The Sensci Battle Damage Reporting System (BDRS) is a small compact module designed to be transported with the weapon whose results it reports. This will be the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM). It will provide an unprecedented capability to the commander to know with confidence the effect of his strike mission. Housed in a small cylinder are a parachute, battery, sensor suite, sensor processor, transmitter and antenna. These are deployed as the TLAM begins its final attack. After ejection, the parachute holds the sensor suite aloft long enough to make before--and--after observations of the target area. These are analyzed by the sensor processor, and the results are transmitted to a satellite, and thence to the commander. Once the BDRS lands, it continues to report, thus providing additional intelligence. Future growth to a powered system to replace the parachute is described. The multi-sensor suite is selected to be synergetic, with the strength of one sensor complementing the weakness of another. This will ensure maximum performance in a small expendable package. The BDRS design described here will support the TLAM, but can be modified to serve a number of other military weapons systems. There is a critical requirement for battle damage assessment for all branches of the military services. Bomb Damage Assessment Bomb damage assessment (BDA) determines whether or not the objective of a strike mission has been met. This is undertaken not merely to satisfy a commander's curiosity about what damage has been inflicted upon an enemy. The information collected through a successful BDA effort provides a military commander not only with a critical measure of the effectiveness of his or her forces, but it is also required for the commander to decide whether or not it is necessary to strike a target a second time. If a restrike is not needed, forces avoid unnecessary risks and a military commander makes the most efficient use of assets. There are a variety of technologies that promise better ways of performing BDA. Some exist or will exist, in certain weapons that provide, in essence, instant BDA, by transmitting live pictures of the targets they are striking, such as the future Tactical Tomahawk or the Stand-off Land Attack Missile - Extended Range (SLAM-ER). Other imagery that is useful for performing BDA is video imagery provided during laser-guided bomb engagements. Another technology that offers the promise of improved BDA is the unmanned air vehicle (UAV). Work remains before it is decisively proven that such craft can effectively shoulder the BDA mission. It does not seem likely that a UAV will be capable of accompanying a Tomahawk mission, so it probably is moot for our purposes. Until then, the bulk of BDA will still be performed by manned reconnaissance systems for the foreseeable future. There are three general classes of targets that require timely and assured BDA. First are targets associated with weapons of mass destruction whose destruction must be guaranteed. Second are high-value targets whose destruction must clearly be accounted for before moving into an operation's next stages. Third, there are select targets of special military, diplomatic or media interest to the National Command Authority. "Near real-time BDA is considered very important as a weapon/force multiplier. The National Command Authority's increasing desire to 'calibrate' strike operations and the need to fight the public perception war on CNN makes this arguably the most important capability on the list," --Naval Strike Forum member. The Battle Damage Reporting System can be adapted to provide real-time BDA for a variety of weapons systems from missiles to artillery and naval guns. Its ability to travel with the mission provides a unique capability to be at the exact location needed at the time the strike takes place.
Keywords: Battle Damage Assessment; Battle Damage Indication; Tomahawk; Cruise,Missile; Tlam; Bomb Damage Assessment; Bomb Damage Indication
