Report on Human Factors Issues Likely to Affect Air-Launched Effects

This report reviews human factors research on the supervision of multiple unmanned vehicles (UVs) as it affects human integration with Air-Launched Effects (ALE).

U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Analysis Center, Fort Novosel, Alabama

Air-Launched Effects (ALEs) are a concept for operating small, inexpensive, attritable, and highly autonomous unmanned aerial systems that can be tube launched from aircraft. Launch from ground vehicles is planned as well, although Ground-Launched Effects are not yet a requirement. ALEs are envisioned to provide “reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition (RSTA), and lethality with an advanced team of manned and unmanned aircraft as part of an ecosystem including Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) and ALE.” A primary purpose of ALEs is to extend “tactical and operational reach and lethality of manned assets, allowing them to remain outside of the range of enemy sensors and weapon systems while delivering kinetic and non-kinetic, lethal and non-lethal mission effects against multiple threats, as well as, providing battle damage assessment data.”

Key features of the ALE are adherence to the Modular Open Systems Architecture so that components rely on nonproprietary interfaces and the Scalable Control Interface, an application programming interface intended to allow control through any command device adhering to the protocol, including both air and ground forces.