Military Engineering

ERDC’s advances in force protection and sensing technology support our warfighters, as well disaster prevention and relief efforts.

The Military Engineering research area provides innovative technologies and capabilities to the warfighter in order to enable force protection and maneuver. The business area serves as the leader in developing novel, lightweight, rapidly-constructed protection systems that can be expediently deployed in remote locations. From the research and development of these innovative protection systems, survivability decision aids have been developed to not only allow for rapid assessment of current protection postures, but also to provide enhanced designs to increase defense against attacks.

For example, researchers have designed advanced numerical methods for characterization of blast fragmentation and mitigation on structures and have evaluated the effects of weapon systems based on worldwide building construction material types. Using Department of Defense (DOD) High Performance Computing (HPC) capabilities, the business area has developed physics-based numerical simulations for evaluation of sensor performance in complex geo-environments and advanced simulation capabilities that allow for evaluation of manned and unmanned ground vehicle performance.

In the area of force projection, access and maneuver problems in austere environments have been solved from both the sea and air that include novel bridging concepts, lightweight matting solutions, enhanced construction technologies, and automated planning and design solutions. Researchers are investigating novel sensor modalities that will allow for monitoring and assessment of critical infrastructure used for entry and maneuver in theater.

As technologies mature, the business area also works with DOD technology proponents and other U.S. government agencies to transition these pioneering technologies to help save Soldiers' lives.

Research Thrust Areas

  • Adaptive Protection
  • Environmental Effects on Sensor Performance
  • Austere Entry and Maneuver
  • Deployable Force Protection