Meeting New Challenges: Advanced Materials Aid the Army's ...

James W. McCauleyWeapons and Materials Research DirectorateUS Army Research LaboratoryAberdeen Proving Ground, MDINTRODUCTIONAs threats to the United States become more asymmetric, theUS Army is transforming itself by adapting its operationalstrategies to better protect the Nation. In The Way Ahead – OurArmy at War – Relevant and Ready,[1] General Peter J.Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the United States Army lays out avision of a more relevant and ready Army. This vision is groundedin the Army’s longstanding core competency, i.e., trainingand equipping soldiers and growing leaders, and providing“relevant and ready land power capability.” The Way Aheadclearly articulates that the Army must transform for operationsdifferent from those it has been traditionally structured to face.In order to defeat new threats such as the largely transnationalterrorist organizations with worldwide infrastructure, resourcesand sponsors, a “capabilities-based modular, flexible and rapidlyemployable Joint-Army team” capable of controlling the battlefieldand dominating the enemy is required.[1] This articlehighlights the role of advanced materials in the Army’s transformation,and the challenges inherent in developing and implementatingof new materials in combat systems.Cross-cutting characteristics of Army transformationinclude responsiveness, deployability, agility, versatility, lethality,survivability, and sustainability. These characteristics fullysupport the “Future Joint Force Attributes”[2] to achieve“Full Spectrum Dominance.” On-going capability gap analysesare being carried out for the Current and Future Force byTRADOC, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command.In many, if not most of the cross-cutting characteristicsand identified gaps, new and improved materials used in innovativedesigns offer significantly enhanced, and in someFuture Joint Force Attributes➢ Fully Integrated➢ Expeditionary➢ Networked➢ Decentralized➢ Adaptable➢ Decision Superior➢ Lethalapplications, revolutionarycapabilities. Advanced materialsare the enabling underpinningfor the evolutionaryimprovement of the CurrentForce, as well as for the revolutionaryinvention of weaponsystems for the Future Force.However, as suggested inAlternative Approaches to Army Transformation,[3] the tradeoffson mobility, survivability, and lethality that result from“reducing the weight of single platforms presents the greatestchallenge to transformation.” Advanced materials and structures,incorporating multi-functionality, can significantlyimprove Army capabilities by providing lighter weight,stronger and more durable materiel but not without additionalchallenges.[3]CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTINGADVANCED MATERIALSThroughout human existence, people have used natural (e.g.stone arrow heads) and synthetic (e.g. steel Samurai swords)materials as means of preserving their security. In these twoexamples, the importance of the materials used in the weaponswas obvious and visible. As weapon platforms have becomemore complex, it has become increasingly more difficult toappreciate the importance of materials to the performance andcapabilities of the system. All engineering systems require certainmaterial properties for performance. As a result of thiscomplexity, materials decisions become further removed fromtotal system decisions, as illustrated in Figure 1. Thus, it isextremely difficult for materials scientists and engineers to convincethe decision makers at the component and full systemlevels of the advantages of advanced materials technology withoutextensive data bases and prototype experiences.MaterialElementComponentPlant/PlatformSubsystemFigure 1. Scale Progression of the Composition of a System[4].8The AMPTIAC Quarterly, Volume 8, Number 4