Squad X uses unmanned vehicles to improve situational awareness for infantry

The first test of DARPA’s Squad X Experimentation program demonstrated the ability to extend and enhance the situational awareness of infantry squads. In a weeklong test series at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif., Marine squads improved their ability to synchronize maneuvers and provide intelligence gathering. They did this by using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to detect threats from several domains — physical, electromagnetic, and cyber — as the squads moved through field exercises. Squad X provides Army and Marine infantrymen with unmanned systems equipped with off-the-shelf technologies and sensing tools developed via DARPA’s Squad X Core Technologies program. Technologies aim to increase situational awareness and lethality to engage the enemy quickly and at long ranges.