patterns stored in its onboard processors. These systems are also found useful to look through covers such as trees, towers and camouflage.28 However, in general, it could be argued that any laser system could be affected by clouds and smoke, and at times the performance of various laser systems gets degraded because of the unsuitable atmospheric conditions. Laser technology is getting further boosted29 by the advancements made in the arena of information technology, optics and microchip expertise. A major contributor towards various advancements in laser technology in the recent past is the growth of the technique of signal processing, particularly the digital signal processing (DSP). In regard to lasers, their speed of data acquisition, range accuracy and reliability have http://www.optech.ca/aboutlaser.htm (accessed on 12 March 2008). CO2 lasers are mostly chosen because they offer high power and stable single frequency operations, however their wavelength is 10.6 micron which is strongly absorbed by the water vapour in the atmosphere. Hence, chemical laser which is not strongly absorbed by the atmosphere having a wavelength of 1.3 micron is preferred as regards to airborne laser programme. 27 Laser detection started with the invention of laser in 1960s but three dimensional image generation was not achieved till 1980s. At present various technologies are being used to produce such systems. R.M. Heinrichs, B.F. Aull, D.G. Fouche, R. Hatch, A.K. Mclntosh, R.M. Marino, M.E. O’Brien, G. Rowe and J.J. Zayhowski., ‘3-D Laser Radar Development with Arrays of Photon-counting Detectors’ (Paper presented at the conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, CLEO apos, 1–6 June 2003). 28 ‘$6.6M for UAV-Mountable LADAR’, 23 June 2005, http://www.defenseindustrydaily. com/66m-for-uavmountable-ladar-0741/ (accessed on 12 February 2008). 29 ‘The Undoubted Ladar Market Promise’, III-Vs Review 17, no. 6 (2004): 9. 25 26

80 Strategic Technologies for the Military increased multifold with juxtaposition of various new technologies. At the same time, it has helped to reduce its size and cost. Such systems are extremely useful towards the generation of topographic images and to survey the depths of large bodies of water, which has both strategic and tactical military relevance. Lasers also have applicability for military training purposes. They are ideal training aid for sorts of firing and could be effectively used to simulate firing of missiles, projectiles or rockets. Subject to initial investment, the cost of each laser shot is negligible. The laser used in simulators is normally a very low-powered semiconductor laser. Various virtual training packages for army, navy and air force are available where lasers are used for a variety of purposes.30

Laser as a Weapon Laser weapons are not capable of attacking every target on the battlefield. Their performance essentially depends on the type of the target against which they have been used. The sensitivity of the target to the laser light determines the category of the weapons to be used, such as low-energy laser weapon or high-energy laser weapon. Laser could be a weapon of choice against certain specific target. It may not be possible for a laser to burn holes from a distance through a thick armour of a tank. Also, lasers are not useful for effectively demolishing fortifications or blow up bridges and roadblocks. Low-energy laser weapons could be used to destroy or disable sensors, target seekers, high-fighting equipment and other electro-optical devices. They could even be used to damage human eye. High-energy lasers could be used to destroy ground and air targets and to destroy optics and sensors at extremely long ranges.31 As discussed earlier, lasers could be categorised differently depending upon various parameters. From a military point of view, a standard classification in regard to laser weapons is obvious—strategic and tactical laser weapons. Weapons like guide bombs and a few types of missiles could be called tactical laser weapons while airborne laser as a part of missile defence system belong to the category of strategic laser weapons. http://www.lasershot-military.com/cts.html (accessed on 24 February 2009). Bengt Anderberg and Myron Wolbarsht, Laser Weapons (New York: Plenum Press, 1992), 89–94. 30 31

Speed of Light Weaponry

81

Laser weapons (in various types and forms) have more than 40 years of development history. During the last four decades, the United States, Russia, France and Israel have successfully carried out a variety of military related tests using laser techniques. A few kinds of low-energy laser weapons are already in use. These weapons, at times, are understood only with two usages, either as non-lethal weapons or as anti-personnel (read eye damaging) weapons. However, there is much more to it than this. Most high-energy laser weapons are still in the process of development. It may take a few more years for their actual military deployment. Secrecy has been the main feature of any laser weapon development programme. Hence, it is difficult (if not impossible) to carry out a critical analysis of the evolution of laser weapons over the last four to five decades. Apart from safeguarding military secrets, the nation-states are very particular about not disclosing their intent because many tactical laser weapons have the potential of blinding individuals. This has brought in fore the issue of legalities, human rights and all other related issues. This further forced the military researchers to conceal their research from the public. Separately, the dual-use nature of lasers has made it further difficult to know more about its exact military applicability in respect of various nation-states. From 1970s onwards laser target designators (LTDs), rangefinders, fire control and surveillance devices became increasingly common in Western armed forces. Personal aiming modules manufactured by Pilkington for use with Heckler and Koch and M16 rifles (820 nm range, 1 mrad width), became progressively more compact and self powered, with outputs in the range of one to 10mW (this power is very low to damage any targets but it affects human eyes). How these initial defence-oriented lasers entered the field of offensive capability is unclear.32

As such the line between offensive and defensive in the context of antipersonnel weapon is very blurred because of the low-damage threshold of the retina. The so-called dazzling laser can easily blind people under specific conditions. Direct beam exposure, spectral reflections, hazardous range curves and extended hazardous ranges have been the focus for the investigation on eye damage by lasers, but the stated intent of this research has always 32 Richard Sullivan, ‘Assuming the Offensive: The Laser Threat on the 21st Century Battlefield’, Jane’s Intelligence Review (1998): 42.

82 Strategic Technologies for the Military been defensively driven. Solid-state and semi-conductor type lasers, all of which have been tested and in some cases used for defensive purposes, became offence-oriented. In 1973 the USAF had shot down drones with ground-based gas dynamic CO2 lasers.33 Since the early 1970s, lasers have played a more direct role in weapon delivery, other than basic range finding. Their first recorded operational use was in 1972, when the US forces used laser-guided air-delivered weapons, namely Paveway bombs, to destroy a bridge that reportedly have survived over 870 previous attacks with conventional weapons.34 The UK Royal Navy operated laser dazzle weapons against Argentine pilots during the Falklands/Malvinas conflict (1982).35 As lasers were being used for military purposes, a few governments and NGOs took the disarmament cause. The Swedish government proposed adding a protocol prohibiting use of blinding laser weapons to the UN Conventional Weapons Convention in 1980 (further details on disarmament related issues are discussed at the end of this chapter). Interestingly, it was the Human Rights Watch Arms Project which publicly identified and provided the details on all the ten US tactical laser weapon programmes. The codenames of these programmes were declared. They were codenamed as Laser Countermeasure System, Saber 203, Stingray, Outrider, Dazer, Cobra, Perseus, Coronet Prince, Compass Hammer and Cameo Bluejay. The function of all these weapons, as described by the US military, was to counter battlefield surveillance by disrupting optical and electro-optical devices—from binoculars to gunner’s sights to infrared sensors. However, it was feared that all these could also function as blinding anti-personnel weapons.36 This report by Human Rights Watch Arms Project published in 1995 not only gives details about all the US laser programmes mentioned earlier but also states that almost half of them were dormant programmes. The report further states that states like Russia, China, Britain, France and Israel are known to have, or alleged to have, tactical laser weapon programmes. There were also reports that France had purchased a former Soviet battlefield laser for the purpose of using it as a counter-sniper weapon in Bosnia, but was eventually not used. Since the early 1980s, Ibid. 43. Mike Witt, ‘Lasers in Defence’, Asian Defence Journal 25, no. 2 (1995): 34–38. 35 Mark Hewith, ‘What Lies Ahead for Lasers?’ Jane’s International Defence Review 30 (1997): 38. 36 ‘U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons’, Human Rights Watch Arms Project 7, no. 5 (1995), http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Us2.htm (accessed on 15 April 2008). 33 34

Speed of Light Weaponry

83

the UK Royal Navy had deployed a ship-based laser known as the Laser Dazzle Sight (LDS). It was deployed on Type 22 and Leander class frigates. However, its purpose was not very clear. It was not known whether it was designed to disable the electro-optic sensors of hostile aircraft or temporarily blind their pilots.37 Post 1990s, the development of the tactical laser weapons got arrested mostly due to international outcry that use of the military blinders (a weapon that blinds individual) would be extremely cruel and inhumane, and the weapons were condemned both by the International Red Cross and the United Nations. However, as late as 1995, China was cited for the developing and selling of blinding laser weapons such as the AM87 Neodymium Laser Blinder. It is likely that today such weapons may be undergoing second or third generation of development there.38 In some form when such blinders are used against equipment, they essentially do a job, jamming or damaging the sensors of that equipment. Laser blinders are also capable of dazzling and blinding enemy visual sensors, including those on fighting vehicles, artillery and missile emplacements. The US military has two laser blinders, the Dazer and the Cobra. Both are static lasers and are meant primarily to detect and neutralise enemy optical and electro-optical sensors for various weapons systems. These lasers fell out of favour as human eye damaging (only temporary damage) weapons because of uncertainties about its performance and international pressure. They are essentially considered more as a weapon for sensor neutralisation.39 Dazer is a portable rifle-like, shoulder-fired, non-scanning, manually operated tactical laser weapon whose use is reserved for US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) missions. The Dazer uses a shortrange, near-infrared spectrum alexandrite laser beam, has a battery life of 1,000 individual shots, and can make up to 50 shots per minute. This weapon is meant to provide infantry with a non-lethal capability against armoured targets by attacking sensors. The USSOCOM warns in its internal fact sheet that the Dazer is hazardous to the eyes and skin and operates at a lethal voltage. Cobra is also a portable, rifle-like, non-scanning anti-sensor laser weapon, but it uses a diode-pumped 37 ‘U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons’, Human Rights Watch Arms Project 7, no. 5 (1995) and Richard Sullivan, ‘Assuming the Offensive: The Laser Threat on the 21st Century Battlefield’, Jane’s Intelligence Review (1998): 43. 38 ‘Laser Small Arms’, http://spectech.bravepages.com/Firearms/SA_Article_Laser%20 Weapons.htm (accessed on 15 April 2008). 39 lbid.

84 Strategic Technologies for the Military neodymium laser in the near infrared spectrum. This device may operate on three-different wave lengths making it very difficult to defend against.40 However, nothing much is known about the current status of these devices. Lasers also provide enhanced battlefield surveillance and area mapping (based on radars)41 capabilities. But, more than this and the usages mentioned here the use of lasers in weapon guidance systems (such as Hellfire anti-armour missile)42 with the capacity to designate and engage multiple targets has proved to be its most lethal and wellknown application. Usage of laser technology for military purposes really caught the imagination of the world because of its success during the Gulf War (1990–91). During this war the US Army had deployed several laser weapons. These included man-portable Sanders AN/PLQ-5 Laser countermeasures set (LCMS) and the vehicle mounted Lockheed Martin AN/ VLQ-7 Stingray Combat Protection system.43 However, the real attention grabbers were the precision guided air to surface weapons—the laser guided bombs (LGBs). As per the Department of Defence’s (DoD’s) report Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, coalition forces destroyed 41 of the 54 key Iraqi bridges, together with 31 hastily constructed pontoon bridges, in about four weeks. The LGBs used for this purpose constituted only 4.3 per cent by weight of the air-to-surface ordinance delivered.44 Over the last two decades, the development of LGBs has considerably improved the accuracy of weapon guidance and delivery. With the assistance of build-up guidance kits, the conventional bombs are being turned 40 Robert J. Bunker, ed., ‘Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and References’ (Paper presented at the USAF Institute for National Security Studies, USAF Academy, Colorado, December 1996: 19) and Lisa A. Small, ‘Blinding Laser Weapons: It is Time for the International Community to Take Off Its Blinders’, http://www.icltd.org/laser_weapons.htm (accessed on 26 December 2007). 41 Richard Sullivan, ‘Assuming the Offensive: The Laser Threat on the 21st Century Battlefield’, Jane’s Intelligence Review (1998): 43. 42 In the US, the programme to develop a laser guided fire-and-forget anti-armour missile was initiated in 1971 under the name Helicopter Launched Fire and Forget Missile (Hellfire). It got inducted in the US Army by 1985. The laser seeker of the Hellfire can lock on a designated target before or after launch. For more details, please visit http://www. designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-114.html and http://www.armedforces-int.com/projects/ Missiles/hellfire-ii.asp (both accessed on 26 December 2007). 43 Mark Hewith, ‘What Lies Ahead for Lasers?’, Jane’s International Defence Review 30 (1997): 38. 44 Ibid.

Speed of Light Weaponry

85

into LGBs. The kits consist of a computer control group (CCG), guidance canards (front guidance fins) attached to the front of the warhead to provide steering commands, and a wing assembly attached at the rear end to provide lift. LGBs are manoeuvrable, free-fall weapons requiring no electronic interconnect to the aircraft. They have an internal semiactive guidance system that detects laser energy and guides the weapon to a target illuminated by an external laser source. The designator can be located in the delivery aircraft, another aircraft or a ground source. All LGB weapons have a CCG, a warhead (bomb body with fuse) and an airfoil group.45 The most known name in the family of LGBs is the Paveway bomb which is a trademark of Raytheon (as mentioned earlier, it was first used in 1972). The Paveway family of laser guided bombs has revolutionised tactical air-to-ground warfare by converting ‘dumb’ bombs into precisionguided munitions. Lockheed Martin became the second source supplier of LGBs in 2001. PAVE is an acronym standing for Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment. Since Vietnam War, these weapons have been used in various theatres all over the globe, including Panama, Iraq, the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Paveways made up more than half of the air-to-ground precision-guided weapons used in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The United States and 31 nations of the world have ordered Paveway bombs and more than 125,000 Paveway II kits have been produced till date. Various versions of Paveway munitions are available and the most recent one include GPS/INS guidance capabilities.46 Apart from the aerial warfare, the US Air Force is also investing in laser weapons for its usage as a non-lethal option. In the year 2005, they have unveiled their first hand-held, non-lethal laser weapon that gives them a better option over existing weaponry for controlling crowds and protecting areas like checkpoints. This weapon which is in the final stages of development (prototype is ready) is known as the Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHaSR) system. It is about the same size and weight of a fully loaded M60 machine gun—around 9kg—but shoots a low-power laser beam instead of bullets. The light it generates could temporarily impair an individual’s vision and disorient 45 ‘Laser Guided Bombs’, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/ lgb.htm and ‘LeiTing-2 Laser Guided Bombs’, http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/ weapon/lt2.asp (accessed on 26 December 2007). 46 http://www.deagel.com/Bombs-and-Guidance-Kits/EGBU-12-Paveway-II_ a001151008.aspx and http://www.raytheon.com/products/paveway/(accessed on 28 August 2007).

86 Strategic Technologies for the Military him/her.47 The Russians have also developed a similar type of weapon called Stream in the year 2000 (Potok in Russian). It is a portable laser weapon developed by the St. Petersburg Institute of Special Materials, which can temporarily stun a human being without causing irreversible blindness or death.48

Airborne Laser (ABL) The concept of using air/space-based laser weapons to shoot down the enemy is almost three decades old. When the US President Ronald Regan’s ambitious programme called Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or the Star Wars programme of the early 1980s was being conceptualised, the concept of using lasers to fight a war in the space was a hotly discussed issue. For many years, the work is in progress towards developing spacebased lasers as a part of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) architecture. The process of development of such systems, during the last many years, has gone through many ups and downs. The biggest hurdle so far has been the technological limitations towards developments of such systems. Also, there are associated problems like funding dilemmas, arms control issues and end of cold war. At present, after the termination of the SDI and its partial revival through the National Missile Defense (NMD) programme, the highenergy laser weapon project has gained some momentum in the form of the Airborne Laser (ABL) programme. ABL has its roots in a clearly traceable timeline of moving from Ruby laser to Gas Dynamic laser, in pursuit of Buck Rogers/Star Trek49 expectation of blowing an enemy. Various US laboratories are working for the last four decades to demonstrate that a high-energy laser could be operated in an aircraft and used against airborne targets. In the early 1980s, the US Air Force programme known as Airborne Laser Laboratory (ALL) mounted a powerful laser in a Boeing 747, and 47 Michael Sirak, ‘US Air Force Unveils Hand-held Laser Gun’, 25 November 2005, http://www.janes.com/security/law_enforcement/news/jdw/jdw051125_2_n.shtml (accessed on 28 August 2007). 48 Masha Kaminskaya, ‘Scientists Develop New Laser Weapon’, The St. Petersburg Times, Russian Edition, 12 December 2000. 49 It’s interesting to note that the scientists got motivation for development of laser weapons after seeing the TV serials and characters in them using lasers for various offensive purposes. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American movie produced in 1979 and also a name of a TV serial. Star Trek is a famous TV serial and was aired from 1966–69.

Speed of Light Weaponry

87

destroyed five sidewinder missiles coming toward it.50 Based on CO2 laser technology, the ALL demonstrated that a weapon level laser system could be deployed on board a military aircraft. However, ALL was only a demonstration programme. In early 1980s when ALL conducted its first tests, F-16 was just being introduced. Subsequently, an argument was given as to why use an expensive laser to do what an inexpensive fighter could do.51 These deliberations led to a famous critic on laser weapons that ‘ALL was a solution looking for a problem’—a unique problem that could only be solved with laser. The problem was to find a weapons-class laser coupled with a compelling problem that no other weapon system could solve. Fortunately or unfortunately the Gulf War (1991) showed that the US had no effective defence against the Scud launches. The US, a nation that outspends the next 15 countries combined in military defence, had nothing that could stop this relatively low-tech threat.52 It was thought that: … scud problem could be solved with a laser weapon, mounted on a platform that engaged the ballistic missile as it broke above the cloud layer, typically 40,000 feet above the sea level. There the missile would still be accelerating, burning its fuel. The missile would be bright to every tracking system known, and since it would be still accelerating, it would be vulnerable to perturbations; a missile is delicate and susceptible to tiny variations in its flight conditions. Any small change in its trajectory, aerodynamics or thrust would destroy its ability to reach its target.53

After years of deliberations it appears that the US polity and military have decided to see that the ABL programme reaches its logical conclusion. The purpose behind development of ABL system is to destroy airborne missiles before they could pose a threat to civilian populations and military assets by using chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL)54 http://www.exn.ca/starwars/superlaser.cfm (accessed on 12 March 2007). Doug Beason, The E-Bomb, (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 127–30. 52 Ibid., 130–31. 53 Doug Beason, The E-Bomb (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 131–32. 54 It took almost 20 to 25 years of hard work for the US scientists to develop COIL. The US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate in addition to the advanced COIL work is also working on two other concepts namely the HF overtone and all gas-phase iodine lasers (AGIL) to address key space-based laser issues. For more on this, refer to Gerald C. Manke II, ‘Space-Based Laser Research’, US Air Force Research Laboratory’s in house publication, (2004), http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/bmd/ sbl_lives.htm (accessed on 10 April 2007). 50 51

88 Strategic Technologies for the Military mounted on a modified Boeing 747 aircraft. The basic idea is to perform successful boost-phase shoot-down of a theater ballistic missile. The US government, in 1996, contracted USD 1.1 Billion ABL project to three private companies. The ABL industry partnership comprises Boeing, which provides the modified aircraft and the Battle Management System; Northrop Grumman,55 which supplies the High Energy Laser, the Beacon Illuminator Laser and Lockheed Martin Space Systems, which provides the Beam Control/Fire Control System, including the nose-mounted turret.56 A typical airborne laser mission begins when its infrared sensors detect the heat from the plume of a hostile launched missile. The complete ABL system constitutes subsystems for target location and tracking, for adjusting the optical mirrors for every task, and battle management software to direct the actions of lasers in a proper sequence. Location and tracking of targets is done with a combination of an infrared sensor and a solid-state laser. The location of targets is done through an infrared targeting sensor, which looks for the hot exhaust from a ballistic missile, taking off in order to locate potential targets, and ‘passively tracks’ a missile by this exhaust plume. Once this sensor has identified a target, the ABL fires a track illuminator laser (TILL) to track the target and returns target tracking data to the ABL’s battle management system. The TILL ‘actively tracks’ a target by walking the laser from the exhaust plume to the nose of the missile in order to determine where to fire the high-powered laser.57 Once this tracking and targeting data is obtained, the battle management system fires another low-power laser at the target to gather more data. This laser is known as the beacon illuminator laser (BILL) and is used to gather atmospheric data for the adaptive optics system. The battle management software then uses this data to actively adjust any mirrors in the main laser path to maximise the power transferred through the 55 Earlier the contract had gone to TRW (Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.) which, was subsequently taken over by Northrop Grumman in 2002. 56 Barbara Starr, ‘Airborne Laser Breaks through the Barriers’, Jane’s Defence Weekly 28 (1997): 53 and ‘Airborne Laser Project Achieves Development Milestones’, http://www. gizmag.com/go/7957/ and http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/abl/history.html (accessed on 10 April 2007). 57 Boeing: Integrated Defense Systems, Missile Defense Systems—Airborne Laser (ABL) Home, http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/abl/index.html (accessed on 15 April 2008); based on a thesis submitted to MIT by Tao B. Schardl, ‘An Assessment of the Airborne Laser’ (Thesis submitted, MIT, 12 December 2007).

Speed of Light Weaponry

89

high-power laser. Since high-powered lasers are especially susceptible to scattering and distortion effects of the atmosphere, this data and the adaptive optics system are crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of the high-powered laser.58 Finally, the Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser fires along a computerdetermined path, concentrating energy on the missile’s metal skin. However, this laser energy is insufficient to destroy the missile. It actually helps in softening the skin of the missile and subsequently, the missile explodes due to the internal pressure generated during the boosting by the burning fuel. With the start of the project in 1996, the sceptics always believed that developing the idea of using lasers from a flying platform to destroy missiles in the boost stage is a near-impossible task. Keeping the Airborne Laser’s weight down was a persistent challenge throughout, especially when over 1,200 gallons of chemicals were needed to fire the laser. The other challenges were to ensure the desired effective range of the laser and also to successfully integrate the system within an aircraft. Apart from technical challenges, financially this project had almost become a nightmare for the US government. The ABL project, had to consistently revise its estimates. As a result, in February 2006, the programme was relegated by the Pentagon to a technology demonstrator status. Earlier, the project had barely scraped through a cancellation threat in 2004 after the Pentagon decided to lay down several interim test milestones. Fortunately, at a critical Block 2004 test, the system successfully fired a laser for the first time, dubbed as the ‘First Light’ in November 2004. Though the firing lasted only for a fraction of a second, it gave the project an important boost amid calls for cancellation.59 The ABL project is currently moving forward in a two-year development ‘blocks’. In April 2000, the ABL final critical design review was completed. Modification of the aircraft, involving installation of the turret in the aircraft’s nose and modifications to accept the laser, optics and computer hardware, was completed in May 2002. In July 2002, the modified aircraft (YAL-1A) took the first of a series of test flights and was given airworthiness certification. Then, the aircraft returned to 58 Boeing: Integrated Defense Systems, Missile Defense Systems—Airborne Laser (ABL) Home, http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/abl/index.html (accessed on 10 April 2008) and Tao B. Schardl, ‘An Assessment of the Airborne Laser’, (Thesis submitted, MIT, 12 December 2007). 59 A. Vinod Kumar, ‘Airborne Laser Aircraft Rolls Out’, posted on 6 November 2006, www.idsa.in (accessed on 14 January 2008).

90 Strategic Technologies for the Military airworthiness flight testing in December 2004 following the installation of the beam control/fire control system. In November 2004, all the six modules of the COIL laser were successfully fired for the first time.60 Subsequently, many other tests were carried out and, in February 2007, the ABL began a series of flight tests, which included the first in-flight firing of the TILL in March 2007 targeting laser at a simulated target. Now, the first prototype is scheduled for completion in late 2008 with high-power testing to begin by the end of the year. As of July 2008, the COIL system was installed in the aircraft and is undergoing ground testing.61 Missile intercept testing is expected to start in August 2009.62

Military Space Lasers Military policy in space could be said to be a twofold one—to use space assets for the purposes of reconnaissance, communication and navigation (this could fall in the realm of militarisation of space) and using either ground-based or space-based weapons to cause the damage to the assets of rival nations in the space (this could fall in the realm of weaponisation of space). The second aspect of military policy in space essentially reflects offensive weapons and associated deployment strategy. This happens mainly because of the fascination of some military leaders, technologists and politicians with the lasers (apart from other forms of satellite attacks like kinetic kill vehicles). However, lasers could be mounted on space platforms for various other military utility purposes also. The concept of usage of lasers for communication has been discussed for many years. Experts feel that the laser communication links in space are attractive alternatives to present-day microwave links.63 Lasercom was one of the very first applications proposed for laser technology in the early 1960s. However, the difficulty in getting the technology inserted in operational systems has been greater than envisioned by 60 The original design had fourteen modules. However, due to weight problems the number was reduced to only six, which severally reduced the output power and hence range and lethality. 61 ‘Laser Jumbo Testing Moves Ahead’, 29 July 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ science/nature/7531046.stm (accessed on 2 February 2009). 62 ‘ABL YAL 1A Airborne Laser, USA’, http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ abl (accessed on 12 January 2008). 63 Walter R. Leeb, ‘Space Laser Communications: Systems, Technologies, and Applications’, http://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/pub-et_4235.pdf (accessed on 22 December 2007).

Speed of Light Weaponry

91

the early pioneers.64 Even in the 21st century, researchers still find various technological limitations to make such systems fully operational. Particularly, the problems in respect of space to ground laser communications are many. At present, fibre optic cables are a major mode of communication partly because multiple signals can be sent with high quality and low loss by light propagating along the fibres. The light signals can be modulated with the information to be sent by using either light emitting diodes or lasers. The lasers have significant advantages because they are more nearly monochromatic and this allows the pulse shape to be maintained better over long distances. If a better pulse shape can be maintained, then the communication can be sent at higher rates without overlap of the pulses.65 The military communications include lasers, microwaves and any directed energy weapons.66 The US has major plans of using space-based lasers for communication purposes. However, in this arena the status of technology is still at an experimental stage (that is, satellite-to-satellite optical communication is working but satellite-to-ground is more problematic). The US military has plans to field a constellation of optical communications relay satellites in the earth orbit starting around 2012. Those satellites are intended to help the Pentagon deal with a bandwidth crunch that has been heightened in part by a growing fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles that are transmitting data-rich imagery.67 The major emphasis of the military technologists over the years has been towards the development of space-based laser weapons. Particularly, the US has made substantial investments in the development of such weapons as a part of their advanced ballistic missile development programme. The US strategists hope that fielding of a space-based missile defence system could induce potential aggressors to abandon ballistic missile programmes, as they could be rendered useless. Any significant success in this arena could also provide the impetus for other nations to develop their security agreements with the US, bringing them under 64 D.L. Begley, ‘Free-space Laser Communications: A Historical Perspective’ (Paper presented at The 15th Annual Meeting of the IEEE for Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, 10–14 November 2002, Volume 2), pp. 391–92. 65 http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/optmod/lasapp.html#c5 (accessed on 20 November 2007). 66 John J. Klein, ‘Space Warfare’, (Routledge: London, 2006), 53. 67 Brian Berger, ‘NASA To Test Laser Communications With Mars Spacecraft’, http:// www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_041115.html (accessed on 25 June 2008).

92 Strategic Technologies for the Military a US sponsored missile shield. A space based laser (SBL) platform is perceived to achieve missile interception by focusing and maintaining a high-powered laser on a target until it achieves catastrophic destruction. Energy for the sustained laser burst is proposed to be generated by the chemical reaction of the hydrogen fluoride (HF) molecule.68 Various technologies have been developed by the US agencies (hard work of almost 20 years) essential for a SBL system. In 2001 the Alpha LAMP Integration (ALI) programme has performed integrated highenergy ground testing of the laser and beam expander to demonstrate the critical system elements like the laser itself, beam steering/handling system and the overall control system.69 Now, the next step is an integrated space vehicle ground test with a space demonstration to conclusively prove the feasibility of deploying an operational SBL system. Future plans include orbiting the SBL Readiness Demonstrator (SBLRD) in order to test all the systems in their intended working environment. The SBLRD is a technology integration project that could result in a demonstration of the capability to perform boost-phase Theater Missile Defence from space.70 The SBL combines laser weapon and a tracking and aiming system into a satellite platform. Its targets are booster-stage strategic missiles, military satellite platforms and advanced sensors. It was a high-priority development plan in the US Defence Department’s high-power laser project, with a total cost of USD 20 billion. The optimised plan proposed by the US Armed Forces called for the deployment of 24 laser platforms on different circular orbits at an altitude of 1300 km and an inclination angle of 40 degrees. Each platform will be capable of destroying missiles and satellites within a radius of 4000 km. Each space-based laser platform consists of a 30 MW laser and a 10 m diametre main reflector. Depending on the target range, the space-based laser system can destroy a missile in flight within 2 to 5 seconds.71 However, experts72 feel that 68 ‘Space Based Laser [SBL]’, http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/sbl.htm (accessed on 24 August 2008). 69 ‘Space Based Laser [SBL]’, http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-01a.html (assessed on 10 April 2008). 70 Refer to http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/sbl.htm and http://www.fas. org/spp/starwars/program/sbl.htm (both accessed on 10 April 2008). 71 Cheng Yong and Guo Yanlong, ‘Present Status and Trend of Anti-satellite Laser Weapon Development’, FBIS Translated Text, scholar.ilib.cn/abstract.aspx?A=gxygdjs200303001 (accessed on 15 July 2008). 72 In conversation with Dr Subrata Ghoshroy, 12 July 2008.

Speed of Light Weaponry

93

such projects are likely to be shelved (or have already been shelved a few years ago but no official information is available to that effect) because of the extreme engineering challenges, anticipated launch costs and the cost of the overall platform. Also, there is likelihood that lasers could be installed on small satellites for the purposes of satellite warfare. Such laser-bearing small satellites could be used to temporarily blind enemy satellites and destroy them if found necessary. It is expected that, in case of a necessity, lasers could be used more widely in terrestrial warfare. Laser devices used for laser countermeasures against satellite early warning detection systems could be mainly of two types—high-energy laser devices and low-energy laser devices.73 High-power laser devices emit energy to cause overheating of the vital parts of the satellite. This leads to the permanent damage to the target satellite. Usually, highpower lasers succeed in damaging parts like photoelectric sensors, optical systems, heat control surfaces and solar cell panels. Low-power laser devices are premeditated to operate in the same wave band as that of satellite sensors in order to mislead or jam the satellite’s electro-optic sensors. This helps in temporarily blinding the satellite’s sensors. Lowpower lasers are used to jam the IR detectors on early warning satellites. Such IR detectors on early warning satellites are used to detect missile exhaust flames and are highly sensitive in nature. The power requirement for jamming such detectors is therefore quite low.74 However, it needs to be noted that such satellites are usually in higher orbits and, hence, not so easy to hit. Incidentally, they are already designed to look at plumes in the IR with a broad spectrum. Hence, it is a difficult task to jam them with IR lasers. The ground-based anti-satellite laser systems could carry out precise attacks against the specific sighting points of reconnaissance satellites to cause thermal damage: When the laser device and the photoelectric sensors on a reconnaissance satellite are operating on the same wavelength and the laser beam is positioned 73 In literature, the terms high/low energy laser and high/low power laser are at times found used interchangeably. ‘Energy’ is the capacity for doing work and ‘power’ can be defined as the rate of doing work or the rate of using energy. Energy is measured in Joules and power is rate of energy over time measured in Joules/Sec. The term energy is used in regard to a single shot while the term power is used usually for a continuous wave. 74 Qin Feng Yin, ‘Development of Electro-Optical Countermeasure Technique’ (2003), scholar.ilib.cn [FBIS Translated Text], http://www.ilib2.com/A-ISSN~CN511418(2003)06-0010-06.html (accessed on 17 June 2008).

94 Strategic Technologies for the Military in a sensor’s field of vision, the sensors can be destroyed by saturation. Because a reconnaissance satellite’s orbit is generally known and satellite borne photoelectric equipment’s damage threshold value is quite low, the relative strategic anti-missile laser weapons technology is not difficult and the operational costs are low. The laser devices of ground-based laser systems with anti-satellite capability must be able to produce a requisite power value over long operating periods and have excellent beam quality. Generally speaking, the operating range of land-based anti-reconnaissance satellite laser weapons is 500 to 1,000 km, and the average maximum power requirement is one million Watts or more.75

Recent testing in this arena indicates that even laser power of several tens to several hundred Watts is sufficient to jam military reconnaissance satellites. The US military administration is also involved in developing a ground-based laser (GBL)76 anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon that is capable of executing multi-level air control and imaging and also which can track and destroy orbiting satellites. The laser weapon should be capable of attacking designated sighting points on a satellite and degrade their effectiveness by thermal damage. However, performance of such weapons would be highly weather dependent and even a cloud at the GBL site would cancel the capability of a GBL. This could be overcome by putting several GBLs in service.77 Wide dispersion of their sites will increase the probability of having at least one site in clear weather for optimum operation.78 Now, it is more or less a foregone conclusion that after almost 30 years of anti-satellite weapons development, the US has the capability to use anti-satellite weapons against low earth orbit satellites. The former Soviet Union also began the work in this arena almost during the same 75 Qin Feng Yin, ‘Development of Electro-Optical Countermeasure Technique’ (2003), scholar.ilib.cn [FBIS Translated Text], http://www.ilib2.com/A-ISSN~CN511418(2003)06-0010-06.html (accessed on 17 June 2008). 76 Lt Col Robert H. Zielinski, Lt Col Robert, M. Worley II, Maj Douglas S. Black, Maj Scott A. Henderson and Maj David C. Johnson, ‘Key Technologies and System Descriptions’, http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/usaf/2025/v3c9/v3c9-3c.htm (accessed on 10 June 2008). 77 Richard L. Garwin, ‘Space Weapons: Not Yet’ (Paper presented at Pugwash Workshop on Preserving the Non-Weaponization of Space , Castellón de la Plana, Spain, 22–24 May 2003). 78 Qin Feng Yin, ‘Development of Electro-Optical Countermeasure Technique’ (2003), scholar.ilib.cn [FBIS Translated Text], http://www.ilib2.com/A-ISSN~CN511418(2003)06-0010-06.html (accessed on 17 June 2008).

Speed of Light Weaponry

95

time (mid-1970s). Post 1975, they had successfully jammed two of the US early-warning satellites used for monitoring ICBMs when they were flying over Siberia for five successive times by using hydrogen fluoride laser. The satellites were jammed up to four hours for several days from a location, 50 km south of Moscow. Before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia already had a firm technological foundation for strong laser anti-satellite technology. The ground-based laser device located at Saryshagan79 has temporarily blinded a number of US satellites. Two high-power laser systems (a ruby laser and a pulsed carbon-dioxide laser) were operational at Saryshagan in 1987.80 It has been reported that Russia has six operational anti-satellite high-energy laser devices orbiting in space.81 It may be noted that these are mostly unverified claims and not many authentic sources are available to confirm them. However, the purpose of putting such information over here is only to highlight the fact that apart from US the other superpower of the past also had interest in this field and in all probability Russia will have significant knowhow in this arena. Apart from Russia, the other country which has probably made substantial investments in the field of ground-based lasers to destroy/ damage satellites is China. In fact, China has pursued a variety of space warfare programmes particularly over the last decade. Apart from its famous kinetic kill vehicle ASAT test in January 2007, it has also invested in direct attack and directed-energy weapons.82 As per the Pentagon’s 1998 report to Congress ‘China already may possess the capability to damage, under specific conditions, optical sensors on satellites that are very vulnerable to damage by lasers’ and that ‘given China’s current interest in laser technology, it is reasonable to assume that Beijing would develop a weapon that could destroy satellites in the future’.83 A few are of the opinion that during August–September 2006, US reconnaissance satellites were ‘painted’ or ‘illuminated’ by ‘high-power’ 79 T.E. Bearden, ‘History of Directed Energy Weapons’, http://www.mindcontrolforums. com/history-of-directed-energy-weapons.htm (accessed on 12 August 2008). 80 Desmond Ball, ‘Assessing China’s ASAT program’, http://www.nautilus.org/~rmit/ forum-reports/0714s-ball/ (accessed on 12 August 2008). 81 Qin Feng Yin, ‘Development of Electro-Optical Countermeasure Technique’ (2003), scholar.ilib.cn [FBIS Translated Text], http://www.ilib2.com/A-ISSN~CN511418(2003)06-0010-06.html (accessed on 17 June 2008). 82 Ashley Tellis, ‘China’s Space Weapons’, The Wall Street Journal 33 (2007). 83 Department of Defence, Future Military Capabilities and Strategy of the People’s Republic of China (Washington: Department of Defense, 1998), http://www.fas.org/news/ china/1998/981100-prc-dod.htm (accessed on 9 July 2009).

96 Strategic Technologies for the Military ground-based lasers on several occasions as they passed over China.84 Several reports stated that these were ASAT tests. However, some analyses suggest that they may have been ‘low-power’ illuminations from Chinese satellite laser ranging (SLR) stations intended to precisely determine satellite orbits.85 In response to the likely Chinese threat in particular and the overall threat in general, the Pentagon is developing sensors to pinpoint a ground-based laser attempting to blind its spy satellites. The Space Superiority Systems Wing, a department within the USAF responsible for developing military space technology, is working towards developing technologies to ‘sense and attribute’ a laser attack, in a programme called Self Awareness Space Situation Awareness (SASSA). In 2008, Lockheed Martin and Boeing have revealed their SASSA proposals. In addition to detecting, identifying and debilitating laser attacks, SASSA will also sense attempts to jam a satellite’s radio transmissions. It is expected that a demonstration SASSA system could fly aboard TacSat-5, a satellite for testing new technologies expected to be launched in 2011.86

Laser Programme’s of China and India Most of the preceding discussion has essentially revolved around the technologies developed or under development with the US forces. Apart from the US, a few other states are also investing in this field, which include Asian states like China and India. This section highlights on the investments in this field by these states. Today, the US is making investments worth USD 100 million per year in the arena of DEW. As per the December 2007 report by the Defence Science Board Tasks force, DEWs offer a promise as transformational 84 Vago, Muradian, ‘China Attempted To Blind U.S. Satellites With Laser’, Defense News 21, no. 37 (2006), http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2125489 (accessed on 11 December 2007). 85 A UCS technical working paper provides this other arugument claiming that it may not be a case of ASAT and since the SLR laser is at a single frequency it could at most affect one of the satellite’s multiple detectors. For more details, refer to http://www.ucsusa. org/global_security/space_weapons/chinese-lasers-and-us-satellites.html and http://www. nautilus.org/~rmit/forum-reports/0714s-ball/#ftn6 (accessed on 2 December 2007). 86 US Air Force report, ‘Unfunded Priority List’, February 2007, http://pogoarchives. org/m/ns/c17/fy08-upl-20070201.pdf and Paul Marks, ‘Pentagon Wants Laser Attack Warnings for Satellites’, 28 May 2008, www.newscientist.com/article/dn14002-pentagonwants-laser-attack-warnings-for-satellites.html (accessed on 25 February 2009).

Speed of Light Weaponry

97

‘game changer’ when the world is facing new asymmetric and disruptive threats along with the traditional threats. However, years of investment has not resulted in any substantial high-energy laser capability at operational level. The current and futuristic US focus is likely to be more on solid-state lasers, fibre lasers and free electron lasers along with the chemical lasers.87 Knowing the history of developments in this field and fully understanding the huge financial burden the research in DEW arena puts on the state, states like China and India started their programmes with caution. Though they did not start the programmes with undue expectations, the state like China never wanted to lag behind the rest (read the US) and hence they started their programme almost at the same time when the other bigger powers started. Today, China has achieved some progress in this field and is making significant human and economic investments in this field. China has a long history of investments in laser technology. Their efforts to harness laser weapons technology began in the 1960s, under a programme called ‘Project 640-3’ (the project was renamed as ‘863 Program’ in 1979). Chinese laser programme is a subset of their larger work on military technologies which also includes space, electronics and robotics.88 Currently, Beijing’s effort to develop laser technology encompasses over ‘10,000 personnel—including 3,000 engineers in 300 scientific research organisations—with nearly 40 per cent of China’s laser research and development (R&D) devoted to military applications’.89 Beijing’s programme is expected to be at par with the best in this field in the world. China had successfully tested a free electron laser with a 140 MW (megawatt) output during 1994. Their major focus of work has been towards miniaturisation of laser systems, perhaps to make a portable laser weapon. China is also planning to build an ASAT system using a highenergy deuterium fluoride laser. This is expected to be on similar lines of the US mid-infrared advanced chemical laser (MIRACL) design.90 87 Report by Defence Science Board Tasks force, Directed Energy Weapons, (Washington: Office of the Under Secretary of the Defence for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, 2007), vii and 6–8. 88 ‘Top Ten Chinese Military Modernization Developments’, http://www.strategycenter. net/research/pubID.65/pub_detail.asp (accessed 19 December 2007). 89 A 1999 paper authored by US Army researcher Mark Stokes has made this claim and this has been cited in Carlo Kopp, ‘High Energy Laser Air Defence Weapons’, http://www. ausairpower.net/DT-Laser-ADW-2008.pdf (accessed on 2 July 2009). 90 Jon E. Dougherty, ‘China Advancing Laser Weapons Programme’, 22 November 1999, http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15233 (accessed on 14 November 2007).

98 Strategic Technologies for the Military China is believed to have a highly developed electro-optic industry, as well as the ability to field blinding laser weapons, including tactical laser weapons. They are looking at making their products commercially viable. It had offered the ZM-87 neodymium laser blinder for sale at defence exhibitions in Manila and Abu Dhabi in 1995. At present, they are expected to be developing an advanced version of such systems with improved range and anti-sensor capabilities: Although the ZM-87 is intended for use primarily against ground targets, it could be used against aircraft. China also may be developing improved blinding weapons incorporating automatic targeting and countermeasure resistance. It also reportedly is investigating towards identifying the feasibility of ship-borne laser weapons for air defence. Future laser systems most likely will emphasize the use of advanced optical techniques for improved target acquisition and pointing and tracking. Lasers with increased power and efficiency also are said to be under consideration.91 [China’s] DEW research is part of a larger class of weapons known to the Chinese as ‘new concept weapons’ (xin gainian wuqi), which include highpower lasers, high-power microwaves, rail-guns, coil guns and particle beam weapons. The two most important organizations involved in R&D of DEW are the China Academy of Sciences and the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND).92

The closer Sino–Russian relationship also is contributing to China’s advancement, as Russia turns the former Soviet Union’s tremendous Cold War research and development budgets and technological advancements into economic gains.93 The US officials are of the opinion that China has developed several types of ground-based lasers with Russian and Israeli technology. They also feel that the Russians had developed anti-satellite weapons during the Cold War and their military are still continuing with this work, which include both anti-satellite missiles and ground-based lasers.94 91 US DOD, ‘Military Power of the PRC (2000)’ (Report submitted to Congress in Pursuant to the FY2000 National Defense Authorization Act—Appendix 120), http://cns. miis.edu/straittalk/Appendix%20120.htm (accessed on 15 June 2006). 92 Jon E. Dougherty, ‘China Advancing Laser Weapons Programme’ 22 November 1999, http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15233 (accessed on 20 January 2007). 93 ‘Beijing Secretly Fires Lasers to Disable US Satellites’, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/26/wchina226.xml (accessed on 12 August 2007). 94 Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt Gen. Michael Maples in Senate testimony and quoted by Bill Gertz, The Washington Times, 17 January 2007.

Speed of Light Weaponry

99

In the case of India, the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) in New Delhi is involved in the development of laser programme for the Indian Armed Forces. They have succeeded in developing versions of the portable nonlethal dazzlers (PNLD), including a hand-held laser dazzlers. Both these variants are completely non-lethal directed energy weapons employing intense visible light and produce randomly a flickering green laser output that is sufficient to cause temporary blindness or disorientation. The dazzlers also have an in-built safety interlock to prevent misuse and the weapons do not cause permanent blindness. These weapons are expected to be inducted into the Indian Armed Forces for use in counterinsurgency operations in near future.95 During the last two decades, LASTEC, India’s premier laser lab, is working on various lasers, including solid-state lasers, CO2 Lasers, ALARM, LRF, fibre optic gyroscope, ring laser gyroscope, laser intruder alarm system, and so on. Work is also in progress in the arena of laser materials, including laser crystals and laser glasses. So far these labs have developed gadgets like laser threat warner, laser dazzlers and PRF decoders. They have also succeeded in developing a full Nd:YVO4 laser. The work towards development of COIL is also expected to be in the final stages.96 Apart from the US, Russia and the Asian players, countries like the UK and France have also made substantial investments in this arena. Even states like Czech Republic are also undertaking research in this arena for its military applicability.97

Countermeasures against Laser Weapons The main approaches to deal with a laser threat involve some active countermeasures, evasive manoeuvres or direct engagement98. Particularly laser weapons do have a few significant limitations which could be exploited to reduce the impact of such weapons. The Times of India, 17 August 2007. Joseph, P. Chacko, ‘LASTEC the Laser Lab’, http://frontierindia.net/lastec-the-laserlab, (accessed on 14 November 2007). 97 Capt. Dipl. Eng. Jan VALOUCH, ‘Electromagnetic Directed Energy Weapons for Eliminating Electronic Systems’, http://www.army.cz/mo/obrana_a_strategie/1-2003eng/ valouch.pdf, 112–114 (accessed on 16 April 2008). 98 Bengt Anderberg, ‘Protection and Countermeasures Against Laser Weapons’, Military Technology (1993): 26. 95 96

100 Strategic Technologies for the Military Performance of lasers gets affected with weather phenomenon like fog, smoke, dust, rain and snow. These aerosols present in the atmosphere, depending on their size, can disperse or refract the weapon’s beam to ineffectualness.99 Hence, one unusual but effective defence against lasers could be the use of aerosol dispensers say Anti-Laser bombs near the likely target (for enemy) or simply use smoke bombs to make target acquisition difficult for the enemy. Low-energy lasers essentially affect eyes of the troops. Hence troops could be supplied with Anti-Flash Goggles which extends the protection both into the infrared and ultraviolet bandwidths. Ablative Armour could be another defensive mechanism. It is usually made of an array of tightly-clustered gel or foam packs. Any contact of the laser with the gel/foam starts melting it because of the heat generated. At that point of time the laser energy goes through various processes of absorption, dispersion and redirection. These processes take most of the laser energy away from the target making the weapon ineffective.100 All the approaches to save target/troops mentioned earlier are designed in such a fashion that the external measure are undertaken to protect the target/troops. However, these protective measures are essentially to cater threats from low-energy laser attacks. Another approach to safeguard the target, particularly from the high-energy laser attacks, is to harden the target101 itself to handle any low/high-energy laser attack. Hardening of targets involve adding or designing components so that they are more resistant to damage or destruction. A major aspect of hardening is associated with increasing the resistance of the system to damage from the effects of laser weapons. Systems could be designed and constructed to protect from lasers attacks. Hardening satellites against the effects of lasers could be achieved by providing protection to the exterior components and various optical and infrared sensors. Reflective surfaces, shutters and non-absorbing materials provide some protection to the exterior components. Spinning the satellite avoids having one surface continuously exposed to the laser beam but the satellite must be designed to operate while spinning, or this will not be a feasible solution.102 Ajey Lele, Weather and Warfare (New Delhi: Lancer, 2006), 57–66. ‘Laser Weapon Countermeasures’, http://www.orbitalvector.com/Firearms/Laser%20 Countermeasures/Laser%20Countermeasures.htm (accessed on 28 July 2008). 101 The work in this area had started in early eighties. J. Raloff, ‘Major Milestone in Laser Weapons Tests’, Science News 124, no. 6 (1983): 85–86. 102 ‘Threats and Countermeasures’, http://www.fas.org/spp/military/docops/army/ref_ text/chap08.htm (accessed on 29 July 2008). 99

100

Speed of Light Weaponry

101

Laser threats could be categorised as in-band or out-of-band. In respect of in-band threat, lasers have a frequency that the sensor is capable of detecting: Energy from this type of laser passes through the sensor’s filters and lenses until it strikes the detector array. It does not take much concentrated laser energy to overload or damage the sensitive detector array. There are some special filters, shutters, and certain design techniques that can minimize the effects of an inband laser but most result in the sensor not being usable while it is being illuminated. Energy from an outofband laser is usually prevented from entering the sensor by special filters or shutters. Filters can block out the unwanted laser energy but often do so by absorbing the laser energy which is then converted into heat. If the incident laser energy on the filter is strong enough, it is may be possible to destroy it, thus making the sensor unusable or unprotected.103

Disarmament and Lasers Immediately, after its inception the laser weapons have been under the focus of human rights organisations for its likely ill effects particularly on the human eyes. International law makers were also trying to interpret the possibilities of banning/controlling such weapons under the available legal structures. Many laws starting from St Petersburg (1868), Hague (1899) and Hague (1907) to the UN conventions/humanitarian laws available till 1980/1990s were examined to fit laser weapons under the ‘rule prohibiting means and methods of warfare of nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering’.104 However, subsequently it may have been realised that banning a specific weapon like laser weapon may not be possible until and unless it is brought under the ambit of treaty mechanism. Hence, efforts towards that direction started growing. In 1980, the UN adopted the ‘Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects’. It was felt that this convention could be used to handle the issues related to laser weapons. The first Review Conference of States Parties for this convention was held at Vienna in 1995. This review Conference, on 13 October 1995, adopted the new Protocol IV prohibiting the use and Ibid. (accessed on 28 July 2008). Bengt Anderberg, Ove E. Bring and Myron L. Wolbarsht, ‘Blinding Laser Weapons and International Humanitarian Law’, Journal of Peace Research 29, no. 3 (1992), 287–97. 103 104

102 Strategic Technologies for the Military transfer of blinding laser weapons.105 This Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV to the 1980 Convention) has the following four articles:

Article 1 It is prohibited to employ laser weapons specifically designed, as their sole combat function or as one of their combat functions, to cause permanent blindness to unenhanced vision, that is to the naked eye or to the eye with corrective eyesight devices. The High Contracting Parties shall not transfer such weapons to any State or non-State entity. Article 2 In the employment of laser systems, the High Contracting Parties shall take all feasible precautions to avoid the incidence of permanent blindness to unenhanced vision. Such precautions shall include training of their armed forces and other practical measures. Article 3 Blinding as an incidental or collateral effect of the legitimate military employment of laser systems, including laser systems used against optical equipment is not covered by the prohibition of this Protocol. Article 4 For the purpose of this protocol ‘permanent blindness’ means irreversible and uncorrectable loss of vision which is seriously disabling without any prospect of recovery. Serious disability is equivalent to visual acuity of less than 20/200 Snellen measured using both eyes. This protocol came in force on 30 July 1998 and around 50 states have signed it by the end of 2000. The issues related to proliferation of such weapons becomes more important in the post-9/11 era because such weapons, if readily available, could also attract the attention of terrorists. This is mainly because they are easy to use, extremely difficult to identify and they leave no evidence. Also, terrorists would be able to hoodwink the physical/electronic search mechanisms. Such weapons do have physical as well as psychological effects and almost guarantee cent per cent success rate. There were even speculations that Pakistan’s former prime minister Ms Benazir Bhutto’s assassination (December 2007) could have been carried out by a laser gun. In spite of law being at place, there are controversies concerning the interpretation, implementation and effectiveness of such law. This is 105 ‘Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV to the 1980 Convention)’, http:// www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/570?OpenDocument (accessed on 28 July 2008).

Speed of Light Weaponry

103

mainly because eye injuries caused by the military lasers are increasingly being reported. Today, even ophthalmic community has started highlighting ocular morbidity from military lasers and it is demanding an effective mechanism to stop its further proliferation.106

MICROWAVE WEAPONS This second category of the DEW namely High Power Microwave (HPM) weapons have been a dream of military planners for many years, ever since electronic warfare proved that radar could be jammed. These weapons offer solutions in anti-sensor applications and non-lethal weapon category. However, HPM advancements have been limited by uncertainty about its effects and effectiveness. Hence, only a few developed states are investing in this category of weapons for many years and there are reports that the US has even used it in Yugoslavia (1999).107 In this category of weapons, microwave and millimetre wave systems could be treated separately because there are certain differences in their physical properties. However, here this entire spectrum is being considered under HPM category only for simplicity. HPM weapons vary widely in their effectiveness and development, as their design characteristics are varied over a number of parameters. For that reason these weapons are often categorised first by band ratio on the following basis: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Narrowband/continuous wave (band ratio about 1 per cent) Narrowband/pulsed (band ratio about per cent) Wideband (band ratio < 100 per cent) Ultrawide band (band ratio > 100 per cent)

In simple language, HPM could be called as capacitors aboard the missile that discharge an energy pulse which moves at the speed of light and make electronic gadgets in the close-by area unserviceable. Such pulse can destroy any electronics within 1,000 ft of the flash by shortcircuiting internal electrical connections by producing powerful surge. 106 Benjamin Seet and Tien Yin Wong, ‘Military Laser Weapons: Current Controversies’, Ophthalmic Epidemiology 8, no. 4, (2001): 215–26. 107 David A. Fulghum, ‘Microwave Weapons Await Future War’, Aviation Week & Space Technology 150, no. 3 (1999): 30.

104 Strategic Technologies for the Military This leads to burning/stop functioning of the memory chips and other electronic components. Such types of weapons are called as e-bombs. Here, essentially a magnetic armature is driven by explosives through a coil, energised by a bank of capacitors and the resulting energy is directed through an antenna.108 Attack by such weapons may not remain restricted towards the destruction of command and control systems of the enemy but could also cause unintended problems like destroying hospital equipment and other household equipment in the nearby vicinity. Also, this particular property of the weapon could even limit selection of the delivery platform. Hence, it is envisaged that the best platform for delivery of such weapons could be the long-range cruise missiles (interestingly, it was reported that B-2 stealth bombers were used as a delivery platform over Yugoslavia).109 However, even though the work on microwave is being carried out for almost four decades, the technology is far away from being weaponised fully for the operational purposes. There are various reasons to it. First, at very high-power levels, microwave energy creates plasma in air which in turn prevents the microwaves from propagating. Second, the wavelength of HPM is significantly higher than laser, thereby spreading it out ten thousand times more than the laser. Hence, in comparison to the laser (which can reach space without spreading) an HPM beam is not good for more than a km or so. And finally, reducing the size of the system is the real challenge.110 In spite of such difficulties, the work on different types of microwave weapon is still under progress particularly in the US defence labs. However, no clear information is available in open sources because of the obvious secrecy maintained with such projects. Two HPM weapons are claimed to be ready for full-scale development. The US Air Force (contractor Raytheon) started developing the active denial system (ADS) in the mid-1990s. This system is also known as the ‘pain ray’ and uses an HPM beam to heat the outer layer of human skin by producing an intolerable, but supposedly harmless, burning sensation. Another HPM weapon is the vigilant eagle anti-missile defence system. Based on a classified precursor, this system is intended to defend aircraft 108 Bill Sweetman, ‘High-power Microwave Weapons—Full Power Ahead?’ Jane’s Defence Weekly 43, no. 34 (2006). 109 Mark Thompson, ‘High-Power Microwave (HPM) America’s Ultra-Secret Weapon’, 19 January 2003, http://www.mindfully.org/Technology/2003/High-Power-MicrowaveHPM19jan03.htm (accessed on 29 July 2008). 110 Doug Beason, The E-Bomb, (Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2005), 182–84.

Speed of Light Weaponry

105

against man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS). The system could work as an alternative or could complement to installing infra-red countermeasures on the aircraft themselves.111 It has been reported that the US Air Force intends to put a high-power microwave weapon on an advanced version of its unmanned strike aircraft by 2012.112 Also, the US Air Force Research Lab is starting a new, long-term, USD 60–75 million project to develop high-powered microwave weapons, for both ‘airborne and mobile ground-based systems’. This would be in addition to its ‘near-term’ Air Armament Command effort to use microwaves ‘as a Counter Electronics payload that would cause physical damage to the buildings or harm to humans’.113 The military technologists are working on a technique to multiply the speed and power of HPM pulses—powerful enough to destroy the enemy electronics without using explosives or huge electrical generators. They predict leaps of 10–100 times in power output within two years. This could push the beam-weapon technology far beyond the 1–10 GW (gigawatt) limits of current tactical-size HPM devices. The success in this field would boost the process of weapon development significantly because as per the estimates it would require a 100 GW pulse for a few nanoseconds to disable a cruise missile at a useful range.114 The work is also under progress towards building distributed array radars that can produce air-to-air and surface-to-air HPM weapons effects. The F-22, F-35, F/A-18E/F and the latest F-15 radars are designed to accept modifications that would focus their beams to produce HPM energy spikes powerful enough to disable cruise, anti-aircraft, air-to-air and emitter-seeking missiles.115 At present, major players from the US defence industry like BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are involved in developing HPM technologies. It appears that the HPM weapons may be on the

Bill Sweetman, ‘High-power Microwave Weapons—Full Power Ahead?’ Jane’s Defence Weekly 43, no. 34 (2006). 112 David A. Fulghum, ‘Directed-Energy Weapons To Arm Unmanned Aircraft’, Aviation Week & Space Technology 150, no. 3 (2002): 28. 113 Noah Shachtman, ‘Air Force Plots $75 Million Microwave Weapon Push’, 17 January 2008, http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/01/air-force-plots.html (accessed on 29 July 2008). 114 David A. Fulghum, ‘Light Boosts Destructive Power of Microwave Weapons’, Sensors, 21 January 2007, http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic. jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw012207p1.xml (accessed on 30 July 2008). 115 Ibid. 111

106 Strategic Technologies for the Military verge of a high-speed turn toward practical applications. Researchers in this filed are even trying to combine both lasers and HPM devices to produce smaller, more powerful and cheaper non-kinetic weapons. Apart from the US, countries like Germany are also involved in developing devices like suitcase-size HPM devices. Such devices could be placed surreptitiously in a target building to damage electronics such as computers. There are also reports that the HPM weapon technologies are also being developed by states like China and Russia. The Russians are believed to be developing radio-frequency microwave weapons for air defence, and the Chinese are developing HPM and electromagnetic pulse weapons for information warfare.116 Even countries like the UK and France also have interest in this field and some work to that extent is under progress.117 The significance of microwave weapons is that they provide a range of strategic and operational capabilities in both offensive and defensive operations. Such weapons could be found useful in carrying out tasks like suppression of enemy air defences. A reasonable estimate is that a single high-power microwave weapon could destroy the entire air defence system. This could become a possibility because the footprint of a microwave munitions is at least 100 times greater than that of a conventional munitions. There could be several microwave weapons capable of accomplishing such tasks, such as, microwave precisionguided munitions, microwave unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) or microwave self-protection pods on the attacking fighter air-craft. Also, microwave weapons could be found useful in the destruction of enemy’s command and control function. They could also be used for the purposes like striking enemy supplies and troops. A microwave weapon could be used to attack and disable enemy air-fields. Here the weapons would essentially cause damage and destruction to the electronics in all flying and static air assets inclusive of air traffic control equipment, communications facilities, radars and ground defence systems.118

Ibid. (accessed on 23 January 2008). John Knowles, ‘Warfare: E-Bombs’, 1 July 2003, http://www.pcmag.com/article 2/0,2704,1131608,00.asp (accessed on 15 February 2008). 118 Eileen M. Walling, ‘High Power Microwaves’ (Occasional Paper No. 11, Center for Strategy and Technology Air War College Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base), 16–20. 116 117

Speed of Light Weaponry

107

CONCLUSION There is a real prospect that the current trends in the DEW programme will continue for the next decade or so. Much of the work has been done in this area during the last three to four decades with some success. However, the ‘science and technology’ of energy weapons is still evolving. Apart from technological limitations the extremely high cost factor involved in the research and development has also played a role in restricting the rapid growth of this field. The DEW technology shows a major promise particularly in the area of lasers. It is expected to exceed its current use which is by and large restricted to target designation, in order to improve the accuracy and performance of costly precision bombs. Defence scientists say that new laser weapon systems could be mounted on various military platforms and even on space vehicles. It is envisaged that the high-power lasers have the potential to change future military operations in dramatic ways.119 For the last few decades, laser weapons have remained an area which showed over-promise but has under-delivered. The challenges are many. The real test of technology development lies in the successful integration of the laser equipment on to weight-sensitive platforms like missiles, aircrafts, tanks, guns, ships and submarines. Apart from its employment in conventional role, the laser weapons have wider applicability—starting from its usage as a non-lethal weapon to satellite jammers to its employability in missile defence shield. The challenge is to successfully join the laser technology with operational needs keeping financial viability in mind. In respect of microwave weapons, the technology still does not have a whole array of weapons which are theoretically possible. However, it is envisaged that just as the nuclear weapons are having a major impact on global security architecture, the development of microwave weapons could decide the fate of tomorrow’s global security doctrines. Particularly, the e-bomb category of microwave weapons shows a great promise with a potential for destroying the electronics of a hostile missile system. The promise of laser weapons and microwave weapons has continued to surpass reality, leading to a clichéd but a valid conclusion that directed energy weapons are the weapons of the future. 119 Catherine MacRae, ‘The Promise and Problems of Laser Weapons’, Air Force Magazine 84, no. 12, (2001): 70.

Section Three Emerging and Converging Technologies

4 Role of Nanotechnology in Defence*

Era of dreaming big is over. Set on this principle, scientists are developing nanoscience, commonly referred as nanotechnology (NT). Many predict that the future of the world is likely to be governed by this technology. For the last few decades, scientists around the world have been particularly exploring the use of this technology in medicine and electronics. In fact, the spin-offs of NT are impacting developments in areas like computer chips, cosmetics like sunscreens, self-cleaning windows and stain-resistant clothing. NT has the potential to reduce costs with its multiple applications and the inherent ability to produce new materials like non-corroding and flexible iron. This technology is emerging as an ‘industrial force’ worldwide. The NanoBusiness Alliance trade group estimates that in 2004, USD 13 billion worth products incorporated NT, which is less than 0.1 per cent of the global output. But by 2014, the figure is expected to rise to nearly USD 3 trillion, or 15 per cent of the manufacturing output.1 These estimates are pre-2008–09 global economic meltdown. However, it is hoped that the investments in this field will not show a drastic reduction, may be the private industry could reduce the funding towards research and development. For the last couple of years various sectors of industry, including military-industrial complex,2 have been investing in NT. The most * An abridged version of this chapter has been published in Strategic Analysis, Vol. 33, Issue 2, March 2009. 1 Editorial, Science Reporter, April 2007, New Delhi, 5. For more details on world NT market please refer to writing by biotech analyst Michael Rosen on MidwestBusiness.com 2 Former US President Dwight Eisenhower used the term ‘military-industrial complex’ to describe the intimate relationship among politics, industry and national defence that formed during World War II.

112 Strategic Technologies for the Military important aspect of these investments is that significant investments are mostly found in the civilian sector. Such investments challenge the earlier viewpoint, which came about since World War II, that initially it is the military research that helps in the development of various technologies and over a period of time these technologies find utility in the civilian field. It may be noted that transistors, integrated circuits, computers and the Internet are all the result of expensive and focused military research and development activities. However, in the 21st century many new and emerging technologies are making ingress into the civilian market and subsequently the militaries are found exploiting its dual-use characteristics. The same is the case with NT. Initially, this technology was viewed as a platform for creating wonders, given its commercial applicability—the focus was mostly civilian and commercial. However, slowly some amount of focus is now being given to its military applicability, too. As this technology is not too costly in regard to investments in research and development, many developing nations are showing interest in this field. More importantly, the developing nations understand that they cannot lag behind in this field and allow the developed world to dominate the way they have done in various other fields for the past many years. Hence, a few developing nations are also making inroads into NT arena essentially with a focus on its civilian applicability.3 An unfortunate aspect observed in the case of NT is that there is a considerable hype about this technology than its actual proven capability. The definition of NT has become a bit blur—in part because so many researchers are trying to wedge themselves under the NT umbrella, including those who are working on micrometer-scale systems. The hype is also embodied in optimistic forecasts of futuristic NT. A case in point is the argument put forth by a few scientists that ‘it could be possible to create programmed robotic devices smaller than 100 nm that would circulate freely in a person’s bloodstream, identifying cancer cells and selectively destroying them before they could form a tumor’.4 This principally happens because NT involves a lot of complex concepts, which are not easily seen or appreciated, and there appears to be haste in jumping to conclusions. It has been equally observed that certain claims 3 ‘India cannot afford to miss the revolution in NT. We should not be at the receiving end when the world is driven by NT.’—Prof. CNR Rao, Chairman of the Indian Science Advisory Council. 4 Ron Dagani, ‘Building from the Bottom Up’, http://pubs.acs.org/cen/nanotechnology /7842/7842research.html (accessed on 16 October 2007).

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

113

are being made based on figment of imagination rather than actual scientific basis. On the whole, it could be said that NT is not difficult to understand. May be the science is complex but the basic principles are not. There are 116 known elements or types of atoms. The world and everything in it is made up of atoms of one or more such elements. The arrangement and combination of these atoms decides what a thing will be. Imagine the element carbon—arrange a group of carbon atoms in one way, and you have graphite; arrange them a bit differently, and you have a diamond; combined with oxygen atoms, they become a gas floating through the atmosphere.5 In a nutshell NT could be called as a technique to organise the atoms artificially. This chapter mainly focuses on the ‘NT realm’ which appears to be practical, relevant and achievable. The major focus of the chapter is on the military aspects of NT. A small number of issues related with futuristic NT are discussed at a general level with a view to flag the thinking in this arena though it may look unviable at this point in time.

NANOTECHNOLOGY: DEFINITION AND CONCEPT NT is an emerging science of the 21st century that concerns itself with the engineering of materials at the scale of individual atoms and molecules. Nanophase materials, as they are sometimes called, will often display novel properties because of the very precise way in which their component particles have been arranged or shaped.6 As a matter of fact, NT has two different but important meanings. One is broad, stretched version, meaning any technology dealing with something less than 100 nanometers in size. The other is the original meaning—designing and building machines in which every atom and chemical bond is specified precisely.7 Nario Taniguchi, a professor at the Tokyo Science University, introduced the term NT in 1974 to cover machining in the 0.1- to 100-nanometer range.8 He argued that NT mainly 5 John Robert Marlow, ‘Understanding Nanotechnology’, http://www.scifidimensions. com/May04/digitalmatter.htm (accessed on 24 February 2009). 6 ‘Arsenic Water Safety Breakthrough’, http://www.ruimbaanvoornederland.nl/nieuws/ ?id=62 (BBC News brief, 11 April 2007) (accessed on 14 April 2007). 7 J. Storrs Hall, Nanofuture (New Delhi: Manas Publications, 2006), 21. 8 Under the most strict definition, NT is technology that operates anywhere within the nanometer length of scale. One nanometer is one billionth (10-9) of a meter. This is the realm of the atom, the smallest unit of an element.

114 Strategic Technologies for the Military consists of the ‘processing of, separation, consolidation and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule’.9 In recent times, K. Eric Drexler’s seminal work, Engines of Creation (1986), made this technology popular and drew the attention of many researchers in the industry and military sectors. However, his focus is mainly on one segment of NT, and that is molecular NT. Broadly, NT could be divided into two different segments. First, the Structural NT is concerned with very small structures such as nanocrystals and complicated molecules. Today, majority of NT researchers is focused on this. The other kind of NT, labelled as Molecular NT by Eric Drexler, is concerned with very small machines—robots, engines and computers built atom-by-atom, smaller than a cell. This is the kind of nanotech that has raised hopes of free manufacturing and fears of environmental destruction. Structural NT became an accepted field of research only a few years ago, but is rapidly making progress for its applicability into various other arenas of research. It is driven largely by commercial applications. Structural NT, is expected to help us to do existing things better. Developments in this field may finally lead to faster computers, more effective medicines, stronger materials and more efficient engines. Molecular NT10 poses a different set of problems. First of all, it doesn’t exist yet! Today, we can build robots of the size of insects, but not the size of cells as perceived by molecular NT. Many of the fears related to nanotech are governed in the possibility of self-replication—a machine that can make copies of itself. We don’t know what could be done with such inventions if they have to become a reality. Could nanotech actually produce ‘gray goo’11 that risks ’eating up’ the environment, or will such things be easy to prevent and contain?12 At this stage, it’s not possible to contextualise the impact of such obscure possibilities for their military 9 N. Taniguchi, ‘On the Basic Concept of ‘Nano-Technology’, in Proc. Intl. Conf. Prod. Eng. Tokyo, Part II (Tokyo: Japan Society of Precision Engineering, 1974). 10 Molecular NT is being discussed for many years but is yet to achieve a major technological breakthrough. In 1995 Rand published a report titled ’The Potential of NT for Molecular Manufacturing’ written by Max Nelson and Calvin Shipbaugh giving the basic framework for understanding this topic. 11 ‘Gray goo’ refers to a hypothetical end-of-the-world circumstances involving molecular NT in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all living matter on earth while building more of themselves. 12 Chris Phoenix, ‘Science, Nanotechnology, and Responsibility’, October 2002, http:// www.nanotech-now.com/Chris-Phoenix/science-nanotechnology-responsibility.htm, (accessed on 11 April 2007).

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

115

utility. This chapter does not attempt to look into the details of such futuristic and scientifically questionable aspects of NT. Nanotechnology is often referred to as a general-purpose technology. That is because in its mature form, it will have significant impact on many industries and society at large. It offers better built, long-lasting, cleaner, safer and smarter products for home, communications, medicine, transportation, agriculture and industry, in general. Like electricity or computers preceding it, NT is expected to offer greatly improved efficiency in almost every facet of life. As a general-purpose technology, it will be dual-use—both for commercial as well as military uses—making far more powerful weapons and tools of surveillance.13 Regardless of the field of endeavour or the physical principles involved, NT is about paying attention to scales smaller than the continuous features of bulk materials and designing down to the granular details of molecules and atoms. There are many advantages of doing things this way. For one thing, there is gain in efficiency, speed and other related performance factors miniaturisation offers, the trend is noticeable in computers. Researchers envision nanoscale substitutes for the components on a microchip; for example, molecular transistors and wires that consume less power and can be more precisely fabricated. With these molecular components, chip designers will be able to lay out not millions, but billions of transistors on a single chip, increasing the performance of the computer by a thousand fold.14 The basic concept of NT is the rearrangement of atoms on a need basis. Everything in this world is made up of molecules, which are indeed made up of much smaller atoms. The properties of a substance are mainly dependent on its atomic arrangement. Consider, for example, the case of two carbon atoms, coal and diamond. Actually both are the constituents of carbon only, but what actually matters is the atomic arrangement. This arrangement converts it either into a coal or a diamond. So, if one can alter the atomic arrangement inside coal, you could get a diamond from it! This is where NT steps in. With the help of this technology, at least theoretically, it is achievable.15

13 ‘What is Nanotechnology?’ http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2004/05/what_is_ nanotec.html (accessed on 24 June 2007). 14 ‘Basics of Nanotechnology’, http://www.nanoclub.ca/basics.php (accessed on 5 January 2008). 15 ‘Nano-world is Coming Up’, http://neworder.box.sk/news/3315 (accessed on 28 January 2007).

116 Strategic Technologies for the Military The real strength of NT is that it offers not just better products, but a vastly improved manufacturing process. This is why it is expected to bring ‘the next industrial revolution’.16 Since the core concepts of NT can be used with any raw material, the potential applications of NT are limited only by investment, research hours and imagination.17

PRESENT STATUS OF NT Practical NT came into existence in the early 1980s, when two IBM scientists in Switzerland invented the scanning tunnelling microscope (STM), a remarkably simple instrument that produces unprecedented detailed images of electrically conducting atomic surfaces. The atomic and magnetic force microscopes, also IBM inventions, extended atomscale vision to non-conducting surfaces and enabled direct viewing of surface forces, such as magnetism and friction. In 1990, IBM demonstrated that the STM could be used not only for imaging but also for positioning atoms. The spelling of the IBM logo in 35 xenon atoms was the first demonstration of NT at work, and this immediately became a popular symbol of nanoscale precision.18 Today, NT researchers are taking a two-pronged approach to the making of nanodevices. The ‘top-down’ approach aims at continuing to shrink today’s devices and machinery by improving existing techniques and incorporating such recent technological developments as X-ray lithography and electron-beam writers. Here, atoms and molecules are removed from bulk material or sometimes, thin films so as to obtain desired nanostructure. In the ‘bottom-up’ approach, attempts are being made to emulate nature by stimulating atoms and molecules to selforganise or self-assemble into complex systems that will function as devices and machines, just as they do in biological cells. In this approach the components arrange themselves by physical/chemical forces.19 At this juncture, atoms and molecules are assembled in a manner to have

16 ‘What is Nanotechnology?’ http://crnano.org/whatis.htm (accessed on 23 July 2007). 17 Shirley Ann Jackson, ‘International Cooperation: Multiplying Strength, Sharing Benefit’, http://www.rpi.edu/president/speeches/ps032406-kanpur.html (accessed on 23 November 2007). 18 Nanotechnology in the San Francisco Bay Area: Dawn of a New Age (Report by The Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium [BASIC], San Francisco, 2005), 9. 19 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 20.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

117

nanomaterials of required size and shape through controlled deposition on reaction parameters. This bottom-up method of building ‘atom-by-atom’ which is the dream realm of nanotechnologists is still not considered realistic for building electronic devices, as they cannot produce designed interconnected patterns. Each approach faces its own challenges. Nanoscience today is evenly divided between the two approaches, and the expectation is that hybrid approaches that incorporate self-assembly into existing top-down technologies will emerge.20 However, industry is not waiting for any ‘momentous’ breakthrough in this arena but is rapidly incorporating new (available, possible and practically tested) innovations into practice. Hence, NT applications have become a reality. American car manufacturers have been using nanotubes21 to improve the safety of fuel-lines in passenger vehicles for over a decade, and the electronics industry has been relying on nanotubes in its packaging material to ‘better protect the goods’ and to aid in the removal of any electrical charges before they can build to disruptive levels. Today, the work in the nanofield has not remained restricted to a selected few countries. Instead, it is being carried out in various parts of the world with varying degrees of expertise and financial support. Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the European countries, including Scotland and the Netherlands have also played influential roles in the development of NT capabilities (apart from the US)—and the technology continues to be of worldwide interest.22 Microelectronics today routinely fabricates structures of about 100 nanometers. The age of nanofabrication, thus, is in one sense already here, ‘and the age of nanoscience has dawned, but the age of NT-finding practical uses of nanostructures—had not yet started’23 by the beginning 20 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 20 and Sulabha K. Kulkarni, Nantotechnology: Principles and Practicles (New Delhi: Capital Publishing Company, 2007) and Sridhar K. Chari, Info-Nano-Bio Technologies, Their Coming Convergence, and the Implications for Security, NIAS Report, 2003, 79. 21 There are various types of nanotubes like carbon nanotubes, inorganic nanotubes and DNA nanotubes. Out of these carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have wider acceptability. They are tubes of carbon atoms of about a nanometer in diameter. They have variety of applications from electronics to optics to mechanical engineering. P.D. Badoni, ‘An Insight into Carbon Nanotubes’, Electronics For You, May 2007, 52–58. 22 http://www.nanovic.com.au/?a=education.history&p=30 (accessed on 20 February 2007). 23 George M. Whitesides and Christopher Love, ‘ The Art of Building Small’, Scientific American (2001).

118 Strategic Technologies for the Military of the 21st century. But, much progress has been made over the last quarter of a decade. Also, the progress in the development of nano-sized hybrid therapeutics and nano-sized drug delivery systems over the past decade has been remarkable.24 In general, it would be very difficult to specifically identify every minute detail of development in the realm of this technology. This is because NT is an interdisciplinary subject. There are, therefore, various physical, chemical, biological and hybrid techniques available to synthesise nanomaterials. In all these arenas simultaneous work is in progress and the accomplishments are being found at various levels of success.

NT AND ITS MILITARY USAGE NT often acts as an enabling means that enhances applications in exhilarating ways. The technology is expected to become fundamental to many applications in the defence industry. The potential impact of NT on military-industrial complex could be enormous. During the last few years, NT research has yielded strong, lightweight materials that could have a profound effect on the defence industry. Defence applications for NT are numerous, ranging from WMD sensing, combatant protection kits (smart armor, active camouflage), and medical aid (infection control), to self-healing materials and nanoelectronics. NT is more of an evolving technology and from military perspective it is mostly in the nascent stage and hence many applications thought for defence are actually theoretical possibilities and demand more in-depth research and development. Also, for many states there could be an inherent reluctance to invest in this technology for defence at this early stage of development because of technological challenges, cost and lack of demonstrated battlefield worthiness of this technology. At present, nanomaterials which possess unique and beneficial chemical, physical and mechanical properties depict the potential for a wide variety of defence applications. The advanced nanomaterials have applications for improving existing weapons and military hardware 24 Ruth Duncan, ‘Anticancer Nanomedicines: Current Status and Future Opportunities’, National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health, http://nano.cancer.gov/ meetings_events/nanotech_seminar_series_abstract_duncan.asp (accessed on 23 December 2007).

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

119

through novel properties such as improved strength to width ratios or modified reflectivity to electromagnetic radiations for stealth applications. Also, ruggedised computer systems for missiles and other high-end weaponries could be manufactured by using molecular electronics. This science is also known as ‘moletronics’ and use molecular building blocks for the manufacture of electronic components. By using properties of genetic engineering, nanomachines could be manufactured theoretically to cause damage to a few components of the vehicles, for example rubber in military vehicle tyres could be messed up with. Like in case of non-lethal weapons, chemicals are spread on the roads to melt the tyres of vehicles. On similar lines, a technology incorporating both bio and nano could be developed to damage tyres of military vehicles and enemy would never realise the intent because of the size of the nanomachines used for such purpose.25 The following paragraphs look at a few existing and near-futuristic NT applications and their impact on military. For the purpose of this discussion mostly specific applications are considered where actually NT has made an impact or are expected to make impact in perceivable future.

Electronics/Computers/Sensors The developments made in microelectronics, photonics and magnetics together are envisaged to enhance the capabilities of computers and communication links.26 Electronics is an area where NT is making great gains. The use of NT applications will drastically reduce the cost and increase the performance of memory, displays, processors, solar powered components and embedded intelligence systems.27 Miniaturisation is expected to help the microprocessors to run much faster, thereby enabling computations at far greater speeds. This is possible only if the technology is able to dissipate the tremendous amount of heat generated by these microprocessors due to faster speeds. Nanomaterials offer best solutions to the industry to break these barriers.28 However, current techniques like photolithography (it could be said to be a process by which the smallscale features of integrated circuits are created), used for manufacturing Morris Sylvin, Nanotechnology (New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2006), 91–92. Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (Routledge: London, 2006), 73. 27 http://www.foresight.org/challenges/infotech.html (accessed on 25 December 2007). 28 R.V. Ramanujan, ‘Nanostructured Electronic and Magnetic Materials’, Sadhana 28, Parts 1 and 2, (February/April 2003): 82. 25 26

120 Strategic Technologies for the Military chips to make structures smaller than 100 nanometers come at a great cost. Currently, work is in progress to make cheaper options like electronbeam lithography and soft lithography more viable.29 On some occasions the limitations of other technologies which are put together along with the NT enabled equipment undermine the progress made in the field of NT. It could be possible to fit NT enabled electronic systems into a very small device. But, power supply could pose a problem because the batteries would not shrink in parallel. So, a micrometer size system would still need centimeter size power supply. In a few cases for the system to communicate by radio to some distance, larger size antennas are required.30 The near future nanoelectronic systems may have to be produced under such limitations. A sensor usually converts some property of the surroundings—such as temperature, patterns of light, magnetic field strength—into an electronic voltage and then processes and transmits this information. NT allows smaller sensors down to the size of micrometers instead of centimeters.31 In the future it may be possible to put thousands of such sensors in a particular area depending upon the requirement. Also, sensors made from nanocrystalline materials are extremely sensitive to the change in their environment. Typical applications for such sensors are smoke detectors, ice detectors on aircraft wings, automobile engine performance sensor, and so on.32 Over the years, revolution in electronics and communications has made it possible to convert the once bulky and static equipments into light and portable devices. The best example for this could be the laptop computers and mobile telephones. However, these equipments suffer from a major handicap in respect of their power source.33 Currently, there exists a need to develop new types of power sources particularly for 29 George M. Whitesides and Christopher Love, ‘The Art of Building Small’, Scientific American (2001). 30 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (Routledge: London, 2006), 73. 31 Jurgen Altmann, ‘Military Uses of Nanotechnology: Perspectives and Concerns’, Security Dialogue 35, no. 1 (2004), 67. 32 For more details regarding usage of NT in aerospace arena, please refer to Ineke Malsch and Malsch TechnoValuation (ed.), ‘Nanotechnology in Aerospace’, Ninth Nanoforum Report by an European Nanotechnology Gateway (February 2007), http://www.nanoforum.org/dateien/temp/Nanotechnology%20in%20Aerospace.pdf? 19042007135603, (accessed on 18 July 2008). 33 At present researchers are pursuing several different routes towards power generation on a miniature scale (they call them nanogenerators). Shong Lin Wang, ‘Self-Powered Nanotech’, Scientific American India, (2008): 54–59.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

121

‘mobile’ instruments like laptops and mobile telephones. As explained earlier in a few other cases also, NT based equipments suffer from the limitation of the absence of compatible power supply. Technologists have now realised that they have to find solution to this limitation also through NT root. Also, further research in this field could help them to make the next wave of information technology development—‘pervasive computing’34 (enabled by NT)—a reality. From a military point of view, the utility of NT in the field of electronics, computers and sensors would essentially revolve around reducing the size of existing gadgetry and making them not only energy efficient but also efficient in their performance.

Biodefence Post 9/11 the response to bioterrorism in the form of inventing new techniques is developing rapidly. Nanotechlogy is fast emerging as a new frontier in biodefence. Currently, NT is primarily being used towards the development of biosensors. A sensing device for detection of nerve-gas agents in the atmosphere has been developed based on NT applications.35 This technology has also been found useful in the production of chemical biological mass spectrometers that are used to detect biological warfare agents.36 A technology capable of having a single-cell microchip platform as a toxicity sensor is available. With this technology, molecular targets can be inserted into the cell or the cell can simply be exposed to the environment while monitoring continuously for cell death—the readout is direct and virtually instantaneous. This platform will be leveraged in pharmaceutical and biowarfare applications.37

34 Pervasive computing implies an environment in which the dominant communications device is a descendant of today’s smart phone, capable of serving as phone, broadband Internet device, video entertainment product, and accessing diverse sensor networks and databases. Like the current generation of broadband-connected desktops, the pervasive computing device will always be turned on; always hooked in to cyberspace. It will bring the power of the broadband communications from the soldier to the shopper. 35 ‘Engineers Develop Biowarfare Sensing Device Tailored For Mass Production’, www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=07929 (accessed on 24 July 2007). First published at http://www.spacedaily.com/news/terrorwar-05g.html, 14 February 2005. 36 news.nanoapex.com/ modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=846 (accessed on 12 January 2008). 37 www.nanovip.com/directory/Detailed/677.php (accessed on 15 December 2007).

122 Strategic Technologies for the Military Cells, where numerous life activities and the interactions of protein surfaces take place, are measured in nanometers. A few countries are working on extremely small machines and tools that can enter the human body. This is the millionth-of-a-millimeter world of biotechnology today. By using a person’s saliva, body fluids or blood, nanobiosensors can be created to reliably work with pathogens such as viruses. In tissue engineering, a scaffold, measuring only 50 nanometers in diameter, can be built using nanofibres. These are the secrets of life and they are taking place at the nanoscale. Drug and virus development costs can be reduced by using nanochips to test various medications or a combination of chemicals and vaccines.38 Presently, NT is showing immense promise towards the development of various direct and indirect applications useful for biodefence purposes. Nanoparticles are useful for creating a biological stimulant that imitates dangerous pathogens, a development that eases the testing of detection systems.39 Mimics of biological weapons could be decontaminated by using ultrafine nanoparticles. For example, nanoparticles airborne and formulated from magnesium oxide and other reactive components can destroy the heat resistant Bacillus globigii spores which are mimic of Anthrax. Importantly, this happens at room temperature conditions. Bacillus cereus spores or E. coli bacteria can be, likewise, disinfected using nanoparticle formulations.40

Maritime Applications This technology demonstrates various possibilities for its utility in maritime arena, mainly for navy, cost guards and commercial shipping, from a security perspective. Currently, work is under progress in the development of a nextgeneration all-electric warship that could revolutionise the Navy’s use of weaponry and manpower. The electric warship’s system architecture will make available, throughout the ship, onboard electric power that 38 Manuel Cereijo, ‘Cuba’s killer virus and new nanotechnology’, www.amigospaisguaracabuya.org/oagmc087.php (accessed on 24 May 2007). 39 ‘Simulated agent mimics bio-terror weapons’, http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/ gi_0199-775176/Simulated-agent-mimics-bio-terror.html#abstract (accessed on 7 July 2008). 40 Ashutosh Sharma, Jayesh Bellare, Archana Sharma, eds, Advances in Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (New Delhi: National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, 2006), 7.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

123

is generated by the ship’s power plants and a mechanical propulsion system. Standard shipboard electrical systems at present are not capable of distributing this immense electrical power to all parts of the ship, making impractical the use of advanced weapons and sensors that require a lot of power. Here, the designers and manufacturers are expected to bank mainly on using nano- and micro-electronics technology. This technology is likely to be a critical component of the ship’s system architecture. ‘These micro and nanoscale electronic packages are likely to maintain reliability under extremely harsh conditions resulting from concurrently acting vibrations, high-current density, high-power and high-temperature loads’.41 Developed navies like the US Navy view nanoscience and NT as areas of increasing importance and opportunity. US Navy’s research and development organisations provide a critical infrastructure for performing both multidisciplinary work at the nanoscale, and providing critical transition paths for nanoscience and NT into a whole host of applications of interest to the Navy, such as Combat-Safe Insensitive Munitions. Academic institutions in the US are also conducting original research work in ways to incorporate nano approaches into energetic materials on both the material development and material production fronts. Products such as functionally graded nanocomposites42 are exciting examples of the potential for NT to bring innovations from the bench to the Fleet, while also providing an opportunity for reducing costs.43 Experts44 are of the view that nanoparticles can be used to mark ships, fishing boats, navigable channels and delimiting safe heavens. The crystals are soluble in paints, fuels, lubricants, specialty chemicals, glues, and so on, and possess unique identification protocols which are illuminated by using pre-determined light source. Significantly, these can be designed for specific customer requirements and cannot be easily counterfeited, removed or altered by anyone except the authorised agency that designed them. Such light-based systems provide all-weather, surface and 41 John Della Contrada, ‘New Technology Aids Navy’, http://www.voyle.net/Nano%20 Defence/Defence%202004-0022.htm (accessed 26 December 2007). 42 Functionally graded nanocomposites offer higher ware resistance and higher toughness. 43 Robert Kavetsky, ‘Energetic Systems and Nanotechnology—A Look Ahead’, Office of Naval Research, Arlington, VA, USA, http://www.cecd.umd.edu/pdf/energsys.pdf (accessed on 23 March 2007). 44 To understand the overall potential of this technology, please refer to J. Stross Hall, Nanofuture (New York–New Delhi: Promethuus Books and Manas, 2006).

124 Strategic Technologies for the Military sub-surface surveillance against a wide variety of threats—including, surface craft and stealth boats, mini-subs, swimmer delivery vehicles, swimmers and divers. The system can be easily tailored to meet specific operational requirements for surveillance or harbour defence. These characteristics are not true of most conventional marker/security systems.

SPACE AND OTHER DEFENCE APPLICATIONS Modern day warfare demands more accurate delivery of force, with less collateral damage. This could be effectively enabled by intelligent usage of sensors and various information technology tools. Availability of stronger, light-weight structural materials and reliable explosives and propellants that release greater energy would allow this to happen. Weight plays a crucial role in regard to performance of any weapon delivery platform be it a ship or an aircraft. Apart from the weight of a weapon onboard, the weight of the platform as such is crucial in this regard. Lighter the weight the better manoeuvreable the platform is. Platform design and development essentially depends on the weight, strength, type and quality of the material used for its manufacture. Such less vulnerable corrosive material is helpful in building ships, submarines, aircrafts and satellites. Nanostructural materials show tremendous promise for structural applications. Nanocomposites have already made their way into cars and are achieving 10–15 per cent weight and strength improvements, with a promise of 20–25 per cent.45 Also, such structural materials and the miniaturisation as such achieved by nanotechnology is likely to play a very vital role towards designing the next generation unmanned aerial vehicles/unmanned combat aerial vehicles.46 It is perceived that NT is going to have a major impact on future space technologies. It is needless to say that satellites all over the world are being increasingly utilised for both civilian and defence applications. These satellites utilise thruster rockets to either remain in orbit or to change the orbit. This becomes necessary due to a variety of factors, including Newtonian compulsions (gravitational pull exists to bring things down otherwise). The life of these satellites, to a large extent, is determined by 45 Ottilia Saxl, ‘Nanotechnology in the Aerospace and Defence Industry—Factors Driving Nanomaterial Developments’, http://www.asonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=592 (accessed on 12 August 2007). 46 Mihail Roco and William Sims Bainbridge, eds, Nanotechnology: Societal Implications I, (The Netherlands: Springer, 2007), 82–83.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

125

the amount of fuel they can carry on board. In fact, more than one-third of the fuel carried aboard by the satellites is wasted by these repositioning thrusters due to incomplete and inefficient combustion of the fuel, such as hydrazine. The reason for the incomplete and inefficient combustion is that the onboard igniters wear-out quickly and cease to perform effectively. Nanomaterials, such as nanocrsytalline tungsten-titanium diboride-copper composite, are potential candidates for enhancing these igniters’ life and performance characteristics.47 Space and defence scientists are trying to adopt nanomaterials as alternative materials to the conventional materials. Lighter nanoporous materials like aerogels48 are found to have wider applicability in spacecraft manufacturing and defence industry. Even some special lightweight suits, jackets, and so on, also could be made using aerogels. Special high temperature materials, which are otherwise difficult to make, can also be made at lower temperatures as in the case of nanomaterials. Apart from onboard fuel, satellites in outer space use solar power as a power source for various activities. Satellite designers are continuously working on finding the means to reduce the weight of such solar cells. It is likely that future spacecrafts could be powered with luminescent dye sensitised nanoparticle-based solar cell arrays which would help in reducing the weight as well as increasing the efficiency of these crafts. Space vehicles also need high performance, multifunctional materials which can withstand harsh and extreme environments during launch phase and also in space.49 Particularly, these materials should sustain both high or low temperature and high or low pressure. For some parts, lightweight polymers are quite attractive. Low processing temperature, possibility of having them as fibres, coatings and thin films make polymers attractive as internal insulation in solid rocket motors. Polymer 47 ‘Nanomaterials and Their Applications’, http://www.azom.com/Details.asp?Article ID=1066 (accessed on 10 July 2008). 48 Aerogels are a low-density solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas. The result is an extremely low-density solid with several remarkable properties, most notably its effectiveness as an insulator. They are porous and extremely lightweight; yet, they can withstand 100 times their weight. Various other techniques on similar lines are also being worked on. Please refer to, A.E. Gash et al., ‘Direct Preparation of Nanostructured Energetic Materails Using Sol-Gel Methods’ in Defense Applications of Nanomaterials, eds Andrzej W. Miziolek, Shashi P. Karna, J. Matthew Mauro and Richard A. Vaia, (Washington: ACS Books Department, 2004), 198–210. 49 Ahmed K. Noor et al., ‘Structures technology for future aerospace systems’, Computers & Structures 74, no. 5 (2000): 507–19.

126 Strategic Technologies for the Military composites using silica fibres and nanoparticles are particularly suitable for such operations. Nanoparticles in polymer composites, being better radiation protectors, have an edge over microparticles-based composites. In satellites better igniters of nanocrystalline materials are being considered. In aircrafts’ superior property, especially fatigue-resistant materials, are required. NT offers viable options over here. NASA is working on a futuristic programme called the ‘Morphing’ programme. The team working on the Morphing Project has been testing materials with highly unusual properties. These include materials which have the ability to bend on command and transform from liquid to solid when placed in a magnetic field. The aim is to produce smart materials which can perform self-diagnosis and self-repair.50 Looking at current status of technology, the concept becomes too far-fetched. However, a significant breakthrough in this field has a potential to revolutionalise military platform industry. The project envisages that aircraft of the future will not be built of traditional, multiple, mechanically connected parts and systems. The aircraft wing construction will employ fully-integrated, nanotechnology enabled embedded ‘smart’ materials and actuators that will enable aircraft wings with unprecedented levels of aerodynamic efficiencies and aircraft control. The platform would be able to respond to the constantly varying conditions of flight; sensors will act like the nerves in a bird’s wing and will measure the pressure over the entire surface of the wing and would act accordingly by changing the shape of the aircraft’s wings to continually optimise flying conditions. Here extensive use of nanotechnology would be done like developing electroactive polymers to improve sensing and actuation. Researchers working in this area now have created a novel intrinsic unimorph carbon nanotube (CNT) polymer composite actuator.51 Post 9/11, the requirement for long-range detection of CBRNE (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Explosive)—a material that has been projected by many security analysts as the probable threat in the future—was identified. This is an exceptionally challenging problem. Here, there is a need for accurate identification of people and facilities, in cluttered urban environments, involved in suspected bomb-making 50 Caryn Anscomb, ‘SMART Technology: NASA’s Morphing Project’, http://www. starstreamresearch.com/smart_tech.htm (accessed on 25 February 2009). 51 Michael Berger, ‘NASA nanotechnology research into shape-shifting airplanes’, http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=6067.php (accessed on 9 June 2008).

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

127

activities. At the same time modern day terrorists are using radiocontrolled improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and vehicle bombs, which has lead to significant losses to human lives and also has caused damage to the infrastructure. At the backdrop of this, scientists are juxtaposing nanotechnology with other technologies to device detective mechanisms. It is possible to use dual-beam reverse photo-acoustic spectrometer (REPAS) technology along with advanced weak signal processing to enable long-range detection of covert and camouflaged buildings where explosives may be manufactured and stored. The hand-held chemical detection device is also expected to be capable of identifying minute amount of dangerous compounds being carried by people.52 In all recent military campaigns, there has always been some amount of discomfort towards using depleted-uranium (DU) projectiles (penetrators) for its lethality against hardened targets and enemy armored vehicles. This is mainly because DU has residual radioactivity, and hence, is toxic (carcinogenic), explosive and lethal to the mankind. However, there is no alternative for the use of DU penetrators because they possess a unique self-sharpening mechanism on impact with a target. Nanocrystalline tungsten-based heavy alloys lend themselves to such a self-sharpening mechanism because of their unique deformation characteristics, such as grain-boundary sliding. Hence, nanocrystalline tungsten-based heavy alloys and composites are being evaluated as potential candidates to replace DU penetrators.53 A New York-based US private company (ApNano Materials) has succeeded in producing inorganic tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes in industrial quantities. This significant breakthrough was announced on 30 June 2008. This ultra-strong material is best for producing bulletproof vests, helmets and other personal safety equipment. It would be four to five times stronger than steel and about six times stronger than Kevlar, an accepted material used for bullet proof vests.54

‘ViaLogy will base long-range explosives detector on ORNL technology’, http:// www.smalltimes.com/articles/article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=288434&p=109 (accessed on 12 May 2008). 53 ‘Nanomaterials and Their Applications’, http://www.azom.com/Details.asp?Article ID=1066 (accessed on 10 July 2008). 54 ‘ApNano Materials Announces Major Breakthrough in Industrial Nanotube Production for Bullet Proof Vests’, http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=6237.php (accessed on 8 July 2008). 52

128 Strategic Technologies for the Military

Conventional Weapons/Ammunition NT-based stronger and lighter materials would help in building conventional barrel-type weapons with reduced mass. It is conceivable that small arms and light weapons could use barrels, locks, and so on, made of nanofibre composites. This could help to reduce the weight of such weapons substantially. Even in respect of ballistic and air-breathing missiles, the reduced mass could translate to a marked increase in speed, range or payload and to a reduction of carrier size. It is also predicted that NT-improved explosives and propellants are likely to enter military use within a decade’s time.55 Recent studies exploring how high explosive materials can be prepared and manipulated by nanotechnology give an indication of how this technology could be of use in respect to offensive military applications. Engineering and control of energetic material properties at the nanoscale are of paramount importance when the ignition and detonation properties of high explosives are to be determined. Today, to a large extent, scientists have succeeded in controlling the combustion and the detonation properties of a high explosive through its structure.56 They are in a position to obtain and stabilise high explosive particles at the nanoscale. Until now, the only way to tune the explosive reactivity was to mix several chemicals in order to obtain a composition with the right properties. Now, at least a theoretical possibility exists to adjust the reactive properties through the structure of the explosive. Nanotechnology is expected to help define a combustion rate of munitions and also tune the detonation velocity of high explosives.57

Nuclear Weapons It is perceived that in respect of nuclear weapons, the revolution in NT would not bring much change with the basic weapon properties. Any

55 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 81–82, 85–88. 56 M Comet et al., ‘Preparation of explosive nanoparticles in a porous chromium (III) oxide matrix: a first attempt to control the reactivity of explosives’, Nanotechnology 19 (2008), 1–9, www.stacks.iop.org/Nano/19/285716 (assessed on 12 June 2008). 57 Michael Berger, ‘Military nanotechnology: high precision explosives through nanoscale structuring’, http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=5956.php (accessed on 9 June 2008).

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

129

change, if at all, is expected to come in the arena of guidance/safety/ arming/fusing systems.58 New capacitors, new radiation-resistant integrated circuits, new composite materials capable of withstanding high temperatures and accelerations, will enable a further level of miniaturization and a corresponding enhancement of safety and usability of nuclear weapons. Consequently, the military utility and possibility of forward deployment, as well as the potentiality of new missions will be increased.59

Any breakthrough in NT enabled computing could take warhead modelling to a much higher level of sophistication than today.60

Space Weather Forecasting In years to come, military dependence on space assets is likely to increase, as the communication and navigation would be essentially controlled by space-based systems. Ionospheric imbalances, solar storms and other geomagnetic storms leave an impact on the performance of the systems in the space. In view of this, the exact knowledge of space weather in near earth and solar space environment would become critical. At present, space weather forecasting efforts face a number of technological challenges. Nanostructured sensors are expected to play a fundamental role towards getting information on ionosphere and other regions of space.61

MILITARY INVESTMENTS IN NT: A GLOBAL OVERVIEW In the 21st century, the US military expenditure roughly accounts for almost half of the world total military expenditure.62 The US invests 58 Jurgen Altmann, ‘Military Uses of Nanotechnology: Perspectives and Concerns‘ Security Dialogue 35, no. 1 (2004): 68. 59 S. Kulshrestha, ’Impact of Nanotechnology on Nuclear Weapons’, USI Journal 136, no. 564 (2006): 291. 60 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 99. 61 R.A. Dresler et al., ‘Nanotechnology Challenges for Future Space Weather Forecasting Networks’ in Defense Applications of Nanomaterials, eds, A W Misiolek et al, (Washington: ACS Books Department, 2004), 46–62. 62 Petter Stålenheim, Damien Fruchart, Wuyi Omitoogun and Catalina Perdomo, ‘Military Expenditure’, http://yearbook2006.sipri.org/chap8 (accessed on 11 September 2007).

130 Strategic Technologies for the Military substantially towards military research and development. These investments amount to almost two-thirds of global expenditure on military R&D. The US military is involved in NT research since early 1980s.63 Since the last decade, the research and monitory investments by Department of Defence (DoD) in NT arena have become more significant. In the mid-1990s, the DoD identified NT as one of six ‘Strategic Research Areas’ of interest.64 The DoD NT programme is grouped into seven programme component areas (PCAs)65 which mirror the PCAs of the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).66 About half of the DoD’s nanotech investment goes to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and the rest to the Armed Forces.67 They also have an ‘Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies’ at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in place since 1998 which is doing research and development in several Army-related NT issues.68 DoD is investing in NT to advance both offensive and defensive military objectives (see Figure 4.1). Their primary areas of interest include information acquisition, processing, storage and display (nanoelectronics), materials performance and affordability (nanomaterials), and chemical and biological warfare defence (nanosensors). They are also looking at NT as a base technology towards production of soldier protection kits. The integration of these functionalities into a single technology is the ultimate goal of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies.69 The following diagram (Figure 4.1) gives annual DoD investment in NT:

63 ‘Defense Nanotechnology Research and Development Program’, A report by the US Department of Defense, produced by Director, Defense Research and Engineering (26 April 2007), 1. 64 The other five are bioengineering sciences, human performance sciences, information dominance, multifunction materials, propulsion and energetic sciences. 65 They are fundamental nanoscale phenomena and processes, nanomaterials, nanoscale devices and systems, instrumentation research, metrology, and standards for nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing, major research facilities and instrumentation acquisition and societal dimensions. 66 For details about NNI please refer to M.C. Roco, ‘National Nanotechnology Initiative-Past, Present, Future’, William A. Goddard (ed.), Handobook on Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology (2nd ed.), Taylor and Francis (2007). 67 Michael Berger, ‘Military nanotechnology—how worried should we be?’ http:// www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1015.php (accessed on 20 January 2007). 68 Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 56. 69 Kristen Kulinowski, ‘Nanotechnology: From “Wow” to “Yuck’’’ in Nanotechnology Risk, Ethics and Law, eds, Geoffrey Hunt and Michael Mehta (London: Earthscan, 2006), 18.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

131

FIGURE 4.1: The Annual DoD Investment in NT

Source: DoD, ‘Defence NT Research and Development Programmes’.70

In the US, a reasonable funding is also made available to other sectors apart from the defence sector. Table 4.1 gives the pattern of US funding up to 2008 for its various agencies like Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NASA. It appears that understanding the importance of technology the US government has increased the funding by approximately 15 per cent over a span of four years. TABLE 4.1: Funding Authorisations of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (USD Millions) Agency

FY 2005

FY 2006

FY 2007

FY 2008

NSF DOE NIST NASA EPA Total

385.0 317.0 68.2 34.1 5.5 809.8

424.0 347.0 75.0 37.5 6.1 889.6

449.0 380.0 80.0 40.0 6.4 955.4

476.0 415.0 84.0 42.3 6.8 1024.1

Source: Graffagini (ed.), Handbook of Nanotechnology.71 70 Source for Figure 1: DoD, ‘Defence NT Research and Development Programmes’, 8 May 2006, available at http://www.nano.gov/html/res/DefenseNano2006.pdf and http:// www.nseresearch.org/2008/presentations/Day2_Porter_DoD.pdf (accessed on 24 February 2009). 71 Source for Table 1: Mark Graffagini (ed.), Handbook of Nanotechnology: Business, Policy and IP Law, Wiley Publication, 2004, 141 (accessed on 20 November 2008).

132 Strategic Technologies for the Military Apart from the US, many other powers like Germany, France, UK and Russia72 are investing in research and development of NT-based materials and systems for military utility. However, most of the Asian and European countries, with the exception of Sweden,73 do not run dedicated programmes for defence NT research. Rather, they integrate several NT-related projects within their traditional defence-research structures, for example, materials research, electronic devices research or bio-chemical protection research.74 Even in respect of the US, huge investments are being made in the NT sector dealing with issues other than defence. President Bush has signed the 21st century NT Research and Development Act into law in the year 2003. Officially the government has committed USD 3.7 billion in nanotech funding through 2008.75 NT being a dual-use technology, the advances made in scientific and commercial areas under civil funding are likely to find their way for the defence usage. Japan invested more than USD 1 billion in 2002 alone for nanotech research; China is estimated to be putting USD 300–400 million per year towards nanotech research; and the EU has committed USD 3.3 billion till 2006–07.76 China is probably in the second position in respect of research investments in this field overtaking Japan. China ranked second in public nanotechnology spending in 2005.77 It ranks fifth in the corporate investment, accounting for approximately 3 per cent of global private research and development investments.78 In fact, NT was listed as one of the key components of China’s technology development move during its 10th five-year (2000–2005) plan and the development of nanometer biological and medical technology, electronics and components were rated as mid- and long-term goals. Their National Center for

Jurgen Altmann, Military Nanotechnology (London: Routledge, 2006), 63–66. In Sweden, there exists a Swedish Defence NT Programme. 74 Michael Berger, ‘Military Nanotechnology—How Worried Should We Be?’ http:// www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1015.php (accessed on 23 June 2007). 75 Margaret E. Kosal, ‘Is Small Scary?’, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 60, no. 5 (2004): 43. 76 Ibid., 46. 77 ‘Profiting from International Nanotechnology’, Lux Research, Inc., 8 March 2007, http://www.luxresearchinc.com/press/RELEASE_NationsRanking2007.pdf (accessed on 14 April 2008). 78 John F. Sargent, ‘Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer’, CRS Report for Congress (2008): 8. 72 73

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

133

Nanoscience and Technology has more than 3,000 scientists working on various aspects NT.79 The United States, China and Germany are the top owners of healthrelated NT patents field internationally post 1975, holding 33 per cent, 20 per cent and 13 per cent of the total, respectively. However, despite being a strong leader in this field, China is not participating in international debates on the role of NT in sustainable development.80 It’s not possible to precisely judge China’s military investments in the arena of NT but, looking at Chinese past, there is a case to believe that they would have interest in military NT programme, too. China is trying to get maximum advantage of research and development carried out by global scientific and business community in this area. They are associating themselves with various global NT organisations to learn more about this technology. They are actively cooperating with leading nanotech companies in the United States and Europe. This is helping them to keep pace with the recent developments/inventions in this field. Strategists within China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are keenly monitoring the US military investments in this area.81 Under this backdrop, it seems reasonable to conclude that China would juxtapose the knowledge gained in the civilian arena of NT on its military architecture. For Russian Armed Force, NT is one major area where lies the future of their armed forces. As per the proposed draft ‘Concept for the Development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation through 2030’, prepared by their Defence Ministry which is likely to be finalised by the end of 2008, NT will be in the highlight in the following 22 years. They feel that the growing technological and military supremacy of the leading countries would pose a larger threat to them and Russia also needs to invest in various new technologies, NT being one of them.82 79 People’s Daily, http://english.people.com.cn/200506/10/eng20050610_189657.html, 10 June 2005 (accessed on 11 December 2006). 80 Mike Treder, ‘Nanotechnology and China’, http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2005/ 11/nanotech_and_ch.html (accessed on 27 January 2007). 81 Alexander Nemets, ‘China’s Nanotech Revolution’ The Jamestown Foundation— China Brief 4, no. 16 (2004), http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=26719. 82 ‘Russia’s Army to Rely on Nanotechnology, Draftees till 2030’, http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=-12956 (accessed on 2 August 2008); and ‘The Defense Ministry Acknowledges U.S.’, http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=1007705 (accessed on 7 August 2008).

134 Strategic Technologies for the Military India is also looking at the rapid developments in the field of nanoscience very carefully. The Government has initiated a Nanomaterials Science & Technology Mission (NSTM) in the 10th Five Year Plan. In accordance with this, the Department of Science and Technology started working towards evolving a framework for the national initiative in this field. During October 2001, India formally launched Nanomaterials Science & Technology Initiative (NSTI). Today, the field of NT has become an arena of multidisciplinary research in India like many other countries. The Department of Biotechnology also funds various projects on nanobiotechnology.83 In the defence area, India’s DRDO is working on areas like sensors, high-energy applications, stealth and camouflage, NBC devices, structural applications, nanoelectronics and characterisation. These initiatives started in the year 2006. Currently their major focus is on developing various types of sensors, NBC protection/detection devices and developing paint with camouflage characteristics.84

MILITARY NT AND PREVENTATIVE ARMS CONTROL Based on the existing status of technology, it could be argued that many applications of NT may need a minimum of two to three decades to mature. The technology is expected to grow mainly in civilian realm because of the great market potential. It is professed by a few that this technology will first grow and mature in the civilian arena and would subsequently find its way into the military. However, looking at recent military investments, it looks more likely that the simultaneous growth is on the anvil. Military NT with limited utility will still have its own niche with research in many high-risk areas. From arms control point of view, various military usages of NT may not be anxiety creators at least in the immediate future. NT is essentially expected to improvise the existing military systems mostly by making them lighter, portable and more robust. But, while doing all these, it 83 http://dst.gov.in/about_us/ar01-02-sr-serc.htm (Background note, EmergeTech Conclave, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New Delhi, 28 September 2006) and http:// www.arci.res.in/nsnt2007/default_files/nsnt.pdf (accessed on 21 February 2008). 84 Dr. N. Iswar Prasad (DRDO, the Group for Forecasting & Analysis of Systems & Technologies [GFAST]), discussion, 15 July 2007. Few DRDO scientists have published their work in research journals on this subject. Srinivas Mantha and S. Vathsal, ‘The Emission Frequency of NANO DOTS’, International Journal of Material Science 2, no. 1 (2007): 41–44.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

135

directly may not breach any international treaties. Hence, there are less chances of ‘military usage of NT’ being solely responsible towards directly challenging any arms control regime. At the same time, in some quarters, it is perceived that NT applications may harm human health or may have negative impact on the environment. The last chapter of this book looks briefly at such concerns. Such legitimate concerns demand formulation of tools to handle issues arising out of both civilian and military applications of NT. There would be a need for states to remain cautious with states having achieved success in putting molecular NT into their military architecture. Should the development of molecular NT become a reality, possibly in a few decades, the country possessing self-replicating molecular assemblers will be able to vastly enlarge its military production. This may suddenly change the regional/global ‘military balance’ in many regions. Under such a scenario, assemblers could produce weapons and carriers that are similar to traditional guns, tanks or aircrafts, the technology would play its full advantage in the building of new types of systems that make use of properties characteristic of molecular NT, such as smallness, reliance on locally available resources, very high numbers, very high computing power, a wide variety of sensors and actuators.85 Any pathbreaking work in this area is likely to start a major debate on preventative arms control measures in NT. When NT would be seen in the context of an interacting international system and enlightened national interest, it could increase threat and reduce stability. For preventing or at least reducing such risks, limitations can be agreed upon in advance, before new weapons or technologies are deployed, acting mainly at the stages of development and/or testing, and sometimes at the research stage.86 Precedents for preventive arms control—a variant of qualitative arms control—exists explicitly or implicitly like the 1972 ABM (Anti Ballistic Missile) Treaty (now defunct), the 1972 Biological Toxic Weapon Convention (BTWC), the 1995 protocol on blinding laser weapons,87 the 1979 Moon Treaty, and so on. The military investments and research discussed so far in this chapter are sufficient to give indications 85 Jurgen Altmann, ‘Military Uses of Nanotechnology: Perspectives and Concerns’, Security Dialogue 35, no. 1 (2004): 70. 86 Ibid. 87 Ibid., 71.

136 Strategic Technologies for the Military that the time is ripe to look into preventive arms control measures in this arena. One of the challenges linked with the national security regulation, as applied to NT, is the degree to which the security threat arise from the nanoscale potential, regardless of how benign the initial application for that technology may be. National security controls on international transfer of technology and technical knowledge are planned around the goal of limiting military capabilities. It could be argued that even common knowledge and expertise regarding manipulation of materials, devices and processes at the nanoscale can be easily manipulated towards a wide variety of military application. But luckily, in most of the countries, the export of technology and technical information with potential military applications generally requires prior approval of the government. It is important to note that, however, under the current export control rules, a substantial amount of NT and associated NT know-how are subject to international export control systems and related export control laws. Indeed, a great deal of information and technology associated with nanoscience that has already been transferred in violation of the export control laws.88 In years to come a few non-state actors could also develop or otherwise acquire military related NTs.89 Since, the exact status of technology at this juncture is a bit uncertain; some of these technologies when developed to its full capability may or may not come under existing export control regulations. There are some projected military applications of NT that raise alarm because they may violate accepted standards of international law. While medical uses of NT are clearly designed for prophylactic and peaceful purposes, a number of the technologies under development, to deliver drugs to human via ‘smart fabrics’ or other nanoscale delivery systems, would appear to be equally capable of delivering harmful agents. It is argued that nanomedicine is one field where violation of laws designed under BTWC and CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention) is likely to take place.90 A few analysts of military NT are of the opinion that there is a need to call for a moratorium on non-medical body implants which could be 88 Jaffrey H. Matsuura, Nantotechnology Regulation and Policy Worldwide (London: Artech House, 2006), 87–91. 89 Mihail Roco and William Sims Bainbridge, eds, Nanotechnology: Societal Implications I (The Netherlands: Springer, 2007), 234–35. 90 Ibid., 82–83.

Role of Nanotechnology in Defence

137

used for military applications (cyber-soldiers), and also propose that the US should slow down the research on military applications of NT to give time for a global debate on legal limits of this technology.91 The European Commission has adopted a voluntary code of conduct in the field of NT—‘Code of Conduct for Responsible Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Research’ on 8 Feb 2008. This code of conduct has emerged with a proposal to establish some guidelines in this fast growing but little understood research area.92 Such efforts indicate that since NT has advanced well ahead of public policy, states are inclined to adopt early corrective measures.

CONCLUSION The aforesaid discussion indicates that military applications of NT are here to stay. The states are likely to invest more and more into this technology. Various breakthroughs in this technology (either for its civil or defence utility) are likely to give greater benefits to society as a whole and the defence industry in particular. NT offers vital defensive applications like development of various sensors, soldier protection kits, improvement in C4ISR structures, and so on. Hence, there is a need to invest in the area of electronics and sensor technologies. Interestingly, some areas of military motivated research could offer wider benefits to civilian community. Investments in design and development of more powerful but lightweight batteries, smart fabrics, and so on, are a case in point. Apart from materials and sensors/electronics, NT has got direct military applicability towards making toughened armour, producing tiny surveillance devices, improving the performance of UAVs/UCAVs and enhancing interfacing and targeting for soldiers and fighter/bomber pilots. Like any other military technology, states would device countermeasures to address the threat from nanoweapons. In fact, military technologists could even look towards NT for designing countermeasure tactics. However, since the technology is still at the developmental stage, it is premature at this stage to analyse the effectiveness of weapon versus countermeasures. 91 Geoffrey Hunt, ‘The Global Ethics of NT’, in Nanotechnology Risk, Ethics and Law, eds, Geoffrey Hunt and Michael Mehta, (London: Earthscan, 2006), 187. 92 Leigh Phillips, ‘EU Wants Code of Conduct for Nanotech Research’, http://www. euobserver.com/9/25636 (accessed on 16 March 2008).

138 Strategic Technologies for the Military States like the US are making significant investments in this field and would definitely attempt to build an arsenal of nanoweapons. In future, along with the US, their allies are also expected to benefit from the military inventions in this field. Countries like Russia and China are expected to make attempts to match up with the US expertise. In this likely scenario, there is a desired need to look at arms control more seriously. Various international arms control treaties and regulatory regimes are available which could be used as a template for making a globally acceptable policy for NT. Otherwise arms race could become inevitable in the decades to come. Scientists and engineers recognise that nanotechnology has fundamental limits. There could even be a possibility that what is perceived by the scientific community today may not be even achievable.93 Certain areas of NT, particularly the molecular NT, are still in its nascent stage of development; hence it is difficult to clearly identify the specific usages of it for defence. However, based on perceived strength of this technology, military scientists and strategists should try to orient the research in a necessary direction. India should restrain from focusing on extremely ambitious military goals with this category of technology and should initially start with technologically feasible and economically viable work. Military technologists should work in tandem with their civilian counterparts because there are lots of commonalities in both the fields. There is a need for military to get engaged in the process of research, development and planning since the beginning. Finally, there is a need to look at military utility of NT not in isolation but along with a few other technologies like information technology and biotechnology.

93 Particularly, parallels could be drawn from the field of superconductivity. Here scientists initially had predicted a revolution in technology but till date have failed to achieve the required results of gaining superconductivity at room temperature.

5 Military Applicability of Biotechnology

As discussed in Chapter 4, the end of the 20th century saw the process of manipulation of matter at the atomic level and got some success. These developments demonstrated that what once was thought as a science fiction is rapidly becoming a science reality. Almost, during the same time period one more technology has started demonstrating its strength. This technology has also made a jump from the ‘fiction category’ to the ‘reality category’. This technology is the twin sister of nanotechnology and is called biotechnology. Today, both these technologies are rapidly emerging as growing businesses demonstrating immense potential for the future. The lines between both these technologies are also found to be blurring and these technologies both individually and jointly are expected to take the global market by a storm in coming years. On the similar lines to nanotechnology, biotechnology also has a great potential for its defence utility. The military and the life sciences have been intertwined throughout history. Biology has often been a source of offensive weapons. But, at the same time, military–biology relationship also has a humane side. Over the years, medical advances have made immense contribution towards saving the lives of many soldiers.1 During the last couple of decades, the science of biology is reinventing itself and its role is getting redefined. This has become possible because of the rapid growth seen in the arena of biotechnology. This technology also has utility towards increasing war-fighting capabilities of the armed forces by improving material and enhancing combatants’ performance. 1 Robert E. Armstrong and Jerry B. Warner, ‘Biology and the Battlefield’, Defence Horizons, no. 25 (2003): 1.

140 Strategic Technologies for the Military The term biotechnology was originally coined to explain the commercial use of living organisms.2 Biotechnology3 could be defined in terms of the use of biological organisms for the attainment of commercial ends. According to this definition, biotechnology is almost as old as human civilisation, as is clear from activities such as the brewing of beer, the fermentation of wine and the production of cheese. However, from the early 1970s, biotechnology received a significant boost from the introduction of a number of powerful new techniques collectively known as genetic engineering. These techniques allow biotechnologists to alter the genetic structure of organisms by the addition of new genes that allow the organism to perform new functions. Genetic engineering together with other ways of manipulating and using biological organisms have provided a potent new set of possibilities with profound implications for a wide range of commercial activities, ranging from agriculture through pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and industrial processing and mining.4 In the case of biotechnology, there are three closely related sets of technologies: 1.

2.

Recombinant DNA Technology (rDNA): This technology allows the combining of genes of different organisms within an organism, which enables an organism to produce biological molecules that it usually does not create. It has applications in fields like pharmaceuticals, chemicals and food processing. This technology is also used for the modification of organisms that perform functions like mineral leaching, degradation of toxic waste products, and so on. Cell fusion technology: This technology allows artificial combining of different cells into a fused cell or hybridoma which allows their desirable properties to be combined. Such technology is useful for diagnostic purposes in divergent fields such as human/ animal health or the diagnosing of viruses in crops.

T. Lazar Mathew, ‘Biotechnology in Defence’, Defence Science Journal 51, no. 4 (2001): 393. 3 Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use (The United Nations 1992 convention on biological diversity, Article 2). 4 Martin Fransman, ‘Biotechnology: Generation, Diffusion and Policy’ (Working paper No. 1, UNU/INTECH, United Nations University, The Netherlands, 1991), 3–4. 2

Military Applicability of Biotechnology 3.

141

Bioprocess technology: This technology allows biological processes to be used for large-scale industrial purposes.

Apart from these technologies, there are technologies like Protein engineering that are second-generation technologies and much of a work is underway in this field.5 All these sets of technologies mentioned here have certain degree of military relevance. In the 21st century, the connection between biology and the battlefield is changing rapidly and is growing much beyond the health and biowarfare aspects of biology. At present, the emphasis is on the use of biology to enhance capabilities to conduct military operations, not by degrading adversaries, but by improving the material of war, enhancing the performance of warriors and using biological processes to improve systems design and performance.6 Over the years the science of biology has been adopting various techniques from other fields of life sciences to improve its effectiveness. There is a need to continue with this policy. Modern-day biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field where its utility has grown beyond the traditional uses like agriculture and medicine. This chapter looks at the relevance of biotechnology for modern day war-fighting. In defence parlance the application of biotechnology extends to the categories like sensors, electronics and computing, materials, logistics and therapeutics.7 Also, biotechnology could play an extremely negative role and could help towards development of the most heinous biological weapons. This chapter is divided into four main parts. The first part looks at the relevance of biotechnology for bioweapons/bioterrorism. The relevance of this technology in respect of defensive aspects of bioweapons is also discussed in this part. This part has some references to drug discovery processes, too. Such processes at times may not strictly fall in the category of biotechnology but has more to do with the advancements in chemistry. However, it was felt necessary to understand those developments also because this could help towards developing a more holistic view on the subject. The second part deals with the defence-related medical and nonmedical aspects of this technology and the third part focuses on military 5 Martin Fransman, ‘Biotechnology: Generation, Diffusion and Policy’ (Working paper No. 1, UNU/INTECH , United Nations University, The Netherlands, 1991). 6 Robert E. Armstrong and Jerry B. Warner, ‘Biology and the Battlefield’, Defence Horizons, no. 25, (2003): 1. 7 National Academies Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press 2001), 2.

142 Strategic Technologies for the Military investments made by a few important states towards development of this technology. The last part looks at disarmament-related issues.

RELEVANCE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOWEAPONS/BIOTERRORISM Biological weapons have a long history. Most well documented cases from the history are available from the year 1340 AC onwards giving details about how this weapon was perceived and used during that era.8 Post-World War II, a few states had made key investments towards developing biological weapons. The opportunities for the weaponisation of diseases began with scientific breakthroughs in the early 1970s. In 1973, the first gene was cloned, and three years later the first company to exploit technology based on recombinant DNA was founded in the United States.9 It is reported that since mid-1980, the attention of military intelligence has been altered towards harnessing genetic engineering and recombinant DNA technology for updating and devising lethal weapons and also developing strategies to combat the threat from such genetically engineered weapons.10 Biotechnology has immense potential to improve biological warfare capabilities. In the year 1975, BTWC11 came into force banning development, production, stockpiling or otherwise acquiring or retaining biological agents/toxins/biological weapons. The BTWC is subject to review for its effectiveness by the State parties at five years intervals. Since the second Review Conference (1986), the impact of developments in civil biotechnology areas towards the likely production and hostile use of biological agents has always been a subject of discussion at these conferences. A broader identification of relevant scientific and technological developments was in the final declaration of the fourth Review Conference.12 More details in this regard are discussed in the Ajey Lele, Biological Weapons: A Gennie in the Bottle, New Delhi: Lancer, 2004. M. Wheelis and M. Dando, ‘New Technology and Future Developments in Biological Warfare’, Disarmament Forum, no. 4 (2000): 44. 10 E.J. Lacy, ‘Tackling the Biological Weapon Threat: The Next Proliferation Challenge’, Washington Quarterly 17 (1994): 53–64. 11 Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of bacteriological (biological) and toxin weapons and on their destruction-was signed on 10 April 1972. 12 Malcom Dando and Graham Pearson, ‘Challenge of Biotechnology’, Defence Science Journal 51, no. 4 (2001): 335. 8 9

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

143

fourth part—Biotechnology and Disarmament—of this chapter. A point to emphasise here is that the likely impact of the ongoing developments in the field of biotechnology towards the growth (overt or covert) of biological weapons was well established by the 1980s. As per the US Department of Defence report (1996), the developments in recombinant DNA and other genetic engineering technologies were making biological warfare an effective military option, provided the military planners wanted to use such an option. The report further mentions that the technological advancements permit production of new agents. These agents represent the newly found ability to modify, improve or produce large amounts of natural materials or organisms previously considered to be militarily insignificant due to problems such as availability, stability, infectivity and producibility.13 A technical annexure to the US Department of Defence report (1997), ‘Proliferation: Threat and Response’14 provides an elaborate view of what may happen if the advancements in biology are used for heinous purposes. Specifically, it suggested the following potential types of novel biological agents that could be produced: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Genetically engineered vectors in the form of modified infectious organisms will be increasingly employed as tools in medicine and the techniques will become more widely available. Strides will be made in the understanding of infectious disease mechanisms and in microbial genetics that are responsible for disease processes. An increased understanding of the human immune system function and disease mechanisms will shed light on the circumstances that cause individual susceptibility to infectious disease. Vaccines and antidotes will be improved over the long term, perhaps to the point where classic biological warfare agents will offer less utility as a means of causing casualties.

As per a study carried out in 1999 by the Centre for Counterproliferation Research at the National Defence University (NDU), USA, to assess the likely impact of the recent and anticipated advances in biotechnology on 13 US Department of Defence, Biological Defence Program, Report submitted to the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, May 1996, 4. 14 William S. Cohen, Proliferation: Threat and Response, http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/ prolif97/annex.html#technical (accessed on 22 June 2007).

144 Strategic Technologies for the Military the ability of terrorists to acquire and employ the biological agents six most probable areas emerge as potential threats. They are: (a) human functional genomics, (b) bacterial functional genomics, (c) pathogenicity islands, (d) synthetic viruses, (e) synthetic mycoplasmas and (f ) fusion proteins.15 This study-group further concluded that two types of bioterrorists are in the best position to apply the advanced techniques of biotechnology in research to enhance microorganisms for purposes of BW. The first type consists of the states possessing BW programmes (covert) and supporting international terrorist groups. Since these state programmes can be assumed to be staffed with qualified technicians and scientists, well funded and designed to operate for the long term, they are best placed to undertake the type of risky R&D and to perform adequate testing that would ascertain the newly developed agent’s value for weapon use. The second type is the disgruntled or deranged scientist who works in a well-equipped clinical microbiology laboratory or academic laboratory involved in some aspect of microbiological research. This kind of person can be expected to have the knowledge, patience and resources required to undertake and complete the research he/she perceives is needed to accomplish his/her objectives and to do the testing necessary to ascertain the newly developed agents value for weapons’ use. The disgruntled scientist might undertake to develop a particularly clever and vicious organism just to demonstrate that he can do it. Parallels could be drawn for such case from the present-day computer hackers. Some of them demonstrate how clever they are by designing and dispersing destructive computer viruses; the proof of their cleverness is the amount of damage creations cause to people who have never harmed them in any way.16 The anthrax attacks which took place in the US after 11 September 2001, killing five people, belong to the category of attacks perpetuated by a disgruntled scientist. The last decade has been exceptional for the growth of biotechnology. Security analysts fear that in the 21st century the same tools that are revolutionising biotech industry and chemical industry could be used to determine new biological agents for the purpose of weaponisation. With terrorist organisations becoming more technology savvy, it is perceived 15 Zilinskas Raymond, Possible Terrorist Use of Modern Biotechnology Techniques, www.mi.infn.it/~landnet/Biosec/zilinskas1.pdf (accessed on 22 June 2007). 16 Ibid., (accessed on 23 July 2008).

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

145

that in future the same technologies, which have brought biotech revolution, may become the cause for devastation. Current research in biotechnology parallels earlier research in the nuclear field in the 1940s and 1950s. The database developed for nuclear technology was applicable for both military and industrial purposes. Similarly, the database being developed for commercial genetic engineering in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and medicine is potentially convertible to the development of a wide range of novel pathogens that can attack plant, animal and human populations.17 Because of such advancements in various areas related to biotechnology and genetic engineering, there exists a possibility that biological warfare could gain importance as a viable option not only among the terrorist organisations but covertly among some state actors too. There is an obvious linkage between growth of the sciences of chemistry and biology and the development of chemical and biological weaponry. The systematisation of chemistry, and the growth of the chemical industry at the end of the 19th century, made the production of chemical agents on a large scale possible during the First World War. Growing understanding of the role of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine,18 underpinned elaboration of the new nerve agents around the time of the Second World War, and then, during the early stages of the Cold War, a fortuitous discovery of drugs which helped those suffering from mental illness led to renewed interest in chemical incapacitants and weaponisation; for example, the production of agent BZ (methyl benzilate is used in BZ production) by the United States. Similarly, the revolution in bacteriology at the end of the 19th century, with the clarification of the nature of many infectious bacterial diseases, facilitated the anti-animal biological warfare of the First World War. Increased knowledge of aerobiology19 and the capacity of industrial-scale production of various types of biomaterials lay behind the Second World War programmes of, for example the UK and the US, which produced the range of ‘classical’ agents such as anthrax and botulinal toxins. Elucidation of the nature of viruses in the 1950s, and Rifkin Jeremy, The Biotech Century (London: Phoenix, 1999), 91. Neurotransmitters are signalling mechanisms that tell our brains how to respond to certain urge, could be because of our own internal thoughts or happenings around us. Acetylcholine is the principal neurotransmitter involved with thought, learning and memory. 19 Aerobiology studies the movement and dispersal of living or once-living material through the atmosphere. It normally undertakes investigations like the airborne spread of pollen and spores, airborne pollutants, and so on for the purposes of agriculture or human respiratory disease studies. 17

18

146 Strategic Technologies for the Military then the capabilities for genetic engineering, were undoubtedly deployed in the late Cold War Soviet offensive biological weapons programme, and today we face the possible applications of genomics, if only to modify the classical agents.20 Modern day drug discovery processes involve technologies like combinational chemistry, genomics, microarrays, proteomics, toxicogenomics and database mining. All these technologies are relevant for the development of biochemical weapons. Technologies like combinational chemistry which refer to techniques that produce complex sets (libraries) of related compounds could be used to produce toxic chemical weapons. At present, Protein microarrays21 are under rapid development. These microarrays combined with combinational chemistry are likely to broaden the search for new liquid target combinations with therapeutic (or weapons) applications.22 In the years ahead, the use of biotechnology to create bioweapons will become far more powerful, more available and less expensive; at least the technology demonstrates that strength. Whether some agency (state or any other) attempts to use it or not will remain a conjecture unless proved otherwise. Engineering, computing and the capital markets will push biology forward on a rapid trajectory. What a highly skilled team of scientists used to take to accomplish can now be done in rapid fashion with automated kits within a few hours. Industrial techniques allow the cheap production of pathogens or toxins to tonnage quantities in places around the world.23 Historically, it has been seen that all current inventions have found suitable applicability in the business of warfare. In the case of futuristic bioweapons, the only dilemma could be: Will terrorist organisations opt for this technology? 20 Dando Malcolm, Scientific and technological change and the future of the CWC: The problem of non-lethal weapons, http://www.unidir.ch/pdf/articles/pdf-art1824.pdf, (accessed on 19 August 2007); personal conversation with the author, 4 December 2005. 21 A protein microarray is a piece of glass on which different molecules of protein have been affixed at separate locations in an ordered manner thus forming a microscopic array. These are used to identify protein–protein interactions, to identify the substrates of protein kinases, or to identify the targets of biologically active small molecules. The most common protein microarray is the antibody microarray, where antibodies are spotted onto the protein chip and are used as capture molecules to detect proteins from cell lysate solutions. 22 Mark Wheelis, ‘Biotechnology and Biochemical Weapons’, The Nonproliferation Review 9, no. 1 (2002): 49–50. 23 www.slu.educolegesh/sph/csbei/bioterrorism/offical/testimony (accessed on 14 July 2008).

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

147

Till recently the biological weapon production was based on the concept of hostile use of replicating biological agents such as bacteria, viruses and rickettsiae. However, the 21st century warfare could consist of biological toxins as weapons. These toxins are selective poisons produced by living organisms. In nature, bacteria, fungi, algae, plants and animals produce a vast range of toxins, many with lethality, of several orders of magnitude greater than nerve agents. A post 9/11 threat analysis in regard to the capabilities of over 395 toxins has revealed that as few as 17 of these are potentially weaponisable, mainly owing to scale-up difficulties or aerosol instability. In order to generate a toxin BW, advanced expertise across a number of different disciplines would be required.24 It is likely that various futuristic researches in this field could increase the BW threat further. It is perceived that the further research and development in the biological toxins field could lead to the development of ‘designer’ weapons having capability of harming only the humans with specific biological characteristics. Growth in DNA technology also demonstrates the possibility for its misuse. Recombinant DNA ‘designer’ weapons (a novel technique that allows one to combine the genetic material from two separate organisms) can be created in many ways. New technologies can be used to programme genes into infectious microorganisms to increase their antibiotic resistance, virulence and environmental stability. It is possible to insert lethal genes into harmless microorganisms, resulting in biological agents that the body recognises as friendly and does not resist. It is even possible to insert genes into organisms that affect regulatory functions that control mood, behaviour and body temperature. Scientists believe that they may be able to clone selective toxins to eliminate specific racial or ethnic groups whose genotypical makeup predisposes them to certain disease patterns. Genetic engineering can also be used to destroy specific strains or species of agricultural plants or domestic animals if the intent is to cripple the economy of a country.25 The new genetic engineering technologies provide a versatile form of weaponry that can be used for a wide variety of military purposes, ranging from terrorism and counterinsurgency operations to large-scale warfare aimed at the entire populations. Unlike nuclear technologies, genetically engineered organisms can be cheaply developed and produced, require 24 Sebestyen Gorka and Richard Sullivan, ‘Biological Toxins: A Bioweapon Threat in the 21st Century’, Security Dialogue 33, no. 2 (2002): 141–56. 25 Rifkin Jeremy, The Biotech Century (London: Phoenix, 1999), 93.

148 Strategic Technologies for the Military far less scientific expertise and can be effectively employed in many diverse settings.26 There are a few other grey areas in the business of biotechnology which may leave a window of opportunity to the terrorist organisations to manage a bioweapon if they desire. ‘Dual-use’ nature of the pathogens is the limiting factor for any international agency or even a state authority to analyse the exact intent of the manufacturer. There is no adequate way to properly distinguish between peaceful uses of deadly toxins and military uses. Similarly, the production processes in respect of a few vaccines are technically very close to the production of weapon grade biological agents. Even states could covertly use the defensive form of research as a smokescreen for an offensive biological weapons programme. At the bio-safety level-4 labs,27 the most dangerous of all pathogens for which there are no known treatments or cures are studied. Currently, a very few such labs exist in the world. In future, such laboratories might become a pathogen modification training academy or biowarfare agent ‘superstore’.28 If terrorist organisations are capable of cultivating scientists from such labs, then they can cause havoc in the system. In the 20th century, modern science reached its apex with splitting of the atom, followed shortly thereafter by the discovery of DNA double helix. The first discovery immediately led to the development of the atomic bomb; leaving humanity to ponder, for the first time in the history, with the prospect of an end to its own future on earth. Now, a growing number of military observers are wondering if the other great scientific breakthrough of our time could be used in a complete manner which poses similar threat to our existence as a species.29 In the current context, it is not possible to prognosticate the exact direction of future research. It is difficult to predict the precise direction this technology would move towards, because the interests of the scientific community are always dynamic in nature and at times are also governed by external factors like funding. Apart from this, it is also not possible Rifkin Jeremy, The Biotech Century (London: Phoenix, 1999), 93. Biosafety labs are categorised by various levels. Currently, Biosafety Level 4 lab is the highest category. Such specific possibilities are required for work related to dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections and life-threatening disease. Members of the laboratory staff have specific and thorough training in handling extremely hazardous infectious agents. 28 Choffnes Eileen, ‘Bioweapons: New Labs, More Terror’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 58, no. 5 (2002), 29–32. 29 Rifkin Jeremy, The Biotech Century (London: Phoenix, 1999), 96. 26 27

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

149

to specify the interests of terrorist groups in biotechnology related areas. In light of this a thought surfaces at various discussion forums or gets reflected in a few writings that the progress in biotechnology may hold the humankind as a prisoner to its own achievements than it becoming beneficial to him for the purposes of health-related problems. Concerns have been raised in regard to the developments in DNA technologies and its likely misuse by the adversary. However, DNA is not the only technology which has darker side to its development. For more than half a century the fundamental story of living things has been a tale of interplay between genes, in the form of DNA, and proteins, which the genes encode and which do the donkey’s work of keeping living organisms living. The past couple of years, however, have seen the rise of a third type of molecule, called RNA (RNA has been known for a long time but till now its role had seemed restricted to fetching and carrying for DNA and proteins). Now RNA looks every bit as important as those two masters. It may indeed be the main regulator of what goes on in a cell. Any infections, pandemic or otherwise, are best dealt with by vaccines, which take a long time to develop. If cells were truly understood, that process might speedup to the point where the vaccine was ready in time to do something useful.30

The US Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has designed a Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI) to protect the war fighters from chemical threats and conventional and genetically engineered biological threats.31 Economic interests play a major role in deciding state’s policy. Biotechnology is an upcoming technology with tremendous growth potential.32 It is not possible to restrict the growth of this technology or bring in difficult legal regime to validate the intentions of the manufacturer every time. No country is going to compromise with its own economic interests for the sake of a low probability threat like bioterrorism (very few people appreciate the fact that even though it is a low probability threat, it is one of the most high risk threats). Similarly, the intentions of a few nation-states are still not very clear and they could be possibly perusing a hidden agenda of cultivating offensive bioweapon capabilities ‘Biology’s Big Bang’, The Economist, 16–22 June 2007, 11. ‘DTRA: Researching for the Future’, Military Medical/NBC Technology 10, no. 1 (2006), http://www.military-medical-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=1290. 32 Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, ‘Excitement of Biotechnology in the New Economy’, Defence Science Journal 51, no. 4 (2001): 373–76. 30 31

150 Strategic Technologies for the Military in the guise of supporting a defensive germ weapons programme. In view of this, no international nonproliferation programme is expected to work fully. Non-lethal chemical/biological agents are another cause of concern. The rapidly developing field of biology and chemistry offers various new and innovative options towards production of such agents and hence the non-lethal weapons. Such weapons could be used for a wide variety of military purposes. Neuropharmacology33 is one of the areas in which rapid expansion of knowledge can be confidently predicted. It is likely that in the near future a range of agents will be developed that affect perception, sensation, cognition, emotion, mood, volition, bodily control or alertness.34 Given the great potential of such agents, it is likely that they could be abused. Fortunately, non-state actors have not shown much interest in bioweapons till date. Most importantly, even if ‘states of concern’ or non-state actors acquire genetically engineered bioweapons, scientific community may be clever enough to create an antidote immediately. It is expected that the sensors, monitors and diagnostics tools for fast detection of the presence of biological warfare agents in the atmosphere and the human body would be modified as per the requirement by the scientific community on a fast track basis. The recent severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic has shown that the world community joins hands together during such calamities. Such quick response could effectively discourage or disarm the bioattackers. Most importantly the advancements in the field of biotechnology would only come to the rescue for the misuse of same science and technology. Currently a greater debate is going on all over the world on the moral implication of human embryonic stem cell research and cloning. It could be said that those who believe god may go against it, but those who do not believe god or believe him selectively may go for it. Similar analogy could be applied to the futuristic bioweapons too.

Biotechnology and Biodefence Luckily, leaving the heinous side, biotechnology has other side in respect of bioweapons and that is its utility in biodefence. 33 Neuropharmacology deals with artificially making changes in the functioning of cells in nervous system by inducing drugs. 34 Mark Wheelis, ‘Biotechnology and Biochemical Weapons’, The Nonproliferation Review 9, no. 1 (2002): 51.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

151

Research and development in the field of biotechnology have led to many enabling technologies capable of handling threats arising out of the usage of biological agents against humanity and agriculture. Of particular importance today are the automation of sequencing in genome projects, bioinformatics, and advances in combinational chemistry and high throughput screening of compounds. Many of these products and processes are being researched and developed for civilian application in medicine, pharmaceuticals and agriculture as well as for purposes that are legitimate under the BTWC, such as defence, detection, protection and prophylaxis.35 Gene therapy also could be effectively used to cure various diseases. Many predict that future bioweapons could be designer bioweapons, and this technology could play a very important role in finding cures for many diseases which are unknown at present. Biotechnology has been vital to the development of techniques for identifying and diagnosing diseases and for medical counter-measures. Moreover, the recent advances in biotechnology offer a real opportunity for the development of effective counter-measures to biological and toxin weapons agents.36 To reduce the threat of bioterrorism, rapid progress in vaccine development is of paramount importance. From a biosecurity point of view, vaccine development and production has great strategic value. Recent advances in molecular biology and genetic engineering have led to new vaccine development strategies. Expertise relevant to early-stage vaccine development has become increasingly specialised and more widely distributed.37 Commercial vaccine developers are also responding to the changed parameters of technological development by making more investments. Currently, biodefence is challenged by the absence of real-time environmental detectors for biological agents of concern. Today, detection systems are developed mainly by focusing largely on detecting hazardous bioaerosols by size, antigen recognition or nucleic acid sequence. Such systems could be of less use if the adversaries use advanced biological weapons. Fortunately bioscience discovery, which could help towards the development of advanced biological weapons, would 35

Bio Weapons Report 2004 (Geneva: BioWeapons Prevention Project [BWPP], 2004),

6–7. Pearson and Roberts, ‘Defending against Biological Attack’, 383. Gregory Koblentz, ‘Pathogens as Weapons’, International Security 28, no. 3 (2003– 04): 126–35. 36 37

152 Strategic Technologies for the Military itself come handy to enable creation of the next generation environmental detectors.38

Biotechnological Weapons39 How to turn modern biotechnology to make actual weapons is still not known, but with their capability of attacking targets accurately and producing ultramicro, non-lethal and reversible damage, such weapons might finally change the methods of ‘physical annihilation’ or ‘destruction within the killing range’ which have characterised war since the invention of gunpowder. At present, scientists are of the opinion that we can use many modern biotechnologies directly as a means of defence and attack, and with further development, they probably will become new weapon systems. Technically speaking, war is simply the human behaviour that forces enemies to lose the power of resistance. It could be possible to create biological weapons which could alter the biological features of human bodies. It could be possible to create biotechnological weapons that can cause destruction that is more powerful and more civilised than that caused by conventional killing methods like gunpowder or nuclear weapons. All these are only theoretical possibilities as of now. However, an important thing to note is that the military utility of biotechnology may grow beyond biological weapons and medical protection. It is likely to revel a character of aggression not thought of till date.

MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL ASPECTS OF BT The most obvious place for the developments in biotechnology to find its utility is the medical field. However, when viewed through a narrow prism for its utility in military, a few important non-medical areas do emerge in regard to its applicability. The following are some of the broad areas40 in various medical and non-medical categories for military where biotechnology could find its utility: James B. Petro, Theodore R. Plasse and Jack A. McNutty, ‘Biotechnology: Impact on Biological Warfare and Biodefence’, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefence Strategy, Practice, and Science 1, no. 3 (2003), 166. 39 Guo Ji-wei and Xue-sen Yang, ‘Looking Ahead to Military Biotechnology’, Military Review 85, no. 75–78, (2005): 75–78. 40 National Academies Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 2. 38

Military Applicability of Biotechnology 1. 2. 3. 4.

153

Therapeutics: Genomics and proteomics; drugs and vaccines; drug delivery systems. Electronics and Computing: Protein based devices; biocomputing; biomolecular hybrid devices. Materials: Tissue engineering; biologically inspired materials and processes; hybrid materials. Logistics: Miniaturisations of biological devices; functional foods; biological energy sources; renewable resources.41

In general, modern medicine has begun to understand and utilise the benefits of biotechnology in health care and casualty care. In years to come practical knowledge of the causes of human disease, biological targets for new drugs, genetic markers and sophisticated diagnostic tests will all increase the effectiveness of medical professionals and the health and healing of everyone. Because of the highly specialised needs of military medicine, it may provide unique opportunities to absorb these advances at a rapid rate. An important study42 has predicted that developments in biotechnology will transform every aspect of military medicine over the next two to three decades. These developments are expected to significantly enhance human capabilities in war zone medicine. Beneficiary care is likely to experience a paradigm change—a fundamental change in assumptions about how to go about the process of providing health care. A key contributor to this revolution has been and will continue to be biomaterials.43 Biomaterials have been essential to such major medical breakthroughs Ibid., 59. This is reference is made on Capturing the Full Power of Biomaterials for Military Medicine, Workshop Report, New Jersey, 2–4 February 2004 (Washington D.C.: The National Academics Press, 2004), p. 3. Here the source for the same is quoted as SRA International, 1997, ‘Medical Health Services System 2020 Focussed Study on Biotechnology and Nanotechnology’, prepared for the Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Health policy. 43 A biomaterial is generally defined as any material that is used to replace or restore function to a body tissue and is continuously or intermittently in contact with body fluids. Medical applications of biomaterials fall into three broad categories: (a) extracorporeal uses, such as catheters, tubing, and fluid lines; dialysis membranes/artificial kidneys; ocular devices; and wound dressings and artificial skin; (b) permanently implanted devices, such as sensory devices; cardiovascular devices; orthopaedic devices, and dental devices; and (c) temporary implants, such as degradable sutures, implantable drug delivery systems, scaffolds for cell or tissue transplants, temporary vascular grafts and arterial stents and temporary small bone fixation devices. 41 42

154 Strategic Technologies for the Military as kidney dialysis, prosthetic heart valves, hip replacement implants and cardiac pacemakers. However, a large proportion of medical product research and development in the civilian sector is directed towards chronic diseases, whereas much of the military’s unmet needs relates to trauma and acute diseases. There is a need to invest more in military’s biomaterials needs. Tissue engineering technology is critical to combat casualty care and injuries suffered in terror attacks. Drug and vaccine delivery systems are also important for preventive care and soldier well-being. The design and development of such products for the military requirements is essential. Such products would play a major role in improving soldier health and well-being, preserving his fighting strength and improving troop moral and public perception.44 It is envisaged that based on current trends, vaccines and therapies will soon be tailored to suit individual soldiers. New technologies may lead to dramatic increases in the development of new drugs and vaccines as well as in reducing the time and cost of developing them. For the army, these reductions in time and cost will provide opportunities to develop therapeutics and vaccines against diseases that are not of commercial importance but are for diseases endemic to areas where forces may be deployed.45 Since biotechnology has direct relevance to medicine, it is not difficult to identify its utility for military medication purposes. However, nonmedical defence applications of biotechnology are difficult to identify. Today, the biotechnology industry surpasses the aerospace industry in market capitalisation, research expenditures and complexity, and the research and development budgets of the large pharmaceutical companies dwarf the army’s research and development budget.46 But, at the same time, biotechnology industry is in no way dependent on military for its survival. Hence, military should become more proactive to identify nonmedical applications of biotechnology. Logistics is an important area where militaries could find biotechnology useful. Armies all over the world are interested in increasing 44 National Academic Press, Capturing the Full Power of Biomaterials for Military Medicine, Workshop Report, New Jersey, 2–4 February, 2004), (Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2004). 45 National Academies Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 59. 46 National Academic Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 2.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

155

the ‘tooth-to-tail’ ratio, which is, increasing combat effectiveness and reducing logistics support requirements. The biotechnological evolution of sensor technologies could enable the armed forces to chart a course towards the miniaturisation of multifunctional systems, such as the laboratory-on-a-chip, which would reduce logistics burden. Similarly, agricultural biotechnology for creating edible, digestible, nourishing food from raw materials that might be foraged on the battlefield would reduce transportation needs. Biological methods of recycling air, food and water would improve army systems that require soldiers to work in confined spaces for extended periods of time and could decrease the logistical support requirements of soldiers in the field.47 ‘Functional foods’ show a lot of promise in the usage of biotechnology to help shorten the military-logistics demands. These foods provide something more than normal nutrition; they can contain so-called nutraceuticals that provide compounds offering both nutritional benefit and health protection. It could also be possible to bioengineer the foods with naturally occurring antimicrobials that inhibit certain pathogens known to exist in a given operational area. Even foods could be designed with vaccines in them, for quick and efficient vaccination of many troops simultaneously. Manufacturing and supplying foods that maximise digestion could be an additional way to shorten the logistics tail.48 Long shelf life foods could reduce refrigeration and supply requirements.49 The susceptibility of C4ISR systems is of critical concerns to the armed forces. Semiconductor electronics is the crucial technology used for various C4ISR systems. These systems are vulnerable to the effects of radiation and extreme electromagnetic pulses associated with detonations of nuclear or other high-radiation weapons. However, bioelectronics components are expected to be resistant to radiation-induced failures. Hence, there is a need to develop computing and electronics devices consisting of biologically derived or inspired materials that will increase their usefulness for military applications.50 Also, biocomputing makes Ibid., 46, 58. Robert E. Armstrong and Jerry B. Warner, ‘Biology and the Battlefield’, Defence Horizons, No. 25 (2003): 5. 49 Margaret Egudo, ‘Overview of Biotechnology Futures: Possible Applications to Land Force Development’, Department of Defence, Government of Australia, Published by DSTO Systems Science Laboratory, Edinburgh, 2004, 2, http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ ADA429139 (accessed on 15 July 2007). 50 National Academies Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 25, 33. 47 48

156 Strategic Technologies for the Military the systems more energy efficient, easily portable and allows high capacity data storage.51 In fact using biology for electronics is not a new concept. Soviet scientists had done some work on protein-based electronic devices during the Cold War. Although much of the results of their efforts remain classified, their work on bacteriorhodopsin52 has become widely known. Bacteriorhodopsin is a good example of protein that can be adapted for military purposes and illustrates the potential for such an approach. Work on protein-based electronics covers an array of devices with several military and civilian applications. Holographic and threedimensional memory devices have particular utility for the military. Future plans call for each soldier to be fitted with a wearable computer system to provide situational awareness displays, analysis of sensor and targeting data and communications. Other bioelectronic devices in the offing include hybrid biomolecular diodes that operate on the same principles as photosynthesis.53 There are a few other areas where biotechnology may play a very influential role, such as in improving the material for soldiers uniform particularly by reducing its weight and increasing its functionality. Biotechnology could help to develop clothing capable of protecting against extremes of weather, chemical and biological agents, heat and humidity and other factors. Biotechnology also could be used to provide camouflage characteristics to the soldiers clothing.54 It is envisaged that by incorporating material effects in the clothing, a chameleon like behaviour—where clothing and equipment change colour to match the environmental background—could be produced.55 51 Margaret Egudo, Overview of Biotechnology Futures: Possible Applications to Land Force Development, Department of Defence, Government of Australia, Published by DSTO Systems Science Laboratory, Edinburgh, 2004, p. 2, http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ ADA429139, accessed on July 23, 2008. 52 Bacteriorhodopsin is a protein used by Archaea, a single celled microorganism. It arrests light energy to move the proton across the membrane out of the cell. Bacteriorhodopsin is around for about 3.5 billion years. It is well adapted to harsh environment, can live in salt marshes and survives at temperatures as high as 140 degrees Celsius. It also functions well in intense light. Such characteristics would be ideal for many components of military hardware. 53 Robert E. Armstrong and Jerry B. Warner, ‘Biology and the Battlefield’, Defence Horizons, no. 25 (2003): 3. 54 National Academies Press, Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 14–15, 45. 55 Robert E. Armstrong and Jerry B. Warner, ‘Biology and the Battlefield’, Defence Horizons, no. 25 (2003): 4. Please not that this application may not be a classical biotechnology application but a bioinspired application with military significance.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

157

History is witness to the fact that combat operations depend much on timely supply of appropriate fuel. World War II showed with utmost clarity that the notions of ‘defence capability’ and ‘sufficient fuel supply’ were crucial for every state, however big and well-equipped. War records indicate that fuel was approximately 50 per cent of all war material (inclusive of ammunition) supplied to the troops. Post-Cold War military campaigns are equally eloquent on the point that specifically sufficient fuel supply is among the most important factors in the success of any war. The revolution in military affairs (RMA) and high-tech weaponry in use with the armed forces has made the dependence on energy even more crucial for the 21st century warfare.56 Nation-states understand that relying on foreign sources to cater for their energy needs may become more of a risk to their forces. Knowing the limitations of existing fuel deposits in respect of adequacy, many states have started looking for alternate fuel sources and in this regard ‘biofuel’ is being viewed as an emerging major alternative. As biologically derived substitutes for gasoline and diesel fuels become available, they could offer economically viable and environmental friendly options for future army operations. Biofuels is an area where huge amount of investments are being made for research and development, mainly because of its utility in civilian sector. Here, military is expected to become indirect beneficiary of such developments. The important areas of emerging capabilities in this field include ethanol production from different source materials, biodiesel from canola, liquid hydrocarbons from algae, biosynthesis of cell walls and use of integrated biorefinery capacity, to produce ethanol as well as higher value chemicals. It is expected that within a decade, the development of bioreactors for hydrogen gas and fostering emerging capabilities to build on significant opportunities for bioenergy from methane or directly through microbial fuel cells using waste, could become a possibility. Also, domestic resources could be used to produce biofuels and this also provides an opportunity for economic development.57 Many countries

56 G.N. Ocheretin, Military Thought, 7 January 2004, http://www.encyclopedia.com/ doc/1G1-135818501.html (accessed on 23 July 2007). 57 Emerging Capabilities in Industrial Biotechnology, http://www.investaustralia.gov. au/index.cfm?id=5A284C26-508B-A0EB-68F8BAFE40F8B777 and Hon David Parker, ‘Biofuels’ potential in New Zealand’ [Address to Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, EECA Biofuel conference, Soundings Theatre, Te Papa Wellington, 24 April 2007), http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0704/S00418.htm (accessed on 22 July 2008)].

158 Strategic Technologies for the Military in Asia have initiated biodiesel programme and currently they are at different stages of development.58 Apart from air-transport operations, militaries in many states have to depend on train/truck services for deployment of their troops and logistics supplies. Europe’s first train powered by biodiesel went into service during June 2007. The train has been modified to run on a blended fuel which is 20 per cent environment-friendly biodiesel—fuel derived from sustainable and biological sources such as rapeseed, soyabean and palm oil—and produces less carbon dioxide emissions than diesel.59 Major aviation industries like Boeing are also showing keen interest in biofuels. This is mainly because airlines and armed forces are seeking alternatives to existing fuels which are mostly environment unfriendly and put a huge amount of cost burden.60

MILITARY INVESTMENTS MADE BY A FEW IMPORTANT STATES Biotechnology is an important area of research and business for many states including a few developing states. However, services of this technology for military purposes are not being specially thought of by most of them. The reasons for this could be many. Today, biotechnology is still in the process of evolution. The growth of technology offers many promises but still do not offer substantial solutions to existing military problems. And this could be the reason for the absence of interest in most of the cases. However, states have started doing investments in this field as they have slowly realised that juxtaposing this technology with other technologies like nanotechnology is going to offer many dividends to military. Today, the US is said to be the major investor in this field. In the chemical and biological weapon defence arena, Lawrence Livermore and a few other laboratories and institutions from the US are working together to increase the state’s ability to detect and respond More details please refer special issue of Asian Biotechnology and Development Review on Biofuels, 8, no. 2 (2006). 59 ‘Virgin Launches First Bio-Diesel Train For Europe’, Solar Daily, 07 June 2007, http://www.solardaily.com/reports/Virgin_Launches_First_Bio_Diesel_Train_For_ Europe_999.html (accessed on 25 April 2008). 60 http://www.roisap.org/modules.php?id=987&name=news&rank=89&url=show (accessed on 25 April 2008). 58

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

159

to an attack by biological or chemical weapons. Lawrence Livermore is working closely with the US military and various other government agencies to ensure that the results of these biological nonproliferation efforts meet the needs of military troops, the FBI, local law enforcement personnel, fire fighters, public health officials and others who would likely be the first on the scene following a biological attack. In late 1996, Lawrence Livermore delivered to the US Army the first fully portable, battery-powered, real-time DNA analysis system. Lawrence Livermore in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory has devised a project for the Department of Defence known as JBREWS (Joint Biological Remote Early Warning System). This system provides a networked arrangement of various biodetectors which in turn provide US troops in the field with early warning of a biological attack.61 The US government is encouraging academia, industry and the army to conduct research on biotechnology for military. In 2003, the US created the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (ICB) led by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This is an interdisciplinary team of molecular biologists, chemists, physicists and engineers. The team carries research in areas like biomolecular sensors, bioinspired materials and energy, biodiversity tools and bioinspired network science.62 Apart from the US, states like China are also looking at the military applicability of this technology. However, dual-use nature of this technology demand a ‘read between the line’ approach to understand the military intentions of various nation-states in respect of this technology. China’s overall technological capabilities have increased dramatically since its reform programme, which began in the late 1970s. However, no direct indications are available about their interests in using biotechnology for military purposes. At the same time, China understands that biotechnology has obvious military implications as a means for developing biological weapons and also providing defence against biological weapons. The military biotechnology may find its applicability in areas

61 Dennis Imbro, ‘A National Strategy Against Terrorism Using WMD’, http://www. llnl.gov/str/Milan.html and http://www.llnl.gov/str/Imbro.html (accessed on 22 April 2008). 62 Andrew Pollack, ‘Army Center to Study New Uses of Biotechnology’, The New York Times, 27 August 2003, http://www.icb.ucsb.edu/about/ (accessed on 23 April 2008).

160 Strategic Technologies for the Military like non-lethal weapons. Here, a possibility exists that microbes capable of destroying the fuel supplies of the enemy could be developed.63 In the civilian arena, China’s biotech programme dates back to 1986, when Deng Xiaoping anointed genetic engineering as one of seven technologies critical to economic growth. Biotechnology is on the top of the list of priorities for China. They seek to become one of the world’s leading biotechnology players by 2020. Zhang Yaping, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated that China was aiming to generate almost five per cent of its GDP (USD 250 billion) from the biotechnology sector by 2020.64 China is also juxtaposing their capabilities in other technological arenas on biotechnology. The first obvious choice is linking biotechnology with nanotechnology. They also have welldefined projects like ‘Air-born Biotech Incubators’ for undertaking experiments under different atmospheric conditions.65 China intends to take advantage of their recent advancements in the space technology arena by conducting biotechnology-related experiments under zero gravity/very little gravity conditions. China’s main sources of biotech growth are expected to be in bioagriculture, genomic sequencing, biochips, traditional medicines, bioinformatics, stem cell research and biomanufacturing.66 China is also making substantial investments in agriculture biotechnology which it considers as a strategically significant tool for improving national food security.67 All these Chinese investments in civilian applications of biotechnology need to be looked in the light of the history of their biological weapons programme. Even though China is a signatory to the BTWC (signed in 1984), there have been suspicions about its intensions in respect of offensive biological weapons programme. The 2003 SARS 63 Roger Cliff, The Military Potential of China’s Commercial Technology, Rand Corporation Monograph, 2001, 21. 64 David Kahaner, ‘Computing and related S&T activities in China (PRC)’, http://www. ctan.org/tex-archive/languages/chinese/chtex/china.report (accessed on 23 April 2008); China Clipper (a weekly summary of news relating to China) 1, no. 6 (10 September 2006), Center for US-China Policy Studies (CUSCPS), San Francisco State University, http://cuscps.sfsu.edu/China%20Clipper/China%20Clipper_001-006_2006.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2008). 65 http://www.most.gov.cn/eng/newsletters/2001/200411/t20041129_17657.htm (accessed on 29 March 2008). 66 Paul Ashcraft, Biotechnology (Industrial College of the Armed Forces Industry Studies 2004) http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA435351 (accessed on 23 March 2008). 67 Jikun Huang et al., ‘Agriculture Biotechnology Development, Policy and Impact in China’, Economic and Political Weekly, 6 July 2002, 2760.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

161

epidemic in China have fuelled these suspicions further.68 China’s investments in agriculture biotechnology also need to be taken seriously. In the past, there were reports that the devastating outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) reported from Taiwan in March 1997 was deliberately introduced by China.69 It is more likely that China could use its know-how in biotechnology essentially for defensive roles in military. However, knowing the history of this state, it is important to monitor its interests towards using knowledge of biotechnology also for offensive purposes. For state like India where the armed forces are deployed in vast and diverse geographical areas facing difficult combat conditions, biotechnology could offer wider options (the terrain and topographic conditions of the Indian region are so varied that in one part of the country troops could be operating at locations where temperatures touch approximately 50◦C below freezing point while in some other part the temperatures could even be soaring to 50◦C). In India, DRDO has established a few laboratories70 that cover research in high altitude agriculture, food technology, and so on. These laboratories have developed technologies for local availability of fresh vegetables71 and milk at high altitudes, readyto eat-meals, and so on. These and some other developments are seen as a result of the refinement of available biotechnology, innovation of new technologies and their combined use.

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND DISARMAMENT Rapid developments in the field of biotechnology have posed a major challenge to the policy makers to evolve globally acceptable structures which could obstruct the misuse of this technology. Lessons from past According to Prof. Sergei Kolesnikov, member of Russian Medical Sciences Academy, SARS virus could be a biological weapon developed by China. For this, please refer to ‘SARS virus could be China’s bio-weapon: Russian expert’, Indian Express, 12 April 2003, http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=20498#compstory (accessed on 10 July 2009). 69 Henry S. Parker, ‘Agriculture Bioterrorism: A Federal Strategy to Meet the Threat’ (McNair Paper No. 65, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defence University, 2002), 15. 70 Defence Research & Development Establishment, Gwalior, Defence Food Research Laboratory, Mysore; Defence Agricultural Research Laboratory, Pithoragarh; and Field Research Laboratory, Leh are engaged in development of appropriate technologies for unique food and health requirements for the armed forces. 71 Have recently developed a transgenic tomato for growing in the cold desert regions of Ladhak resistant to cold temperatures below 20˚C. A.B. Sharma, ‘DRDO Develops Transgenic Tomato’, Financial Express, 08 January 2008. 68

162 Strategic Technologies for the Military half a century of relative success in blocking nuclear proliferation cannot be easily applied to the 21st century challenge of biological proliferation. Neither Cold War bilateral arms control nor multilateral non-proliferation efforts offer good models to deal with this new challenge. It appears that, much more than in the nuclear case, civilisation will have to cope with, rather than shape, its biological future more cautiously.72 As discussed earlier, there exists an apparent link between the growth of biotechnology and development of biological or agriculture weapons. In future, non-lethal biological agents could also be used as incapacitants under certain circumstances and nobody would be so sure that they will remain non-lethal for every individual irrespective of his/her own health condition. This exponential growth of technology encompassing fields like highly lethal, semi-lethal or non-lethal demands focused attention from the states to evade its misuse. In the 21st century, it would be a profound mistake to see genomics as simply a scientific revolution. It could have both positive as well as negative impacts on the survival of the mankind. The entire spectra of biotechnologies could likely have major impact on creation of new biological weapons.73 The potential for misuse of work74 in molecular biology, immunology and other forefront areas of research could also show the way for extremely dangerous modifications that could cause harm to humans and/or agriculture in the natural world.75 This poses a major challenge to find answers to the security dilemma posed by biotechnology. As mentioned in the first part of this chapter, in spite of the international measures taken under the aegis of BTWC or otherwise, the biological security dilemma of the states continues to exist. This is essentially because of the dynamic nature of state’s security and economic policies and the rapid developments taking place in the field of biotechnology. Also, one of the greatest difficulties in verifying the production of

72 Christopher F. Chyba and Alex L. Greninger, ‘Biotechnology and Bioterrorism: An Unprecedented World’, Survival. 46, no. 2 (2004): 144. 73 Mark Wheelis and Malcolm Dando, ‘New Technologies and Future Developments in Biological Warfare’, Military Technology 5 (2003): 56. 74 An experiment was conducted as a part of legitimate research that successfully experimented the synthesis of polio virus at a state university of New York using readily purchased chemical supplies, also an Australian University had carried out genetic modifications of the mousepox virus—this experiment showed the way to make the virus more lethal. These experiments could be considered as signposts depicting potential misuses. 75 Christopher F. Chyba, ‘Biotechnology and the Challenge to Arms Control’, Arms Control Today 36, no. 8, (2006): 11.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

163

biological weapons is the ability of a verification regime to gain the support and participation of biological industry.76 The BTWC has always factored the likelihood of misuse of the advancements in science and technology for hostile purposes. The third BTWC review conference (1991), urged all state parties to actively promote international cooperation in the arena of peaceful uses of biotechnology.77 During the last two to three decades, the evolution of knowledge based on new and emerging technologies has always got added to the list of ‘potential technologies’ capable of causing damage to the mankind. By the time of the fourth Review Conference (1996), these concerns were clearly extended to genomic, the Final declaration78 stating: The Conference, conscious of apprehensions arising from relevant scientific and technological developments, inter alia, in the fields of microbiology, biotechnology, molecular biology, genetic engineering, and any application resulting from genome studies, and the possibilities of their use for purposes inconsistent with the objectives and the provisions of the convention, reaffirms that the undertaking given by the state parties in Article I applies to such developments.

These efforts clearly indicate that over the years state parties have highlighted the potential impact of emerging scientific and technological developments as an increasingly serious problem. However, nothing much could be achieved in reality because the biggest limitation of BTWC is an absence of verification protocol. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to keep a track of which private industry is involved into what kind of work covertly. In the 21st century, biotechnology revolution is producing vast amounts of new data sets, both in terms of new genomics that are sequenced and new chemical compounds that are produced by combinatorial means. Also, data mining algorithms have become fast and there exists a possibility that they could be misused to understand the lethality/toxicity of new organisms/compounds.79 Apart from verification protocol, the other www.cdi.org/issues/cbw/bwc.html (accessed on 30 March 2008). http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/sbtwc/revconf/3final2.htm (accessed on 27 March 2008). 78 Mark Wheelis and Malcolm Dando, ‘New Technologies and Future Developments in Biological Warfare’, Military Technology 5 (2003): 52–53. 79 Alexander Kelle, ‘Science, Technology and the CBW Control Regimes’, Disarmament Forum 1 (2005): 13. 76 77

164 Strategic Technologies for the Military major drawback the BTWC faces is that the treaty is relic of the Cold War era when the threat from biological weapons was envisaged only from state actors; naturally the treaty has its limitations when it comes to the threat in the backdrop of asymmetric challenge posed by non-state actors. Today, in general, states are not making significant efforts to explain the merits of strengthening protocols to their biotechnology industry. On the other hand, they are only attempting to safeguard the interests of the industry without realising the costs the industry as well as the state may end up paying in case of any major complexity. In a few states, national legislations and guidance policies do exist towards transfer of knowhow, technology and material for inter-state trade. However, the potency of such system is unclear. Such structures have limitations to handle any threat from the non-state actors. In short advances in biotechnology pose a great challenge to arms control. Moreover, this laxity towards formulation of any useful bio-regime could become more deliberate particularly when the states would start experiencing the benefits of biotechnology for their armed forces. States would not favour military-specific biotechnology to get interlinked to some arms control regulations.

CONCLUSION Biotechnology has shown immense potential for its utility in various facets of life and military is no exception. Scientists and military leadership are increasingly finding its utility for militaristic purposes. Biotechnology and its products have created some amazing possibilities for military particularly in the area of sensor technology, biocomputing, protection of C4ISR networks, bioengineered materials, biofuels, and so on. Induction of biotechnology in such areas is expected to bring radical changes to a broad range of military applications and even a few military tactics have to be redefined with the induction of this technology. Looking at the potential of this technology, there is a need to invest more in military’s biomaterials needs. Unfortunately, the growth of biotechnology has a darker side, too, and that is its potential to create bioweapons. Today, due to the competitive nature of technology, business houses are also reluctant to provide information that could compromise their economic edge. Hence, there exists the biggest challenge—to allow the growth of technology without letting it into the wrong hands. It is expected that in future, the science of biotechnology itself may come in handy to tackle the threats posed by the advances in biotechnology.

Military Applicability of Biotechnology

165

APPENDIX80 What is a Cell? • The structural, functional and biological unit of all organisms (the building block of life). • Smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living. • Bacteria consist of a single cell (mostly). • Humans have an estimated 100 trillion or 1014 cells.

What is a Bacteria? • Bacteria, is a one-celled living organism, with complete sets of both ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) genetic codes. • Are capable of multiplying by themselves. • Bacteria exist everywhere, inside and on our bodies. Most of them are completely harmless and some of them are very useful.

What is a Virus? • A virus is little more than a section of RNA or DNA covered by a protein shell. It is the smallest and simplest life form known. Viruses are approximately 10 to 100 times smaller than bacteria. • A virus, on the other hand, cannot reproduce without a living host. • Once inside a living cell, a virus replaces the cell’s original DNA or RNA commands with its own genetic instructions. Those instructions are usually to make as many copies of the virus as possible.

What is DNA? • DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) carries the genetic information in the body’s cells. • DNA is made up of four similar chemicals (called bases and abbreviated A, T, C, and G) that are repeated over and over in pairs.

80 The information contained in the Appendix is based on inputs from various websites and biology/microbiology textbooks.

166 Strategic Technologies for the Military

What is a Gene? • A gene is a distinct portion of a cell’s DNA. Genes are coded instructions for making everything the body needs, especially proteins. • Human beings have about 25,000 genes. • Researchers have discovered what some of our genes do, also found some associated with disorders. • Still for many, genes functions are unknown.

What are Chromosomes? • Genes are packaged in bundles called chromosomes. • Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. • The human genome is a complete copy of the entire set of human gene instructions.

What is a Mutation? • The particular order of the pairs of As, Ts, Cs and Gs is extremely important in the DNA. • Sometimes there is a mistake—one of the pairs gets switched, dropped or repeated. • This changes the coding for one or more genes. This is called genetic mutation. A mutation maybe disease-causing or harmless. • DNA code could be changed by the errors in the chromosomes.

What are Proteins, Enzymes and PCR? • The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular genetic technique for making multiple copies of a gene. • Enzymes are biomolecules that increase the rate of chemical reaction. • Almost all enzymes are proteins and they are organic compounds made of amino acids. • Body use proteins for specific jobs such as hemoglobin production.

What is Gene Technology? • All gene manipulation is based on microbial genetics—ways of doing in the test tube what bacteria and viruses do naturally.

6 Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

Previous chapters of this section have discussed technologies in the defence arena where specific work is in progress and also vital breakthroughs have already been achieved. This is not to say that both these technologies are fully matured to an extent as envisaged by the scientific community during the initial stages of their development. The other two technologies within the Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno (NBIC) bracket of converging and emerging technologies, namely Information Technology (IT) and Cognitive Technology also are on the ‘radar’ of scientific and military leadership. Information Technology has by now evolved in a major way in both non-military and military fields. In its current avatar, it can be said to have already arrived. At present, the technology is in place with many defence establishments all over the world. Militaries are constantly upgrading their IT apparatus to match the latest available software and hardware knowledge. During the last decade the growth of this technology has been phenomenal. As such the growth has followed the famous Moor’s law of the 1970s which broadly mentions that the number of transistors to be placed on an integrated circuit would increase exponentially and get doubled within 18 months. The growth in IT field, both in hardware and software, has been very quick and rapid, and is expected to follow the similar trend in the coming few years. However, it needs to be mentioned over here that much has been already achieved in this field in its present format and has already been incorporated by the militaries all over the world. Future improvements in this field would effectively involve support from other technologies like micro and nanoelectronics,

168 Strategic Technologies for the Military quantum computing, and so on. Hence, this chapter avoids looking at IT in a standalone mode as a futuristic strategic technology. However, the thinking in the arena of IT and beyond is progressing from Artificial Intelligence to Ambient Intelligence (AmI). This AmI refers to a vision of the future information society branching from the convergence of ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication and intelligent user-friendly interfaces. The conception is that people would be surrounded by intelligent and intuitive interfaces embedded in all kinds of objects: The environment would recognise individual needs and wants, as well as changes in the individuals, needs, wants or the environment. It would respond in a seamless, unobtrusive and often invisible way, nevertheless remaining under the control of humans. Intelligent agents would eventually make decisions that automatically serve a person or notify a person of a need to make a decision or to carry out an action. In short, computers would conform to and serve the needs of humans rather than require people to conform to computers by learning specific skills and performing lengthy tasks. Interactions between humans and computers would become relaxing and enjoyable without steep learning curves.1

The author also accepts the relevance of Cognitive Sciences as an important element of strategic technology spectrum but feels that the development in this field is still in an amorphous form and mankind is still in the early stages of linking human brain to machine brain. Such technologies touches the most intimate and crucial mechanisms of the relation between individual and society, deals with neuro-scientific aspects of foresighting, brain imaging, neurons recording,2 and so on. Once fully developed, they would find much of a value in strategic calculus of the nation-states. At present, not much work has been undertaken in this field by many nations and hence the subject has been handled at a macro-level in this chapter with the purpose of introducing this technology as a way ahead. It may be noted that there is considerable amount of commonalities among the technologies like AmI, ubiquitous technologies, cognitive technologies and robotics. However, one finds literature addressing these 1 Expert Group, ‘Foresighting the New Technology Wave’ (State of the Art Reviews and Related Papers, 14 June 2004), 106–07, http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2004/ ntw/pdf/soa_en.pdf (accessed on 16 September 2007). 2 Ibid., 112–26.

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

169

technologies giving different treatments particularly in the defence arena. From a military perspective, it is felt that there is a need to look at these technologies within their own individual domains as far as possible.

COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGY Cognition is the process of obtaining knowledge through thought, experience and the senses.3 ‘Cognition includes domains of attention, memory, language, gnosis, visuospatial function, praxis and executive function, and is traditionally distinguished from the emotions or feelings.’4 Cognitive concept has different meanings in different fields like neurology, philosophy and computer science. Mainly in the field of artificial intelligence, cognitive science relates to the understanding about the workings of the brain. It provides insights into ways to present information to human beings so that they can use it most effectively. Cognitive Science is a relatively new field of study formed through the convergence of smaller disciplinary parts. It mainly deals with the study of intelligence and intelligent systems, with particular reference to intelligent behaviour as computation. A special branch of engineering, mostly based upon cognitive science is called cognitive technology. Cognitive technologies are science-based methods for augmenting or supplementing human knowledge, thought and creativity. At present many of these technologies are finding applicability in the education field and a key cognitive issue under research is human–technology interaction.5 In fact, cognitive technologies have already entered our lives in some preliminary forms. The beginning of cognitive revolution could be identified with the usage of tools like the spell check option in the computer’s word processor, the search engines used for information identification on the World Wide Web or automatic speech recognition software. However, progress in this field may not be easy. Decades ago, computer scientists were very optimistic about how easy it would be to develop artificial intelligence, for example. But, the scientific

3

Compact Oxford Reference Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001),

159. 4 James P. Tsai, ed., Leading-Edge Cognitive Disorders Research (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008), vii. 5 William Sims Bainbridge and Mihail C. Roco, eds, Managing Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Innovations (London: Springer, 2005), 26, 38, 361.

170 Strategic Technologies for the Military community is yet nowhere near to duplication of the complete complexity of human intelligence. The aim now is not to replace human intelligence but to complement it. At present, instead of designing and manufacturing humanoid robots that can walk and talk like human beings, scientists are building massive information systems, mobile computers and developing human computer interfaces to maximise the comfort and usability of the systems.6 Most importantly, these technologies have revolutionised their roles during the last few years and are actively affecting and changing human cognition itself. Being a tool to aid humans, now they are getting more integrated with other technologies like nanotechnology, biotechnology, and IT and they all are converging in several ways to enable cognitive enhancements: Nanotechnology is providing research instrumentation for improving knowledge of brain structure and function as well as new means of drug delivery. Neurobiology is developing increased understanding of how brains and associated neural systems work. IT provides signal processing capabilities for neurobiological research and for interfaces among sensors, computers, brains and prosthetic devices; it also enables modeling and simulation for computational neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience has extended traditional cognitive psychology into the realm of understanding correlates between brain structure and function and cognition.7

A few institutions in the west (mainly in the US) are experimenting with various aspects of cognitive engineering. The following are a few of the interesting projects8 underway in this field and each technique could have defence applicability in some form or other.

Augmented Cognition: Combining Human and Digital Memory Here the technology utilises the fact that human beings are adept at remembering information based on its location relative to their body, Ibid., 208. ‘Policy Implications of Technologies for Cognitive Enhancement’ (Workshop report, Arizona State University, 3–5 May 2006, www.cspo.org/documents/FinalEnhanced CognitionReport.pdf ( accessed on 25 July 2008). 8 William Sims Bainbridge and Mihail C. Roco, eds, Managing Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Innovations (The Netherlands: Springer 2005), 361–63. 6 7

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

171

and on the place where they were when they learned it. Such techniques are useful when the human being is expected to take quick (split second) decisions based on a plethora of information.

Mapping Meetings: Language Technology to Make Sense of Human Interaction Computerised language technology is used for studying the group dynamics of meetings by mapping the changing topics discussed and the social roles and relationships of the people participating. This technique could become useful for producing automatic summaries of meetings and their decisions.

Managing Human Attention Here the concept is to integrate principles from social psychology, computer science, economics and interaction design. This helps to develop techniques to mediate among the often competing demands of responding to a barrage of communication requests.

Universal Access for Situationally Induced Impairments: Modelling, Prototyping and Evaluating This method works on similar lines used for developing techniques for permanently disabled individuals. Here, concepts from cognitive science and methods from IT are used to address the problem of assisting ordinary people under poor lighting conditions, in noisy environments and when travelling—that is, under conditions when the physical, cognitive or perceptual demands placed on the users exceed their abilities.

Digital Imaging Techniques for the Simulation and Enhancement of Low Vision This technology has two phases: (a) to develop simulation methods to show researchers and technology designers with normal vision what a person with low vision sees and (b) to create low vision image enhancement tools that can be used to transform images from digital cameras or graphic applications to create new images.

172 Strategic Technologies for the Military All these projects could have a military applicability. People’s cognitive processes of learning and thinking are needed as components in the complex information systems of the military. In fact, the work of Allen Newell from Systems Research Laboratory (SRL) of Rand Corporation, USA along with Herbert A. Simon during the late 1950s was a part of the military endeavour to understand ‘human factor’ within a complex man–machine weapon systems. They called their work as ‘cognitive simulation’ which was later dubbed as ‘Artificial Intelligence’.9 For militaries this technology is useful in many aspects: (a) for the development of fully automated ‘intelligent systems’ and ‘autonomous weapons’, (b) with ever increasing complexity of military systems, the training needs are increasing manifold—this technology shows immense promise in military arena, and (c) to ‘enhance’ human intelligence within man/machine systems—say, in the case of the state-of-art air-superiority fighter aircraft, a pilot needs to take instant decisions based on continuous flow of information generated by onboard computers—here the need is to convert the pilot’s capabilities to match the information flow.10 Such InfoCockpits could use two basic strategies: multiple spatial displays surrounding the user, to engage human memory for location and ambient context displays (both visual and auditory), to engage human memory for place.11 The idea to help computers understand their owners has been around for many years but no technological breakthroughs in this regard have been found forthcoming. But, with modern day computers crossing all barriers for speed and data storage, scientists have become more confident to tackle this problem. Since the beginning of this century military technologists along with the help of industry have been trying to design computer systems that understand the user’s cognitive state and then respond accordingly. Such systems could find wider applicability to militaries from battlefield employability to military training. The basic purpose of such type of research is to create an operational system for the military that can sense, analyse and autonomously maximise the warfighter’s cognitive state. Information overload can stop troops in their tracks. Military technologists are working on how to determine when a 9 Douglas D. Noble, ‘Cockpit Cognition: Eduction, the Military and Cognitive Engineering’, in Cognition, Communication and Interaction, ed., Satinder P. Gill (London: Springer, 2008), 285, 289. 10 Ibid., 279–84. 11 http://www.alice.org/stage3/projects.html and http://www.infocockpits.org/ (accessed on 15 June 2008).

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

173

soldier has received too much data as well as how technology can lessen the cognitive burden of service members so that they can react properly in dangerous situations.12 Research programmes like ‘augmented cognition programme’ have other applications in the field of medicine in addition to gathering physiological information on soldiers in action and in developing non-contact sensors. Scientists are thinking of using EEG sensors in helmets to monitor brain injuries. Soldiers can suffer from brain damage during operations due to nearby explosions, but with the proper instrumentation, leaders can assess when to remove a soldier from a situation. This could also allow them to take a quick decision in regard to employing reserve forces. Experiments are being undertaken towards determining if the tasking of soldiers on a vehicle requires two or three crew members depending on the amount of autonomy given to the vehicle. Military technologists feel that the crew should be able to pay more attention to combat operation while the vehicle performs operations on its own. To best accomplish that goal, the cognitive load on a typical two-man crew during missions needs to be understood. The augmented cognition programme can give answers to whether a two- or three-man crew is preferable and what additional functions the soldier can do when the vehicle is in motion.13 Normally, the term ‘cognitive’, particularly in the military parlance, is used very broadly. It may cover the properties of perception, attention, memory, problem solving, learning and even motor activity. The technology per se alone is not capable of providing many solutions to the military problems but when it is integrated with other converging technologies the results could be brilliant. Biotechnology is important for improving understanding of the human brain, psychiatric and normalenhancing medications and a systematic appreciation of affective cognition and emotional intelligence. Information technology would help in creation, maintenance and analysis of various databases and provide new tools for communication with other human beings. Here the ‘artificial intelligence’ is expected to gradually supplement (but never supplant) the power of our own minds. Nanotechnology could make available 12 Maryann Lawlor, ‘Human-Computer Interface Gets Personal’, Signal Online, July 2006, http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/SIGNAL_Article_Template.asp?arti cleid=1159&zoneid=188 (accessed on 28 February 2009). 13 Rita Boland, ‘Army Uses Advanced Systems to Understand What Soldiers Know’, Signal Online, March 2008, http://www.afcea.org/signal/articles/templates/Signal_Article_ Template.asp?articleid=1528&zoneid=228 (accessed on 28 February 2009).

174 Strategic Technologies for the Military the methods needed for brain research, sensors for capturing new kinds of information about the environment and the nanoscale components required for accurate mobile information processing. Cognitive technologies, in return, will offer new ways to conceptualise and communicate their realms of reality.14 From a national security perspective, it is essential to have convergences of NBIC technologies. These technologies together can provide various solutions to the fundamentally changing nature of conflict in the 21st century and the opportunities to strengthen national defence architecture.

AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE As mentioned earlier, many armies all over the word have successfully put together various benefits emerging out of progress made in the arena of IT in favour of their military utility, both for wartime as well as peacetime services. Today, most of the modern armies have moved to an era where IT-based tools have become part and parcel of regular activities. In many ways it could be argued that IT dictates how the modern day fighter should involve in combat. Military leadership15 in general is found arguing that ‘information management and technology are strategic enablers that contribute to today’s mission—supporting combatant commanders’ needs’. Over the years, computers have played an important role in the research and development of various weapon systems and munitions. The role played by computers is praiseworthy in the area of development of various land-, sea- and air/space-based platforms for weapon delivery and various other utilities. Also, IT has special significance for the design and development of various weapon delivery platforms. The supportive structures for the armed forces like radars, command, control and communication systems are hugely dependent on IT. Nuclear weapon states have taken significant help of IT towards development of their various ‘structures’ meant for the development of reliable nuclear deterrence. Also, IT has its own utility for ‘missile defence shield’. 14 William Sims Bainbridge and Mihail C. Roco, eds, Managing Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno Innovations (Springer: London, 2005), 193–94, 204. 15 Lt. Gen. Steven W. Boutelle (Army Chief Information Officer/G-6). Margaret McBride, ‘Army Unveils Information Technology Display’, Army News Service, 20 July 2006, http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=9308 (accessed on 27 July 2008).

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

175

A major component of computer science which at times gets elapsed under the larger rubric of IT is artificial intelligence (AI): The term ‘Artificial intelligence’ was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and refers to the branch of computer science that attempts to emulate human intelligence in a machine. Fields within AI include knowledge-based systems, expert systems, pattern recognition, automatic learning, natural-language understanding, robotics and others. Commercial applications of AI are diverse, including applications in medicine, financial systems and software designed to assist humans with impairments (voice, character recognition).16

Artificial intelligence could be understood as the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programmes. Marvin Lee Minsky, an American cognitive scientist in the field of AI and co-founder of MIT’s AI laboratory, in one of his writings mentions that ‘Artificial Intelligence is the science of making machines do things that would require intelligence if done by men’ .17 More than five decades since its inception, AI has made remarkable achievements and is being increasingly used in the defence forces for various applications. When decisions have to be made quickly—sometimes instantly—taking into account an enormous amount of information, and when lives are at stake, AI provides crucial assistance. It has wider applicability from developing intricate flight plans to implementing complex supply systems or creating training simulation exercises. Over the years AI has become a natural partner in the modern military.18 With AI becoming part and parcel of various IT tools, the scientific community is progressing further to enhance this technology from a point of view of making it more user friendly and more adaptable to the surroundings. This quest has led to the growth of a field termed as ambient intelligence (AmI) which refers to a developing technology that could make everyday environment sensitive and responsive to our presence. Such technology could be invisibly embedded in our everyday

16 John C. Miles and A. Janet Walker, ‘The Potential Application of Artificial Intelligence in Transport’, http://www.foresight.gov.uk/Intelligent%20Infrastructure%20Syste ms/artificial_intelligence_transport.pdf (accessed on 1 August 2008). 17 Marvin Minsky, ed., Semantic Information Processing (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1968). John McCarthy, ‘What is Artificial Intelligence?’, 12 November 2007, http://wwwformal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/ (accessed on 28 July 2008). 18 www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/military.html (accessed on 7 July 2008).

176 Strategic Technologies for the Military surroundings.19 The concept of AmI is a bit different from the progression seen in other areas of technology development. To put it simplistically, what has improved in the IT field over the years is the progression, say from Pentium I computers to Pentium IV computers, and so on. In reality this means increase in speed of computation and more space for data storage. The human being has still remained subservient to technology. The case may be a bit different with regard to AmI technologies. The AmI environment is expected to allow cars moving on the roads to warn the drivers of hazards, track the exact location on its own and provide timely route advice. Intelligent homes will help monitor conditions, track routine tasks and programme the behaviour of the heat, the lights, the garden watering and the entertainment centre. The systems at work will make simple decisions for humans ranging from scheduling meetings to negotiating for common services over the web. Such systems will also acquire and adapt to human’s preferences over time. In short, humans will come to view simple software intelligence as an ambient feature of the environment.20 The early developments in this field took place at Philips—a major global leader in the electronics industry. In 1998, Philips organised a series of internal workshops to investigate various scenarios that could transform the existing high-volume consumer electronic industry—which is more ‘feature-based’—into a world, where user-friendly devices support ubiquitous information, communication and entertainment.21 Such discussions have led to a conclusion that AmI could be thought of as a technology for people to have an easy life in digital environments where electronics could be programmed to become sensitive to people’s needs and personalise their requirements, anticipatory of their behaviour and responsive to their presence. Ambient Intelligence is essentially built on three recent key technologies: ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication and intelligent user interfaces. Ubiquitous computing is a way of integrating microprocessors into everyday objects like furniture, clothing, white goods, toys and even paint. Ubiquitous communication facilitates these objects E.H.L. Aarts and J.L. Encarnacao, eds, True Visions: The Emergence of Ambient Intelligence (London: Springer, 2006). 20 ‘Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Ambient Intelligence’ (3rd Workshop, Patras, Greece, 21–22 July 2008), http://www.infj.ulst.ac.uk/~jcaug/aitami08.htm (accessed on 30 July 2008). 21 http://www.research.philips.com/technologies/syst_softw/ami/index.html, (accessed on 4 August 2008). 19

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

177

to communicate with each other and the user by means of ad hoc and wireless networking. An intelligent user interface enables the inhabitants of the AmI environment to control and interact with the environment in a natural (voice, gestures) and personalised way (preferences, context).22 The research on AI started during the 1950s with major support from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, known during certain periods as ARPA) and other units of the Department of Defence (DOD). Another major funding agency was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).23 Such investments clearly depict the interests of defence organisations towards developing this science further because of its wider defence applicability. Research organisations connected with the armed forces are showing similar type of interest in the field of AmI knowing that such investments have longterm implications for the defence. Along with the AmI one more concept, showing potential for its vast defence utility, is ubiquitous computing. In fact, ubiquitous computing and AmI more or less serve the same purpose. Ubiquitous computing could be called as the third wave in computing which could be said to be standing on the threshold of development. First wave in computers was that of the mainframe computers. Present era is that of personal computing where individuals and machines stare uneasily at each other across the desktop. The third wave is expected to be of ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, where technology recedes into the background of our lives. This technology aims to reduce the ‘excitement’ of information overload by letting the user select what information is at the centre of their attention and what information is peripheral. There is a need to design technology that enable users to sense and control what immediately interests them while retaining peripheral awareness of other information possibilities that they can at any time choose to focus on. Calm technology is not only expected to relax the user, but also to move superfluous information to the edge of an interface. What is in the periphery at one moment may in the next

22 Marano Alcaniz and B. Rey, ‘New Technologies for Ambient Intelligence’, in Ambient Intelligence, eds, G. Riva, F. Vatalaro and F. Davide (Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2005), 3. 23 ‘Developments in Artificial Intelligence’, in the report titled Funding a Revolution: Government Support for Computing Research (Washington; The National Academy of Sciences, 1999), Chapter 9.

178 Strategic Technologies for the Military moment come to be at the centre of attention and so become crucial.24 Ubiquitous computing could be said to be roughly the opposite of virtual reality. ‘Virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world; ubiquitous computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people.’25 Defence forces face numerous difficulties while handling information overload and future developments in these fields would help them immensely, particularly to address problems at tactical levels and take quick decisions during live combats. Further in regard to defence applicability of AmI and ubiquitous computing, various options could be thought of. However, much work needs to be done in this arena because these technologies are still under the state of evolution. Induction of such technologies, once evolved, would require substantial changes into the existing IT systems (hardware infrastructure).

CONCLUSION Both the technologies presented here are extremely promising but are in the very early stages of development. Hence, it would not be possible to claim with a certain degree of certitude as to when actually they would be incorporated into the armed forces as envisaged. However, it needs to be mentioned that the progress of IT has been remarkable during the last few decades. Earlier there used to be only one computer (mainframe era) amongst many soldiers for their work. Now, we are living in an era of personal computers where there is one personal computer per soldier. Militaries are fast approaching a state where they would have to employ many computers per individual soldier. The era of many computers per soldier is going to be an era when the soldiers may not even be aware of the number of computers involved in supporting their tasks. Many such computers would be operating in the background trying to understand the needs of the soldier and giving only those inputs which are required to perform the tasks successfully. The computers could be performing many functions from operating as robotic tools to surfing data on the Internet to scanning the brain of the soldier to understand his needs. 24 Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown, ‘The Coming Age of Calm Technology’, http:// www.ubiq.com/hypertext/weiser/acmfuture2endnote.htm and whatis.techtarget.com/ definition/0,,sid9_gci211737,00.html (accessed on 27 February 2009). 25 ‘Ubiquitous Computing’, http://sandbox.xerox.com/ubicomp/ (accessed on 6 August 2008).

Cognitive Technology and Ambient Intelligence

179

It is expected that the future could involve emergence of soldiers who are fundamentally associated with bioelectronic devices. NBIC technologies would play a major role in this. The interactions of increased computing power, advances in prosthetic devices, artificial implants and systems that blend electronic and biological components, are facilitating the merging of man with machines.26 Militaries expect tomorrow’s soldier to emerge not only as an individual but also as a hybrid of human and machine!

26 B. Gordijn and R. Chadwick, eds, Medical Enhancement and Posthumanity (Dordrecht : Springer, 2008), 207.

Conclusion

For states, preparing for war is an endemic progression. In the 21st century when states face both conventional as well as asymmetric threats, the logic for remaining geared-up all the time for any eventuality becomes more relevant than ever before. This book discusses a few important strategic technologies which are expected to help states for the preparation and subsequently to conduct future wars. For many centuries now, technology has been playing a dominant role towards deciding the overall ‘culture’ of war-fighting. The writings of General Carl von Clausewitz and the 18th century German idealist Immanuel Kant project that if war preparation is scientific, then the conduct of war, a fundamentally different activity, may be seen as artistic. This book has made an attempt to look at the scientific developments in a few fields at the backdrop of their relevance to warfare which could be termed as a social act in some sense. It has been found, in most of the technological areas discussed, that the issues related to civilian and military research and development (R&D) are merging together. It is argued that technologies that are the result of World War II, such as radar, the electronic computing, and so on, found their further utility in the civilian field and in a way revolutionalised the civilian technology field. In the 21st century, the trend appears to be reversing and the military applicability is now based on the results achieved in the civilian field. As per the available figures, the global spending on civilian R&D is almost 10 times more when compared to the global spending on military R&D.1 Hence, albeit the book discusses Michael Brzoska, ‘Trends in Global Military and Civilian Research and Development and their Changing Interface’, 4, http://www.ifsh.de/pdf/aktuelles/india_brzoska.pdf (accessed on 21 July 2008). 1

Conclusion

181

the developments and research undertaken in the military field, in reality the military demands could find quick solutions more from the civilian research. Hence, military analysts need to pay continuous attention at the developments taking place in the civilian area, too. In the 21st century, for the induction of any military technology, it is important to address two specific issues—‘arms control’ and ‘likely environmental damages’ that such technology may cause. In earlier chapters, the issues related to disarmament and arms control are discussed at relevant places. This has been done mainly because these issues form a part of the larger global discourse on security. Issues related to environment and global warming do not strictly form a part of the global discourse on defence but are extremely important and capable of stalling induction of any new technology in defence. Also, these issues are getting increasingly projected under the larger rubric of human security. Hence, it is essential to have knowledge about the environmental concerns in regard to modern military technologies. Military leadership need to factor in these issues in their technology assessment process. It is important to factor in these issues before planning the induction of any new technologies. Militaries need to take care that they do not come under any global flak for induction of environment unfriendly technologies. This chapter has four parts. The first part discusses the environmental concerns in regard to the technologies discussed in the previous chapters. The second part deals with the challenges ahead. The third part offers a ‘bird’s eye view’ in regard to various technologies discussed in earlier chapters and the last part presents a few India-specific recommendations.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS It could be said that the 20th century was an amazing time to be alive. Telephones, aircrafts, cars, the personal computer, supercomputers, the Internet, human exploration of space and of course the harnessing of the atom, all these things were unimaginable in 1900, but by the year 2000 they became a routine.2 During the 20th century, mankind was able to establish the basic laws of nature and the growth of technologies took place in specific areas. The 21st century is predominantly being 2 Graeme Stemp-Morlock, ‘The Biggest Challenges of the 21st Century’, Cosmos Online, 18 February 2008, http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/online/1855/thebiggest-challenges-21st-century (accessed on 7 August 2008).

182 Strategic Technologies for the Military seen as a century where the applicability of basic sciences would be enhanced further by undertaking research in various ‘applied’ fields. Multidisciplinary research and amalgamation of a few technologies for the evolution of new techniques is expected to be the key area of focus of the 21st century. Unfortunately, this century also suffers from the curse of global warming and at times every new invention is being suspected for its environmental compatibility. Scientists and environmentalists are studying various emerging technologies from the point of view of understanding the damages they could cause to the environment. Here an attempt has been made to understand the environmental significance in respect of the few technologies discussed in earlier chapters. Wars are killers in many ways. Over the years, wars have played a dominant role towards destruction of environment in some form or other. Incessant aerial bombings have destroyed biodiversity and flora and fauna of various regions. Particularly, the war in Vietnam is a case in point. The environmental pollution caused by the burning of oil wells particularly during the 1991 Gulf War is well documented. Over the years, environmental damages are essentially being caused because of bombing of factories (particularly chemical factories), oil refineries, dams and storage facilities. Also, landmines have played a key role towards causing damage to arable land. Now, with the advent of new technologies, it has been noticed that the environment gets polluted not only because of the destruction carried out by various types of weapons to the critical infrastructure on the ground, but also because of the content of the munitions. History of warfare is replete with examples about how the weather conditions play a significant role towards the spread of chemical constituents of the weapon. However, the effects of such a spread used to be of temporary in nature though it has caused damages not only to human life but also to agriculture and water reservoirs. The ante was raised by global community particularly after the 1991 Iraq war about the long-term destruction caused to mankind and the environment by the ingredients used in munitions. The US Air Forces’ armour-piercing projectile weapons were made from depleted uranium (DU).3 The health and environmental consequences of DU weapons are severe and enduring because of radioactive and chemically toxic nuclear waste product contained in it. DU is extremely long lived and 3

Ajey Lele, Weather and Warfare (New Delhi: Lancer, 2006), 170–78.

Conclusion

183

hence the environment and the humankind could face its devastating effects for years to come. In general, the society has learned that the past failures to forsee environmental consequences have been costly. It has happened in the case of semiconductor industry (metals, solvents), synthetic chemicals (PCB, DDT, Freon), applications of natural compounds (chlorine, asbestos) and energy (air pollution, global warming, nuclear wastes).4 This has taught the scientific community and environmental watch groups that small adjustments early in the trajectory of technology have large consequences. Hence, now the global community is trying to introduce the environmental perspective early into the culture of emerging technologies. Military analysts and technology developers need to factor in such type of global concerns about usage of military hardware while developing new weaponry with emerging technologies. At the same time, it needs to be emphasised that many emerging technologies provide opportunities to develop new techniques to measure, check, administer and minimise contaminants in the environment. In respect of nanotechnology, concerns are being raised about the potential risks from exposure to materials containing nanoscale particles (commonly known as nanomaterials). At present, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the agency) is involved in identifying the impact of nanotechnology on human beings and environment. Currently, the work is under progress to determine the effects of direct exposure to nanomaterials or their byproducts, associated with dispersive nanotechnology uses, on a range of ecological species (fish, invertebrates, birds, amphibians, reptiles, plants and microbes). Also, the research is being undertaken regarding the interaction of nanomaterials with microbes in sewage treatment plants in sewage effluent and the natural communities of microbes in soil and water.5 Nanotechnology could be put in use to assess environmental contamination arising from a variety of sources and to carry out environmental remediation of the contaminated sites say radioactively contaminated sites or sites contaminated because of other reasons like spill of chemicals or in some cases because of some human induced viruses. It is expected that the high surface-to-volume ratio, high reactivity and small 4 Dr. Vicki Colvin, ‘Nanotechnology: Environmental Impact’, www.environmentalfutures.org/Images/Nanoenvi.ppt (assessed on 1 June 2008). 5 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ‘Nanotechnology White Paper’ (External Review Draft, Science Policy Council U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, 2 December 2005).

184 Strategic Technologies for the Military size of some nanoscale particles (for example, nanoscale iron) may offer effective and inexpensive solutions to environmental contamination. By infusing engineered nanoparticles into the ground, these characteristics can be employed to enable the particles to move more easily through a contaminated site and bond more readily with targeted contaminants.6 In respect of chemical terrorism, nanotechnology offers solutions against the usage of chemical agents like VX, HD, GD and GB. Some nanoparticle oxides like CaO, Al2O3 and MgO interact with such chemicals much faster than microparticles and are ideally suited for fast decomposition of such warfare chemicals.7 Apart from nanotechnology, another technology that is expected to raise significant concerns about the environment is biotechnology. It is known that the future of biodiversity is highly dependent on reduction of greenhouse gases. Stabilising greenhouse gas levels is highly dependent on the type of energy used for various activities. The reduction of greenhouse gases requires replacing essentially all current fossil fuel based transportation and electricity production. Biologists advocating stabilisation needs to understand the costs and environmental consequences of possible alternatives. Of late, biofuels is emerging as a major answer to the global economic crisis. However, there is a need to factor in the potential impact of biofuel production on environment. Also, there is a need to keep a check on carbon released by the combustion of these fuels. To make biofuel production meaningful from the point of view of helping global energy crisis, it may require usage of enormous land area (almost up to twice the current area used for agriculture). Such usage would have a major impact on the remaining natural habitat and biodiversity.8 A major criticism often levelled against such large-scale fuel production is that it can divert agricultural production away from food crops, especially in developing countries, and would challenge global food security. The most quoted example in the recent past is that of food shortages and price increases that Brazil suffered a few years ago. These were blamed on the ProAlcool programme (fuel ethanol). However, it 6 John F. Sargent, ‘Nanotechnology: A Policy Primer’, CRS Report for Congress, 20 May 2008, 4. 7 Sulabha K. Kulkarni, Nantotechnology: Principles and Practices (New Delhi: Capital Publishing Company, 2007) and Sridhar K. Chari, Info-Nano-Bio Technologies, Their Coming Convergence, and the Implications for Security, NIAS Report, 2003, 258–259. 8 Thomas E. Lovejoy and Lee Hannah, eds, Climate Change and Biodiversity (New Delhi: TERI Press, 2005), 390.

Conclusion

185

is premature to jump to any specific conclusion on this subject. It needs more probing and analysis.9 On the positive side, biotechnology may help us to repair the environmental damages. Its ability to genetically engineer plants and bacteria to remove some contaminants from soil and water may aid in environmental cleanup. On the medical front, researchers believe that having the complete human genome to work with might help them to understand how environmental contaminants lead to cancer and other diseases and to figure out why some people are more susceptible than others.10 Such techniques if developed suitably may find some utility to the armed forces during their recruitment of human resources. Various environmental concerns have been raised in respect of genetically modified food crops. Scientists are concerned that engineered organisms might harm people’s health or the environment. Possibilities exist that the engineered crops might contaminate the food supply with drugs, kill useful insects or could even endanger precious natural resources. From the point of view of military biotechnology, these issues may not be of direct relevance but since militaries are likely to use the benefits of biotechnology in their ration supplies to the troops such issues need to be factored-in before inducting any such food products into the military. Near Space technologies are mostly not expected to use any fuel; hence, unlike aircraft, such platforms would not cause emissions into the air as fuel is burnt. Normally, the concentration of burnt fuel from aircrafts is so diluted11 that when it reaches the ground it cannot possibly be responsible for causing any environmental problems. However, the same is not the case with aircrafts which fly in stratosphere.12 This is the place where the ozone layer exists. Usually aircrafts flying at such high altitudes could add to the depletion of the ozone layer. Near Space platforms are normally expected to reach altitudes above stratospheric heights but a few may even remain in stratosphere; and every flight of Near Space platform will travel via stratosphere. If the number of such 9 ‘Food or Fuel?’ http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_food.html (accessed on 14 July 2008). 10 Robert Pool, Environmental Contamination, Biotechnology, and the Law (Washington: National Academies Press, 2001), 2. 11 http://www.bud.hu/english/about_us/environment_policy/?article_hid=1241 (accessed on 17 July 2008). 12 The stratosphere is situated between 10 km (6 miles) and 50 km (31 miles) altitude above the surface of the earth.

186 Strategic Technologies for the Military platforms increases significantly in years to come, then a necessity would arise to analyse the impact of such platforms on the ozone layer. In respect of autonomous weapon systems, the debate has already started on ethical implications of such military apparatus. The present status of artificial intelligence is yet to make such robots capable of distinguishing between civilian and combatants, and this could be one of the reasons why we are yet to see huge deployment of robotic systems in wars. Incidentally, the 2003 Iraq war and further deployment of allied forces in Iraq saw a reasonable amount of induction of robotic systems, both in the form of UAVs or robotic machines on ground. Since the war is far from over and new induction of robotic machines is still continuing, it would be too premature to come to any conclusion about the environmental impact of such systems. Historically, it has been observed that the march of heavy military equipment on the terrain causes substantial damage to the ecosystem (more in respect of desert terrain). The robots in operation with a few militaries in the world indicate that such systems are not exceptionally heavy to cause substantial damage to the earth beneath it. However, they could put some pressure on ecosystem by damaging flora and fauna. The damage may increase when numbers of such systems are likely to increase in years to come and the nature of damage would depend on the physical structure and deployment patterns of such systems. War zones may remain littered with unserviceable robots (with batteries of various makes) and this further could add on to the environmental degradation of the region. Such issues have barely been addressed by environmentalists till date but in future it is likely to attract the attention of many environmentalists.

THE CHALLENGES There could be several technical, cultural and environmental challenges that military scientists may face and they could be outside the scope of their ongoing research. Unfortunately, military research being inherently secret in nature, it may be difficult that the scientific community and military technology managers would share some of their experiences with others. But, it is important to share some of the experiences and ideas, which in the long run, if developed improperly can cause a considerable damage to humanity itself. The advanced technologies discussed here promise considerable savings over the long term, but they require significant investments in research and development. Also, a few of the technologies discussed

Conclusion

187

here essentially can be categorised as enhancements applied to existing weapon systems and not as an innovative work in itself. Whichever way it may be, further growth in various technological fields discussed here is likely to strengthen the defence apparatus of states in the immediate as well as distant future. Understanding the impact these technologies may have on their military doctrines, the states need to remain prepared for the integration of these technologies once they are fully operationalised in their military hardware. In view of this, there would be a need to give strategic direction to the complete technology adaptation programme for individual states. Looking at the present state of growth of strategic technologies and investments made by states in the field of R&D, it is possible to argue that all future conflicts could be lopsided affairs in which the US would wield advanced weapons to gain swift victory against a puzzled foe. However, this may not be possible for two reasons: first, the 2003 US invasion of Iraq has shown that the technology per se never helps in gaining a total victory, it needs to be backed up by a sound conflict resolution policy, and second, the US investments may look very big but the investments alone do not always offer solutions. At present, many of these technologies that ‘constitute the technical part of the military– technical revolution are also being developed independently by many other states’.13 During the course of this study, it has been observed that states like Japan, China, Russia and a few European nations are developing various strategic technologies by doing significant investments with a well articulated roadmap. Any major breakthroughs in various strategic technologies are likely to disrupt the existing military industrial complex and military planning. In many cases, war doctrines may have to be rewritten. Interestingly, states are also looking at the same technologies for devising countermeasures to the weapons created by them. The major challenge likely to emerge would be in the form of devising techniques to control certain unhealthy (even when viewed from militaristic point of view) applications of such technologies. Technological advances have been an integral part of military development throughout history. Over the years, many dazzling technologies have found a place in the armed forces of various nation-states. Many 13 Steven Aftergood, ‘Monitoring Emerging Military Technologies’, Journal of the Federation of American Scientists 48. no. 1 (January/February 1995), http://www.fas.org/ faspir/pir0295.html (accessed on 24 February 2008).

188 Strategic Technologies for the Military technological predictions have been made, but all of them have not come true. Most notably, in spite of the revolution in military affairs and tremendous impact that the technological revolutions have made on modern militaries, still it is felt that the militaries have remained subservient to technology. The modern technologies have not reduced the amount of ‘work’ but, rather significantly, have changed the type of work performed by the soldiers. A few of the technologies discussed in the previous chapters demonstrate the potential for radical transformation. They will not only assist the militaries in their task, but may also perform the task on behalf of the militaries if the militaries desire so.14 Delivering success from strategic technology is challenging. For states the most important issue should be time sequencing of activities. For states like India, which fall in the category of developing states having a strong technology base, there is a need to establish a process that could exploit this rapidly changing technology domain. The purpose should be to develop a technology strategy that would help to plan a road map for near-term and long-term needs. There is a need to look for international collaborations and modalities like transfer of technology, and so on. At present, the status of various strategic technologies being developed by a few states are at different levels of attainment and states should benefit from the research and development carried out by other friendly states.

TECHNOLOGY PROPHECY Previous chapters have discussed a few promising strategic technologies with military relevance. The following paragraphs offer a bird’s eye view in regard to military efficacy of these technologies. Near Space technology is one of the least addressed areas of technology in the space technology arena. However, change is seen in the offing. States have understood that the financial costs of sustaining space dominance are enormously high but at the same time military demands are increasing multifold in this field. Given its economical viability, Near Space technology has the capacity to fill in the void and can be regarded as a ‘suitable’ replacement in a few areas of investment-intensive space technologies. The biggest militaristic advantage this technology offers is the launch-on-demand possibility. It is envisaged that this technology can play a major role in satisfying the tactical level demands of the 14 Marcelo Dascal and Itiel E. Dror, ‘The Impact of Cognitive Technologies: Towards a Pragmatic Approach’, Pragmatics & Cognition 13, no. 3 (2005), 451–57.

Conclusion

189

militaries like communication and intelligence gathering. The technology also offers options for logistical support. Military robotic technology is expected to change the nature of warfare in the coming decades. Modern militaries see robots not only as force multipliers but also as a promising ‘force’ in itself. There exists a very thin line between the science of robotics, the science of artificial intelligence and cognitive sciences. At present, robots are being increasingly used for services like perimeter defence system, intelligence and reconnaissance or even as a weapon system (UCAV/UGAV). Futuristic battlefield is going to depend hugely on deployment of standoff weapons, and virtual presence technology and robotic technology is expected to find increasing applicability on the battlefield. Robots also show promise for employability in counterterrorism scenario. Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) technology, which essentially consists of laser and microwave weapons, is one such area of military technology where scientists have achieved little success in comparison with the investments made. However, the trends during the last few years are encouraging particularly in the area of laser weapons. The technology development in coming years is expected to exceed its current use which is by and large restricted to target designation to improve the accuracy and performance of costly precision bombs. New laser weapon systems offer wide range of applicability from battle tanks to spacecrafts. Apart from its employment in conventional role the laser weapons have wider applicability—starting from its usage as a non-lethal weapon to satellite jammers to its employability in missile defence shield. The challenge is to successfully associate laser technology with the operational needs, keeping financial viability in mind. Nanotechnology has been regarded as one of the most promising technologies of the modern era and it is finding relevance in almost every field of the military. It offers vital military applicability in various areas like development of sensors, soldier protection kits and improvement in C4ISR structures. The technology has great significance towards development of more powerful but lightweight batteries, smart fabrics, and so on. It has got direct military applicability towards making toughened armour, producing tiny surveillance devices, improving the performance of UAVs/UCAVs and enhancing interfacing and targeting for soldiers and fighter/bomber pilots. Biotechnology is a technology which is expected to offer tremendous benefits to military in regard to simplifying its logistical requirements. However, from military point of view, biotechnology is a double-edged

190 Strategic Technologies for the Military sword. The technology is useful in many ways for defence because of the vast applicability it offers in wide-ranging fields—from medicine to biocomputing to biofuels. At the same time, this technology is raising fears among many for its potential for developing designer bioweapons. However, the silver lining is that the science of biotechnology itself could offer countermeasures to such heinous weapons. Technologies studying soldier cognition and developing human computer interface are yet to evolve. However, once fully developed, they will have greater applicability in defence forces and will have a potential to change the present concept of war-fighting altogether.

RECOMMENDATIONS A few India-specific observations derived from various chapters are summarised in the succeeding paragraphs in the form of recommendations for Indian policy makers and military leadership with a purpose not to subordinate the ongoing planning process but just to suggest a method for progression.

Recommendation 1 In states like India, quality research work is being carried out only by a few clusters15 on various emerging technologies. However, no harmonisation of this work is being done to use it for strategic requirements. Though the expertise is available and various projects are being undertaken, the knowledge is scattered in snippets in various laboratories and an attempt needs to be made to complete the ‘collage’ from a security perspective. There is a need to start the process of dialogue and coordination among scientists and policymakers to get maximum benefit out of the investments made in both civil and military sectors. This may not be an easy task, but it is more pertinent than ever before to address the various emerging threats.

Recommendation 2 Near Space technologies have shown a lot of promise. Particularly, for states like India that have no global military aspiration, a technology 15 This observation is made as a result of the author’s personal visits to a few of the reputed technological organisations within India and discussions with scientists and academicians.

Conclusion

191

is needed which can serve their limited purpose within the region and is a ‘suitable’ replacement for investment-intensive space technologies. Such relatively inexpensive vehicles flying in the Near Space environment could also complement satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles and could have immense utility for reconnaissance and communication applications. Such technologies, when fully developed, would also satisfy the ‘launch-on-demand’ necessity.

Recommendation 3 A revolution in nanotechnology has a potential to change the basic tenets of war-fighting. Currently the study of this technology falls in the realm of multidisciplinary research. The challenge in front of the military technocrats is to look for accomplishments of nanotechnology in various civilian fields and juxtapose them on military. This technology is still evolving and, for India, there has been a need to engage its military in the process of research, development and planning since the beginning. Currently, in India, a number of good works are being done in the area of aerogels. Military industry/DRDO needs to investigate it further for its military applicability.

Recommendation 4 Biotechnology brings out some amazing possibilities for military particularly in the area of sensor technology, biocomputing, protection of C4ISR and bioengineered materials. Medical applications of this technology have direct applicability for defence. Military medical community and civil medical community need to work together in this field. This could avoid duplication of work and would permit judicious utilisation of medical infrastructure and human resources.

Recommendation 5 Militaries are fuel guzzlers by design. For states like India overall energy requirements are bound to rise multifold in years to come. In such a scenario, military may think of investing in biofuels as an alternative source of energy. Available unused military land could be used to undertake biofuel related farming operations.

192 Strategic Technologies for the Military

Recommendation 6 Laser weapons and microwave weapons show a great promise as weapons of future. Indian defence establishment is working on various utilities of solid state and gas dynamic lasers. With its proven overall technological base, India could think of investing in various other important laserbased technologies. Space-based lasers (SBL) have utility in negating ballistic missiles and is also capable of performing a variety of other collateral missions. India with its ‘no first use’ (NFU) nuclear policy needs a robust mechanism to address issues related with its nuclear deterrence. India could invest in SBL to cater to its strategic needs in the region.

Recommendation 7 Current usage of military robots by India is mainly in the form of UAVs or for landmine/explosive search. India is one of the worst sufferers from terrorism in the recent past and has lost many of its soldiers and civilians in such conflicts. There is a need for India to invest in those techniques of robotics which would make them more autonomous from the point of view of replacing soldiers (to an extent) from terrorism-related operations and intelligence gathering.

Recommendation 8 There is a need to look at nanotechnology, information technology and biotechnology together for their military utility.

Recommendation 9 The technologies discussed in earlier chapters are going to be multidisciplinary and they would, in future, be found extensively both in civil and military areas. Considering the huge investments in civilian research, it would be wise for defence scientists to borrow the results of researches carried out in civilian areas so that the cost and performance benefits can be obtained in the most cost-effective way.

Recommendation 10 There is a need to develop a mechanism for healthy exchange of research and development ideas and outputs among the civil and military R&D

Conclusion

193

establishments. A nodal agency could be established to synergise the R&D efforts in various areas of technologies discussed here independently as well as in an integrated way.

Recommendation 11 Induction of various strategic technologies is going to pose a significant challenge to the arms control and disarmament regime. Proactive approach in this field will prove beneficial.

Select Bibliography

BOOKS Anderberg, Bengt and Myron Wolbarsht. 1992. Laser Weapons: The Dawn of a New Military Age. New York: Plenum Press. Basrur, Rajesh M. 2002. ‘Missile Defence and South Asia: An Indian Perspective’, in The Impact of US Ballistic Missile Defenses on Southern Asia, edited by Michael Krepon and Chris Gagne. Washington: Henry L. Stimson Center, Report No. 46. Beason, Doug. 2005. The E-Bomb: How America’s New Directed Energy Weapons will Change the Way Future Wars will be Fought. Cambridge: Da Capo Press. Buzan, Barry. 1987. An Introduction to Strategic Studies: Military Technology and International Relations. New York: St. Martin’s Press. —————. 1991. People States and Fear (2nd edn). Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Colorado. Clausewitz, Carl von. 1982. On War, translated by J.J. Graham. USA: Penguin Publications. Gomber, K.L. and K.L. Gogia. 2007. Fundamentals of Physics. Jalandhar: Pradeep Publications. Gopalakrishnan, K.V. 2003. Impact of Science and Technology on Warfare. New Delhi: National Book Trust. Hitz, C. Breck. 1985. Understanding Laser Technology. Oklahoma: PennWell Publishing Company. Kanji, Omario. 2003. ‘Security’, in Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess (eds), Beyond Intractability. Boulder: Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado. Kelin, John J. 2006. Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles and Policy. London: Routledge. Kepplinger, H.M. 1995. ‘Individual and Institutional Impact on Press Coverage of Sciences: The Case of Nuclear Power and Genetic Engineering in Germany’, in Martin Bauer (ed.), Resistance to New Technology. New York: Cambridge University Press. Lele, Ajey. 2006. Weather and Warfare. New Delhi: Lancer. Marshall, Samuel L. (ed.). 1968. Laser Technology and Applications. New York: McGrawHill. Mason, R.A. 1986. ‘War in the Third Dimension’, in Michael Armitage (ed.), Manned and Unmanned Aircraft. London: Brassey’s Defence Publishers.

Select Bibliography

195

Nair, K.K. 2006. Space the Frontiers of Modern Defence. New Delhi: Knowledge World. Preston, Robert, Dana J. Johnson, Sean J.A. Edwards, Michael D. Miller and Calvin Shipbaugh. 2002. Space Weapons: Earth Wars. Washington : Rand. Pruthi, R.K. (ed.). 2009. Robotic Warfare. Delhi: Prashant Publishing House. Rappert, Brian (ed.). 2007. Technology and Security: Governing Threats in the New Millennium. New York: Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. Roco, Mihail C. and William Sims Bainbridge (eds). 2004. Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science, US National Foundation. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Singer, P.W. 2009. Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and 21st Century Conflict. New York: Penguin. Steels, Luc. 2000. ‘The Artificial Life Roots of Artificial Intelligence’, in Ronald Chrisley (ed.), Artificial Intelligence, Volume III. London: Routledge. Townes, Charles H. 2003. ‘The First Laser’, in Laura Garwin and Tim Lincoln (eds), A Century of Nature: Twenty-One Discoveries that Changed Science and the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Tucker, Robert W. 1960. The Just War: A Study in Contemporary American Doctrine. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press.

ARTICLES Ackerman, Robert K. 2004. ‘Perception Guides the Future of Automatons’, Signal, 58(9): 43–44. Allen, Edward H. 2006. ‘The Case for ‘Near-Space’, Aerospace World, 44(2): 15. Anderberg, Bengt, Ove E. Bring and Myron L. Wolbarsht. 1992. ‘Blinding Laser Weapons and International Humanitarian Law’, Journal of Peace Research, 29(3): 287–97. —————. 1993. ‘Protection and Countermeasures against Laser Weapons’, Military Technologyi, 5(93): 26. Begley, D.L. 2002. ‘Free-space Laser Communications: A Historical Perspective’, Lasers and Electro-Optics Society, 2: 391–92. (LEOS 2002; The 15th Annual Meeting of the IEEE Publication, 10–14 November 2002). Beier, Marshall J. 2006. ‘Outsmarting Technologies: Rhetoric, Revolutions in Military Affairs, and the Social Depth of Warfare’, International Politics, 43(2): 271. Bigelow, David F. 2007. ‘Fast Forward to the Reboot Dilemma’, Air Force Journal: 19–20. Cebrowski, A.K. and J.W. Raymond. 2005. ‘Operationally Responsive Space: A New Defence Business Model’, Parameters, 35(2): 71. Davis, Daniel L. 2007. ‘Who decides: Man or Machine?’ Air Force Journal: 23–25. Dibb, Paul. 1997–98. ‘The RMA and Asian Security’, Survival, 39(4): 93–116. Drew, Dennis M. 2004. ‘The Essence of Aerospace Power: What Leaders Need to Know’, Air Power Journal, 1(1): 48–49. Dyer, Joseph W. 2007. ‘Robots Makes War More Survivable’, Air Force Journal: 27. Friedrich, Otto, Janice C. Simpson and Christopher Redman. 2007. ‘The Robot Revolution’, Time, 116(23): 4.

196 Strategic Technologies for the Military Fulghum, David A. 1999. ‘Microwave Weapons Await Future War’, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 150(3): 30. Gouveia W. Jr. 2005. ‘An Assessment of Anti-satellite Capabilities and Their Strategic Implications’, Astropolitics, 3(2): 175–76. Gray, Colin S. 2001. ‘The RMA and Intervention: A Sceptical View’, Contemporary Security Policy, 22(3): 52–65. Haffa, Robert P. Jr. and Robert E. Mullins. 2003. ‘Trends in America’s Post-Cold War Military Conflicts: The Implications for Sea Power’, The Navy League of the United States (July 2003). Available at http://www.navyleague.org/sea_power/jul_03_ 13.php. Herman, Mark. 1999. ‘Entropy-Based Warfare: Modeling the Revolution in Military Affairs’, JFQ (Autumn–Winter). Hewish, Mark. 2001. ‘Robots Form the Deep’, Jane’s International Defence Review, 34(5): 46. —————. 1997. ‘What lies ahead for lasers?’ Jane’s International Defence Review, 30(12): 38. Kenyon, Henry. 2006. ‘Israel Deploys Robot Guardians’, Signal, 62: 41–44. Kopp, Carlo Dr. 2006. ‘Directed Energy Weapons-Part I’, Defence Today, 2006: 56. Kumar, Punit. 2007. ‘Dawn of a New Revolution’, Science Reporter, 44(4): 39. Lawlor, Maryann. 2004. ‘Lobsters Populate Navy Robot Platter’, Signal, 58(9): 49–51. Lawson, James. 1983. ‘Technology for the Factory of the Future’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 470: 60. Lele, Ajey. 2005. ‘Pakistan’s Space Capabilities’, Airpower Journal, 2(1): 143, 148. Litton, Leonard G. 2007. ‘The Information Based RMA and the Principles of War’, Air Power Journal, 2(3): 163–67. MacRae, Catherine. 2001. ‘The Promise and Problems of Laser Weapons’, Air Force Magazine, 84(12): 70. Matheswaran, M. 1999. ‘RMA and Aerospace Technology (Part1)’, Air Power Journal, 2(2): 30–31. Merrett, Nicholas. 2007. ‘UAV Advancements for MOUT Roles’, Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter, 33(8): 58–62. Metz, S. 1999. ‘The Next Twist of the RMA’, Parameter, 30(3): 40–53. Mishra, Arvind. 2008. ‘Rip: Arthur C. Clarke’, Science Reporter, 45(5): 31. Raloff, J. 1983. ‘Major Milestone’ in Laser Weapons Tests’, Science News, 124(6): 85–86. Scott, William B. and Colorado Springs. 2005. ‘Near-Space Frontier’, Aviation Week and Space Technology 162(7): 72. Seet, Benjamin and Tien Yin Wong. 2001. ‘Military Laser Weapons: Current Controversies’, Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 8(4): 215–26. Shachtman, Noah. 2006. ‘Attack at the Speed of Light’, Aviation and Space, 1(3): 162. Starr, Barbara. 1997. ‘Airborne Laser Breaks through the Barriers’, Jane’s Defence Weekly, 28(10): 53. Stephens, Hampton. 2005. ‘Near-Space’, Air Force Magazine, 88(7): 36. Sullivan, Richard. 1998. ‘Assuming the Offensive: The Laser Threat on the 21st Century Battlefield’, Jane’s Intelligence Review, 10(2): 42. Sweetman, Bill. 2006. ‘High-power Microwave Weapons—Full Power Ahead?’, Jane’s Defence Weekly, 43(34): 23–26. Tellis, Ashley. 2007. ‘China’s Space Weapons’, The Wall Street Journal, 33.

Select Bibliography

197

Thibault, Jennifer. 2005. ‘Developing the Near Frontier’, Military Aerospace Technology 4(3). Available at http://www.military-aerospace-technology.com/article cfm?DocID=1210 (accessed on 12 September 2007). Tomme, Lt Col Ed ‘Mel’ and Col Sigfred J. ‘Ziggy’ Dahl. 2005. ‘Balloons in Today’s Military?’ Air & Space Power Journal, XIX(4). Available at www.airpower.maxwell. af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj05/win05/tomme.html. Tyagi, S.P. (Air Chief Marshal). 2006. ‘Indian Air Force in the Evolving Security Environment’, Defence Digest (2006): 6–7. Vago, Muradian. 2006. ‘China Attempted to Blind U.S. Satellites with Laser’, Defense News, 21 (37) (25 September 2006). Available at http://www.defensenews.com/ story.php?F=2125489 (accessed on 11 December 2007). Webb, Michael. 1983. ‘The Robots Are Here! The Robots Are Here!’ Design Quarterly, 121: 6–7. Witt, Mike. 1994. ‘Lasers in Defence’, Asian Defence Journal, 8 (24): 61–63. Yun, Tang. 2003. ‘India Dreams of Being a Space Giant’, Beijing Review, 46(6): 16. III-Vs Review. 2004. ‘The Undoubted Ladar Market Promise’, III-Vs Review, August, 17(6): 9. Military Technology. 2006. ‘Bridging the Gaps in Military Robotics’, Military Technology, November, 30(11): 34.

CONFERENCE PAPERS Heinrichs, R.M., B.F. Aull, D.G. Fouche, R. Hatch, A.K. Mclntosh, R.M. Marino, M.E. O’Brien, G. Rowe and J.J. Zayhowski. 2003. ‘3-D Laser Radar Development with Arrays of Photon-Counting Detectors’, Paper presented at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO apos), Baltimore, Maryland, 1–6 June 2003. Miasnikov, Eugene. 2004. ‘Threat of Terrorism Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Technical Aspects’, Paper presented at the Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, MIPT, Dolgo-prudny, June 2004. Nye, J.S., Jr. 1988. ‘Problems of Security Studies’, Paper presented at the XIV World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Washington, 1988. Richard L. Garwin. 2003. ‘Space Weapons: Not Yet’, Paper presented at Pugwash Workshop on Preserving the Non-Weaponization of Space, Castellón de la Plana, Spain, 22–24 May 2003. Rodriguez, E. 2008. ‘The Concept of International Security’, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the ISA’s 49th Annual Convention, Bridging Multiple Divides, Hilton San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Available at http://www.allacademic.com/ meta/p251184_index.html.

WORKING PAPERS Bunker, Robert J. (ed.). 1996. ‘Nonlethal Weapons: Terms and References’, INSS Occasional Paper 15, USAF Institute for National Security Studies, USAF Academy, Colorado. Expert Group. 2004. ‘Foresighting the New Technology Wave’, State of the Art Reviews and Related Papers, 14 June 2004.

198 Strategic Technologies for the Military Fransman, Martin. 1991. ‘Biotechnology: Generation, Diffusion and Policy’, UNU/ INTECH Working Paper No. 1, United Nations University, The Netherlands, June 1991. Matsumura, John, Randall Steeb and Paul Steinberg. 2002. ‘Preparing for Future Warfare with Advanced Technologies’, Issue Paper, Rand, Santa Monicaet passium, 2002. Schardl, Tao B. 2007. ‘An Assessment of the Airborne Laser’, MIT, 12 December 2007. Walling, Eileen M. 2000. ‘High Power Microwaves’, Occasional Paper No. 11, Center for Strategy and Technology Air War College Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, May 2000.

NEWSPAPERS St. Petersburg Times The Economist The Hindu The Times of India The Washington Times

WEB SOURCES http:// www.hobbyspace.com http://www.afa.org/magazine http://aln.list.ufl.edu http://archives.cnn.com http://blog.wired.com http://catless.ncl.ac.uk http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org http://cse.stanford.edu http://en.wikipedia.org http://english.aljazeera.net http://english.people.com http://frontierindia.net http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu http://inventors.about.com http://mitpress.mit.edu http://news.bbc.co.uk http://publik.tuwien.ac http://spectech.bravepages.com http://usmilitary.about.com http://whatis.techtarget.com http://www.aeragon.com http://www.airforce-technology.com http://www.armedforces-int.com http://www.army.cz

Select Bibliography http://www.army.mil/fcs http://www.aviationweek.com http://www.beyondintractability.org http://www.boeing.com http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com http://www.defensenews.com http://www.designation-systems.net http://www.drdo.org http://www.engadget.com http://www.exn.ca http://www.fas.org http://www.foxnews.com http://www.geocities.com http://www.gizmag.com http://www.globalsecurity.org http://www.hrw.org http://www.iai.csic.es http://www.icltd.org http://www.icrc.org http://www.isrjournal.com http://www.janes.com http://www.lasershot-military.com http://www.mindcontrolforums.com http://www.mindfully.org http://www.nautilus.org http://www.navy.mil www.newscientist.com http://www.optech.ca http://www.orbitalvector.com http://www.pcmag.com http://pogoarchives.org http://www.popsci.com http://www.popularmechanics.com http://www.publicbroadcasting.net http://www.qualitydigest.com http://www.raytheon.com http://www.redherring.com http://www.sciencedaily.com http://www.sinodefence.com http://www.space.com http://www.spacedaily.com http://www.spacewar.com http://www.spawar.navy.mil http://www.strategycenter.net http://www.technovelgy.com http://www.telegraph.co.uk http://www.thespacereview.com

199

200 Strategic Technologies for the Military http://www.ucsusa.org http://www.um-mrp.org http://www.wnd.com https://www.clayandiron.com

Index

ABL. See airborne laser (ABL) action–reaction syndrome, 6 active denial system (ADS), 104 ADS. See active denial system (ADS) aerogels, 125 aerostiers, 29 Afghanistan conflict, 31 AI. See artificial intelligence (AI) airborne laser (ABL), 80, 86–90 air-breathing intelligence surveillancereconnaissance aircraft, 30 air-support missions, 30 Alpha LAMP Integration (ALI) programme, 92 ambient intelligence (AmI) concept, 176 defence applicability of, 178 definition, 168, 175 key technologies of, 176–77 AmI. See ambient intelligence (AmI) AN/PAQ-1 laser target designator (LTD), 78 anthrax attacks, 144 anti-personnel weapons, 81 anti-satellite (ASAT) test, 20, 94–96 AN/TVQ-2 ground/vehicular laser locator designator (G/VLLD), 78 ApNano materials, 127 arms race, 3, 138 artificial intelligence (AI) applications in defence forces, 175 research on, 177 artificial satellite, 19

ASAT. See anti-satellite (ASAT) test Asimov’s laws of robotics, 67 first law, 46 augmented cognition, 170–71 ‘augmented cognition programme’, 173 bacteria, 165 BAE Systems, 105 ballistic missile capabilities, 40 ballistic missile defence (BMD), 37, 86 ballistic missile programmes, 91 balloon technology, 29 batteries, passive regeneration of, 35 beacon illuminator laser (BILL), 88 BILL. See beacon illuminator laser (BILL) biocomputing, military applications of, 155–56 biodefence, 121–22, 151 biological agents, 143 real-time environmental detectors for, 151 Biological Toxic Weapon Convention (BTWC), 135, 136, 142, 151, 160, 162–63 biological warfare, 145 biological weapon production, 147 biology and battle-field, connection between, 141 bioprocess technology, 141 bio-safety level-4 labs, 148 biotechnological weapons, 152 biotechnology, 8, 11, 13, 16, 122 advancements in, 150

202 Strategic Technologies for the Military application, 141 and biodefence, 150–52 for bioweapons/bioterrorism. See bioweapons/bioterrorism, biotechnology for defence utility potential, 139, 189–90 definition, 139, 140 and disarmament, 161–64 genetic engineering and, 140, 143, 147 medical aspects of, 153–54 non-medical aspects of, 152 electronics and computing, 155–56 logistics, 154–55 revolution, 163 security dilemma posed by, 161–62 technologies related to, 140–41 bioterrorism, 121 bioweapons/bioterrorism, biotechnology for biological agents, 143, 146–48 chemical industry growth and, 145 disgruntled scientist, 144 economic interests, 149 microarrays, 146 non-lethal chemical/biological agents, 150 potential threats, 144 recombinant DNA technology, 142–43 bloodless wars, 10 BMD. See ballistic missile defence (BMD) bomb-disposing robot militia, 60 BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Limited (BATL), 61 BTWC. See Biological Toxic Weapon Convention (BTWC) BW programmes, 144 BW threat, 147 calm technology, 177 Cameo Bluejay, 82 CARTOSAT-2 and CARTOSAT-2, 38 cell, 165 cell fusion technology, 140 chemical biological radiological nuclear explosive (CBRNE), 126 chemical incapacitants, 145 chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL), 87

China anti-satellite (ASAT) test, 20 bomb-disposing robot militia deployment, 60 developing and selling of blinding laser weapons, 83 funds for nanotech research, 132 HPM weapon technologies, 106 and India, laser programme, 96–99 in laser technology, 95 robotic technology transfer, 62 warfare programmes, 95 Chinese satellite laser ranging (SLR) stations, 96 chromosomes, 166 C4ISR systems, 155 close air-support (CAS) missions, 34 Cobra, 82, 83 cognition augmented, 170–71 definition, 169 cognitive neuroscience, 170 cognitive sciences, 168–69 cognitive technology augmented cognition, 170–71 computerised language technology, 171 definition, 169 digital imaging techniques, 171 and human cognition, 170 integration with other technologies, 170 military applicability of EEG sensors, 173 intelligent systems, 172 military training, 172 warfighter’s cognitive state understanding, 172–73 progress in, 169–170 universal access for situationally induced impairments, 171 COIL. See chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) CO2 laser, 76, 78, 79 Cold War, 6, 20 collaborative robotics, 53–54 Combat SkySat, 32, 33 combinational chemistry, 146

Index command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), 9, 10, 137 communication technology, 5 computerised language technology, 171 conflict Afghanistan/Iraq, 51 escalation, danger of, 3 Falklands/Malvinas, 82 Kosovo, 20 Lebanon, 52 resolution, 1 continental ballistic missiles, 29 continuous wave lasers, 77 conventional satellites, 24, 28 conventional warfare scenario, 9 copycat syndromes, 6 costal radars, 31 cost–benefit analysis, 10 space systems vs. Near Space systems, 27–28 counter–counter measure tactics, 10 cyber-soldiers, 137 cyber wars, 10 DARPA. See Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Dazer, 82, 83 dazzling laser, 81 Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 31, 32, 58, 130 defence awareness levels, 6 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), 61 Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), 149 depleted-uranium (DU), 127 DEW. See directed energy weapons (DEW) digital imaging techniques, low vision, 171 digital signal processing (DSP), 79 directed energy weapons (DEW), 16, 72–74, 189 direct to home (DTH) television technology, 41 disarmament and biotechnology, 161–64

203

disaster monitoring, 26 DRDO. See Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) drug discovery processes, 146 DSP. See digital signal processing (DSP) DTRA. See Defence Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) earth remote sensing, 33 electrically pumped laser, 77 electromagnetic pulse weapons, 106 electro-optical devices, 80, 82 environmental concerns, 181 autonomous weapon systems, 186 fuel production, 184–85 genetically modified food crops, 185 global warming, 182 greenhouse gas levels, 184 nanotechnology, 183–84 Near Space technologies, 185–86 usage of military hardware, 183 wars, 182 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 131 enzymes, 166 EPA. See Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ESA. See European Space Agency (ESA) European Space Agency (ESA), 21 eximer laser, 76 eye damage by lasers, 81 Falklands/Malvinas conflict (1982), 82 FCS. See future combat systems (FCS) FEL. See free electron lasers (FEL) fibre optic cables, 91 flying aircrafts, 28 flying robot, 47 F-15 radars, 105 free electron lasers (FEL), 76 ‘functional foods’, 155 future combat systems (FCS), 59 GBL. See ground-based laser (GBL) gene, 165–66 gene technology, 166 genetic engineering, 10, 140, 147

204 Strategic Technologies for the Military geographic information systems (GIS) tools, 38 Global Hawk UAV, 22 globalisation, 3 Global Positioning System (GPS), 24, 50, 85 global security, 3 global war against terror, 9 global warming, 33 GPS. See Global Positioning System (GPS) GPS/INS guidance capabilities, 85 ground-based laser (GBL), 94, 95 ground forces, 30 Gulf War, 20, 48, 51, 84, 87 HARVe. See high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle (HARVe) helium-filled free-floating balloons, 31 HeNe (Helium–Neon) laser, 76 high-altitude aircraft, 22 high-altitude airship, 32 high-altitude airship platforms, 26 high-altitude balloons, 23, 30, 33, 34 See also weather balloons high-altitude communication balloons, 26 high altitude/long endurance (HALE) UAV, 60 high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle (HARVe), 25 high-energy lasers, 80 high power microwave (HPM) weapons, 103–05 high-tech sensors, 9 HPM technologies in China and Russia, 106 players from US defence industry, 105 HPM weapons, 103 human attention, managing, 171 Human Rights Watch Arms Project, 82 hydrazine, 125 hydrogen-filled balloon, 33 hydrogen fluoride laser, 95 IEDs. See improvised explosive devices (IEDs) improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 127

Indian Armed Forces, 7, 37, 38 Indian policy makers and military leadership, recommendations for biofuels, 191 civil and military R&D efforts, 192–93 laser weapons and microwave weapons, 192 military robots, 192 nanotechnology and biotechnology, 191 Near Space technologies, 190–91 quality research work, 190 strategic technologies, 193 Indian Space Programme, 36 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), 38 InfoCockpits, 172 information-based RMA, 9, 10 information technology, 5, 9, 11 information technology in military fields, 167 artificial intelligence, 173, 175 weapon delivery platforms, 174 INSAT 2B, 38 intelligence-gathering balloon, 35 intelligent user interface, 177 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), 71 International Space Station (ISS), 21 Internet, 2, 15, 16 Iraq war, 45 IR detectors, 93 IR lasers, 93 ISR platform, 25 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 26 JAXA. See Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Jianbing I (robot), 60 just war theory, 65 Kevlar, 127 KKV technology, 20 Kosovo conflict, 20 LADAR sensors, 79

Index laser action, components, 75 blinders, 83 disarmament and, 101–03 for military training purposes, 80 radar, 78 rangefinders, 77, 78 static, 83 technology in military, 77 and types, 74–77 as weapon, 80–86 laser-bearing small satellites, 93 Lasercom, 90 laser countermeasure system, 82 laser dazzle sight (LDS), 83 laser weapons, 74, 81 countermeasures against, 99–101 launcher technology, 21 LEO. See low Earth orbit (LEO) LEO satellites, 40 LIDAR, 79 liquid fuelled rockets, 29 lithium–iron batteries, 35 Lockheed Martin AN/VLQ-7 Stingray Combat Protection system, 84 Lockheed Martin, defence contractor, 32 logistical burdens, 33 long-distance communication, 30 low Earth orbit (LEO), 22, 27 low-orbiting satellite constellation, 34 low vision, simulation and enhancement of, 171 MANPADS. See man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS), 105 memory, combining human and digital, 170–71 micro- and nano-class satellites, 39 microelectronics, 5, 23, 40, 117 micromechanical engineering, 40 microwave links, 90 microwave precision-guided munitions, 106 microwave radars, 79 microwave self-protection pods, 106 microwave weapons, 103–06

205

See also high power microwave (HPM) weapons MIG-25, 38 military applicability of cognitive technology, 172 biotechnology utility in. See biotechnology communications, 20, 91 environment and global warming issues, 181 implications, of new technologies, 4 investments by nation-states China, 159–61 India, 161 US, 30–33, 158–59 medicine and biotechnology, 153–54 navigation, 20 NT with limited utility, 134 planning, 6, 28 robotics industry, 58 space lasers, 90–96 strategy, 8 systems, 10 technologies, 5, 9, 12 technologists, 33 military–biology relationship, 139 military leadership, 174 military robotic technology, 189 military technology, induction of, 181 modern day platform technologies, 14 modern day weapons, 72 molecular nanotechnology, 10, 114 moletronics, 119 Moon Treaty, 135 Morphing Project, 126 multifunction utility/logistics equipment (MULE) vehicle, 60 multi-spectral imaging missions, 30 mutation, 166 nanocrsytalline tungsten-titanium diboride-copper composite, 125 nanofabrication, 117 nanomaterials, 119, 125 Nanomaterials Science & Technology Mission (NSTM), 134

206 Strategic Technologies for the Military nanorobots, 60 nanotechnology (NT), 8, 11, 57, 111, 189 applications and human health, 135 applications in space and defence, 124–27 CNT polymer composite actuator, 126 detection of CBRNE, 126 inorganic tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes, 127 Morphing programme, 126 to use dual-beam (REPAS) technology, 127 use of DU penetrators, 127 basic concept of, 115 cost reduction potential, 111 current status of, 116–18 definition of, 112–13 dual-use, 115 for high explosive materials, 128 impact, on future space technologies, 124 manufacturing output, 111 military investments in, 129–34, 133 Department of Biotechnology, funding in, 134 DRDO, role in, 134 funding, 131 in health-related NT patents, 133 Japan and China, investment, 132 NSTI, India formally launched, 134 NSTM, initiation, 134 NT-related projects, 132 NT Research and Development Act, 132 Russian Armed Force, to invest in, 133 US military investments, monitoring, 133 military usage enabled electronic systems, 120 in field of electronics, computers and, 119–21 limitation, 121 mobile instruments, 121 sensors, made from nanocrystalline materials, 120 WMD sensing, 118

as new frontier in biodefence, 121 preventative arms control measures in, 135 sensors for ionospheric imbalances, 129 utility in maritime arena, 122–24 voluntary code of conduct in field of, 137 nanotubes, 116 National Missile Defense (NMD) programme, 86 national security, 2, 23 controls on international transfer of technology and, 136 nation-states biological security dilemma of, 162 biotechnology utility in military operations. See biotechnology military investments China, 159–61 India, 161 US, 158–59 NBIC technologies, 16, 174 Nd : YAG lasers, 78 Nd : YVO4 laser, 99 Near Space collisions, 35 Near Space crafts, 30 cost of system and existing proposals, 27 drawback of, 35 prototype, 33 radar and multi-spectral imaging missions, 30 secure method for carrying, 24 uncontrolled landing, 35 without metal, 32 Near Space funding, 32 Near Space logistical supply units, 31 Near Space platforms, 40 duel-use utility, 42 durability, 27 potential for, 30 utility, 24 utility for militaries, 33 Near Space technologies, 22, 25, 39, 185, 188 benefits, 28, 33 potential for military utility, 42

Index Near Space tools, 41 Near Space vehicles, 33 vulnerability of, 34 Near Space ventures, 32 net centric warfare (NCW), 37 neurobiology, 170 new technologies, 11 Nishant, 61 non-lethal biological agents as incapacitants, 162 Non-lethal chemical/biological agents, 150 non-lethal weapons, 81 non-military threats, 33 Northrop Grumman, 105 NT. See nanotechnology (NT) nuclear activities, of monitoring, 20 nuclear science, 11 nuclear weapons, 128–29 OAV. See organic air vehicle (OAV) operation desert storm, 64 optically pumped laser, 77 organic air vehicle (OAV), 60 outer space treaty, 36 Outrider, 82 ozone, 34 Pakistani Taliban, 31 pathogens, dual-use nature of, 148 PAVE. See precision avionics vectoring equipment (PAVE) Perseus, 82 Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response (PHaSR) system, 85 photoelectric sensors, 93 photolithography, 119 PNLD. See portable nonlethal dazzlers (PNLD) polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 166 portable nonlethal dazzlers (PNLD), 99 post-Cold War era, 8, 20 post-World War II, 29 Potok, 86 precision avionics vectoring equipment (PAVE), 85 preventive arms control, precedents for, 135

207

ProAlcool programme, 184 Project Alpha, 59 protein-based electronics, 156 protein microarrays, 146 pulsed lasers, 77 Raytheon, 105 rDNA. See recombinant DNA technology (rDNA) recombinant DNA ‘designer’ weapons, 147 recombinant DNA technology (rDNA), 140 concerns with regard to developments in, 149 regional/global military balance, 135 regional security, 2 remotely operated vehicle (ROV), 61 reverse photo-acoustic spectrometer (REPAS) technology, 127 revolution in military affairs (RMA), 6–7, 157 RMA. See revolution in military affairs (RMA) RMA-led C4ISR, 10 RMA technologies, 7 robot, 45 companies, 47 dilemma, 63–66 and military, relationship, 47 in wars, 50–53 robotic equipment, 46 robotic soldiers, 61 robotic technology, 45 militarisation of, 67 for military purposes, 60 understanding of, 45 rocket technology, 29 Russia anti-satellite high-energy laser devices, 95 and China, matching up with US expertise, 138 investments depletion, 21 and Israeli technology, 98 laser anti-satellite technology, 95 NT-based materials and systems for, 132

208 Strategic Technologies for the Military radio-frequency microwave weapons, 106 Stream weapon, 86 Saber 203, 82 Sanders AN/PLQ-5 Laser countermeasures set (LCMS), 84 Saryshagan, 95 SASSA. See self awareness space situation awareness (SASSA) satellite, 19 CARTOSAT-1, 38 programmes, 41 technologies, 21, 29 type services, 32 scientific balloons, 23 SDI. See strategic defense initiative (SDI) security agreements with US, 91 Asimov’s understanding about, 45 checkpoint, 52 definition, 1 energy, 11 environmental, 11 group level, 2 individual level, 2 investment in space technologies for, 38 long-term plan of action designed to, 11 natural disasters and marred by internal, 41 policies, 3 space dependence for, 28 and technology, 4 self awareness space situation awareness (SASSA), 96 sensor platform, 32 sensor technologies, 21 short-range rockets, 29 Sino–Russian relationship, 98 situationally induced impairments, universal access for, 171 small UAV (SUAV), 60 social autonomy, 3 social scientists, 4 society changes, 5 Soldier UGV (SUGV), 60

solid-state lasers, 76, 82 See also laser space based laser (SBL) platform, 92 space-borne threat, 37 space capabilities, 41 space command, 32 space science, 21 space technologies, 11, 19 for military-aid, 20 space weather forecasting, 129 static lasers, 83 stealth technologies, 9 Stingray, 82 strategic defense initiative (SDI), 86 strategic technologies, 11, 13 Stratosphere Platform Project, 26 Stream, 86 stronger states, creation of, 3 structural NT, 114 sub-orbital rockets, 23 TAC. See tactical autonomous combatant (TAC) tactical autonomous combatant (TAC), 59 tactical battle area, 39 tactical laser weapons, 80 technological instruments, 4 technology, 180 BT. See biotechnology civilian and military R&D, 180–81 cognitive. See cognitive technology delivering success from, 188 environmental concerns associated with, 181 autonomous weapon systems, 186 fuel production, 184–85 genetically modified food crops, 185 global warming, 182 greenhouse gas levels, 184 nanotechnology, 183–84 Near Space technologies, 185–86 usage of military hardware, 183 wars, 182 growth of, 187 induction of military, 181 investments in research and development of, 187–88

Index military robotic, 189 prophecy, 188–90 validation, 13 telecommunications, 26 tele-operated systems, 46 terra firma, 35 terrorism, 3, 41 See also bioterrorism terror robots, 62–63 See also robot thermal damage, 93 tissue engineering technology, 154 Tools of modern day war-fighting, 4 track illuminator laser (TILL), 88 trade wars, 3 Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI), 149 transformational technologies, 14 UAV. See unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) UAV mountable system, 79 ubiquitous communication, 176–77 ubiquitous computing, 176–78 UCAVs. See unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) UGVs. See unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) UK Royal Navy, 82 underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs), 47 unfailing standoff weapons, 7 United States Missile Defence Agency, 32 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), 15, 47 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), 15, 47, 106

209

unmanned effects, 59 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), 47 US invasion of Afghanistan, 20 US mid-infrared advanced chemical laser (MIRACL) design, 97 US military test missile warning systems, 32 US national nanotechnology initiative (NNI), 130 US special operations command (USSOCOM) missions, 83 UUVs. See underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs) vaccine development and production, 151 virus, 165 war, concept of, 2 war-fighting, 12 war-waging, 4 mechanisms, 6 weak states, 2 weaponisation, 144 of space, 20, 90 weapons like guide bombs, 80 weapon technology, 14 weather balloons, 23 weather surveillance, 32 World War I, 47, 50 World War II, 29, 50, 51, 72, 112 worldwide communications, 30 X-ray lasers, 76 zeroth law, 45 ZM-87 neodymium laser blinder, 99

About the Author

Wing Commander Ajey Lele is currently a Research Fellow with Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. His research interests include Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Space Security and Strategic Technologies. He is a post graduate in Physics as well as Defence and Strategic Studies. He has obtained PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has authored two books titled Bio-Weapons: The Genie in the Bottle (2004) and Weather and Warfare (2006). He has also contributed articles to reputed journals, websites and newspapers.