Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy

By Colonel Jonathan W. Bennett

Observers interact with one of the ground systems.

On 12 April 2023, senior leaders from the Office of the Provost Marshal General, 200th Military Police Command, Fort Meade, Maryland, and the 290th Military Police Brigade, Nashville, Tennessee, had the opportunity to observe a demonstration of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy system and consider potential uses for military police missions. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency developed the program to enable autonomous systems managed and operated by United States ground forces to detect hostile forces and identify combatants before United States troops encounter them.

The purpose of the military police leaders’ observation of the technology demonstration was to consider the value of using this type of technology in military police missions, such as detention operations, area security, and force protection. Military police observers included Major General Cary J. “Joe” Cowan Jr., Commanding General; Brigadier General Matthew N. Metzel, Deputy Commanding General; and Colonel Shannon M. Lucas, Deputy Provost Marshal General, 200th Military Police Command, and Colonel Jonathan W. Bennett, Commander, 290th Military Police Brigade.

The team was very impressed with the capabilities and potential of Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy, and the military police leaders are continuing discussions with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency regarding the possibility of integrating Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy into future training exercises to further test it in specific mission contexts.

Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy in Detention Operations

Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy mission commanders review captured footage of a scenario event.

Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy, including small, unmanned ground and air systems and a mission commander module, could be integrated into detention operations battalions. Small, unmanned ground vehicles could conduct patrols around the perimeter of the facility, and small, unmanned aerial vehicles could fly over compounds on regular intervals to gather data and build assessments. Guard force watch commanders could be trained to operate and monitor Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy to allow vastly greater situational awareness of activities taking place within the facilities and nearly instantaneous accountability of enemy prisoners of war in custody.

Detention operations security personnel could use the system to better understand potential internal threats and identify individuals of potential intelligence value. Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy could serve as a significant combat multiplier for the detention operations mission, allowing detention operations battalions to increase the number of enemy prisoners of war they could manage without additional personnel requirements.

Field Testing at Titan Warrior 23

The 200th Military Police Command and 290th Military Police Brigade worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to conduct a field test of Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy at the 290th Military Police Brigade Titan Warrior ’23 exercise held at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, from 30 July to 3 August 2023. As a part of the field test, the Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy team equipped Camp Bobcat, a theater detention facility training site, with active cameras and robotics systems while the Soldiers of the 290th conducted their culminating detention operations training events. Soldiers were trained on the Urban Reconnaissance Through Supervised Autonomy system and taught how to employ its capabilities to ensure better care, custody, and control of enemy prisoners of war inside the theater detention facility.