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Case Study

Special Forces Complete Sensory Telemetry Demonstration

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Overview

Special Forces Group hosted an advanced technology demonstration at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO. The demonstration deployed a team of hyper-enabled operators equipped with expanded situational awareness through a range of technology solutions spanning personnel, vehicle, and asset data. It was conducted in a limited-to-no-connectivity environment alongside a real-time digital twin of the operational environment. A Plum Case was deployed as part of the solution to provide connectivity to a private LTE network.

About

Wes Drake served in the United States Army for over twenty years, twelve of which were spent on Special Operations assignments. During his military career, he served as a Telecommunications Chief focused on deploying various types of communications. Now in the public sector, he works as a Department of Defense Solutions Architect. With an extensive background in implementing mission-critical communications, if there is a communication challenge, Wes is the person who will find a solution.

Challenge

Special operations teams often move into environments where existing network connectivity is limited or absent, yet the mission depends on having a clear picture of the target before anyone steps inside. Delivering that picture means moving large volumes of sensor, personnel, vehicle, and asset data in real time, and no single vendor provides every piece. The needed capabilities sit across several complementary companies. The demonstration set out to answer a direct question: could a private cellular network stand up in a disconnected environment and carry complete sensory telemetry to a command center, so operators could rehearse an extraction before executing it?

My current role centers around enabling the DoD to access their network in a range of scenarios and locations across the world. To this end, I started reaching out to all sorts of companies that provide solutions in the communication space. Reflecting on my military experience, combined with my current role, I made the connection that these disparate companies might combine efforts to create true end-to-end solutions. I proposed a joint effort to lead ourselves to programs of record because together these companies can address broader challenges which better serve the DoD, the participating companies, and most importantly, can improve the survivability of our military operatives. My approach is to coordinate end-to-end demonstrations for military and Special Forces groups to demonstrate the value of these complementary solutions to better position the consortium members to earn business from DoD and large military and government institutions.
Wes Drake, Public Sector DoD Solutions Architect

Solution

We designed an exercise to provide complete sensory telemetry capability across a private cellular network. The demonstration was for a Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson where operatives, using VR goggles, were able to practice an extraction mission. To map the environment, we used LIDAR-equipped drones to create a real-time 3D digital twin of the target location. The data was transmitted through Plum Cases to a mobile command center where the operatives could virtually walk through the building and virtually execute the extraction plan.
These operatives, about to embark on the operation for the first time, had full situational awareness. They had walked through the target building and knew the locations of the stairs, windows, and doors. In this demonstration, we simulated the extraction by placing 12 people in a subterranean tunnel. We were able to map out those people and show the assault force exactly where they were located for the operation. These edge-computing capabilities are becoming increasingly important in the modern battlespace to survive and maintain decisive overmatch against increasingly tech-savvy adversaries.

Outcome

In the span of two days, we demonstrated a complete sensory telemetry capability in a “cellular bubble” and transmitted vital personnel, vehicle, and asset data to an overarching Hybrid C2 Integration and Management Platform, both static and mobile, for comprehensive situational awareness with full ATAK compatibility. Key highlights included creating a real-time digital twin of the environment, allowing the operators to virtually run through the target objective. The Plum Cases were an integral part of the network topology needed to make the operation successful.