The Sandhills Project – “Future Breaching Experiment”

Description: The Future Breaching Experiment integrates the efforts of leading industry partners, research and development institutes, and Service members to address the evolving character of ground combat. The experiment seeks to highlight current breaching capabilities through practice and live experimentation in simulated conditions. Experimentation occurs on realistic and challenging obstacles replicating real-world challenges observed abroad. The obstacles are derived from two operational vignettes: complex obstacles in depth (2-3km) and a dispersed defense network in urban terrain.

Theme: Innovation and Breaching – leveraging current capabilities for rapid implementation.

Event Problem Statement: US and partnered nations must maneuver through an extensive obstacle effort several kilometers in depth. The obstacle effort is under persistent observation, referenced for indirect fires, and subject to signal interference. US and partnered nations must also maneuver through dispersed obstacle effort in within dense urban terrain. The obstacle effort is under heightened observation from civilian structures, referenced for indirect fires, and subject to enemy and structural signal interference, increased usage of barriers and structural fires leveraged as weapons.

Objectives:

1. Demonstrate and experiment with current capabilities in: obstacle intelligence, obscuration, and obstacle neutralization/reduction
2. Integrate and mesh disparate platforms (e.g. sUAS, mechanical and explosive reduction) into a functioning capability
3. Highlight current capability gaps for future experimentation

RSVP POCs: MAJ Robert Howell (robert.b.Howell22.mil@army.mil) (910-262-7303); MAJ Steven Calhoun (steven.l.calhoun.mil@army.mil).​​