Ancile: Dismounted Soldier Tracking and Strike Warning

Ancile is a prototypical information system that warns dismounted soldiers of incoming indirect fire attacks while reporting their location to existing command and control systems. The main component of this system is a pager-like device worn by the individual soldier. This device periodically transmits the location of the soldier and listens for threat warnings. When a threat warning is received, the pager sounds an audible or vibratory alarm that increases in frequency as the threat approaches. Depending on the type of ammunition and its trajectory, soldiers may have a few seconds to well over a minute to improve their protective posture before enemy rounds detonate near them. This paper details the requirements that are satisfied by Ancile and provides an overview of the systems architecture. It also discusses in detail the implementation of a working prototype and discusses the results of field testing that was conducted both by the researchers at the United States Military Academy and by external agencies during a live-fire exercise. We conclude by discussing other potential applications of this system and the work that remains to be done.