RECORD VERSION STATEMENT BY DR. A. FENNER MILTON DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND ACQUISITION BEFORE THE MILITARY PROCUREMENT SUBCOMMITTEE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ARMY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM RESPONSE TO THE LANDMINE THREAT IN BOSNIA NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY DR. A. FENNER MILTON Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army Dr. Milton was appointed to his present position in July 1995. He is responsible for the Army's entire Science and Technology program, spanning 21 laboratories and research, development and engineering centers, with approximately 10,000 scientists/engineers and an annual budget of $1.4 billion. He is also the principal scientific advisor to both the Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Secretary of the Army Research, Development and Acquisition. He came to the Pentagon in September 1990 as the Director for Technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research, Development and Acquisition. In that position he managed the office that prepares the Army's Science and Technology program inputs to OSD and Congress and oversaw the Army's Exploratory Development (6.2) and Advanced Concept and Technology Demonstration (ACTD) programs. Before coming to the Pentagon, Dr. Milton spent 5 years as the manager of the Electro-Optics Laboratory of the General Electric Company in Syracuse, New York. There, he developed semiconductor components for passive infrared sensors and laser systems and conducted demonstrations of advanced sensor concepts. In particular, InSb and MCT IR focal plane arrays were delivered to IR search and track and missile threat warning programs. In 1984 and 1985, Dr. Milton was Vice President for Policy and Operations of the Roosevelt Center for American Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. At this privately funded public policy research institute he managed studies associated with Space Defense and the Federal Deficit. Prior to 1984, Dr. Milton was the Branch Head of the Electro-Optics Technology Branch of the Optical Science Division at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C. At NRL, Dr. Milton's research interests included integrated optics, fiber optics, IR focal plane arrays, clutter rejection signal processing and laser countermeasure systems. After receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University, Dr. Milton worked from 1963 to 1971 as a member of the technical staff of the Science and Technology Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) where he conducted theoretical research in semiconductor physics and advised ARPA concerning IR sensor and high energy laser programs. Dr. Milton serves as Chairman of the National Infrared Information Symposium (IRIS) and has published extensively concerning integrated optics and focal plane arrays. He is also principal author of Making Space Defense Work; Must the Superpowers Cooperate, a technical and policy analysis of strategic defense, published by Pergamon-Brassey in 1989. Mr. Chairmen and members of the Committees, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the Army's countermine Science and Technology (S&T) program. It is a privilege for me to represent the Army leadership and the men and women in the Army science and technology community. I will provide an overview, while BG Beauchamp of the Army Materiel Command will provide the programmatic details. BG Beauchamp is leading a technology integration cell that is examining the applicability of all levels of countermine technology to our challenges in Bosnia. He will discuss the support we are providing to our forces in the field. Because mine warfare is a casualty producer at all levels of conflict, we have protected our countermine science and technology investment in this era of declining resources. Our S&T investment includes research, exploratory development and advanced development, including a Joint Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration. The multiplicity of the threat, the infinite variety of employment options and range of environmental conditions serves to make land countermine one of the most difficult challenges we face. We firmly believe that no single technology will provide the answer. Only a system-of-systems solution will provide adequate capability. To that end, the Army has taken steps to concentrate its technology development efforts at the Countermine Division of the Communications-Electronics Command, where an integrated, mission-oriented approach is being pursued. This avoids compartmentalization by technology. The Countermine Division is part of the Night Vision and Electronics Sensors Directorate, so that this group has easy access to the most sophisticated sensor technology for the particularly important mine detection and neutralization problem. Dr. David Heberlein, who heads this Division, is here today to help answer questions. Other Army research and development centers and laboratories are called upon to provide component technology support. The Countermine Division is, however, responsible for determining the applicability of these technologies, those provided by other Services and Agencies, and those developed specifically for demining or unexploded ordnance removal to the countermine problem. This is important, because at the basic technology level, these efforts often overlap. Dr. Heberlein is also responsible for the execution of the Congressional special interest program in technology applicable to humanitarian demining, in support of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD/SOLIC). Mr. John Reingruber of ASD/SOLIC is here today to discuss humanitarian demining. The Army S&T program in land countermine has always been closely coupled to that of the United States Marine Corps (USMC). This has involved a number of jointly funded efforts and joint evaluations. For example, the Army and the USMC have jointly funded the Off-Route Smart Mine Clearance Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) and the Vehicle-Mounted Mine Detection ATD. Because of these circumstances, the Army is particularly pleased to participate in the Joint Countermine Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) which is seeking a system-of-systems countermine solution and ties us even more closely to USMC and Navy efforts. Within the countermine technology program, we also closely track the unexploded ordnance (UXO) efforts being pursued by the Army Environmental Center in conjunction with the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division. While this work is for a quite different application than mine detection and neutralization, our close interaction assures that promising UXO technology can be evaluated for use in the countermine program. The Army S&T countermine program has been particularly successful in that it has transitioned important technologies to the Project Manager, Mines, Countermine, and Demolitions for formal development. For example, the Standoff Airborne Detection ATD transitioned in FY92 to the Airborne Standoff Mine Detection System (ASTAMIDS) demonstration and validation program. The Explosive Neutralization technology demonstration transitioned in August 1994 to the Explosive Standoff Minefield Breacher demonstration and validation program. In FY95, the successful demonstration of the handheld Close-In Man-Portable Mine-Detection transitioned to the Handheld Standoff Mine Detection System (HSTAMIDS) demonstration and validation program development program. The transition of these successful technology efforts into formal development will enable to Army to put significant new capability into our operational forces. I am joined here today by my colleague BG Beauchamp of the Army Materiel Command. We will provide additional information on the countermine program during the course of our testimony this afternoon. |