October 2000 Newsletter - Naval Postgraduate School

Introduction
In general terms, weaponeering can be defined as the process
of determining the quantity of a specific type of weapon
required to achieve a specific level of target damage, considering
target vulnerability, weapon effects, munition delivery
errors, damage criteria, probability of kill, weapon reliability,
etc. In the operational arena, where planners are striving for
the most effective use of limited resources, efficiency is a
critical factor that must be considered in the weaponeering
process. Commanders want to use their weapons systems to
inflict maximum damage on enemy plans, forces, and facilities.
Under these conditions weaponeering is probably best
defined as the process of determining the minimum-force
level and optimum ordnance needed to achieve a desired level
of damage to a target or critical component, such that enemy
warfighting is affected.
History of the Joint Technical Coordinating Group for
Munitions Effectiveness (JTCG/ME)
In 1963, an Army-Air Force panel known as the Close Air
Support Board issued a report calling attention to large gaps
and gross inaccuracies in data then published on air-to-surface
non-nuclear munitions. To remedy these inconsistencies, the
board recommended production of a joint service publication
containing a comprehensive list of targets with corresponding
data on the effectiveness of aerially delivered munitions
suitable for defeating those targets. Responding to this
challenge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff requested that a joint
service working group correct the data deficiencies and
prepare a Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual (JMEM) for
air-to-surface weapons. The Army was tasked to be the lead
service. The Chairman of the JTCG/ME established an ad
hoc group of military and civilian scientists scattered through
the Defense Department. The group developed the first
standardized methodology for evaluating weapons, and this
product was a coordination draft of a multi-service manual
entitled Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual for Air-Delivered
Non-nuclear Weapons. This manual was accepted not only by
the scientists and military professionals but also by the
Secretary of Defense. The latter requested that a similar
approach be applied to surface-to-surface weapons.
In the fall of 1965 the original ad hoc group was given
formal status as the Joint Technical Coordinating Group for
Munitions Effectiveness (JTCG/ME) by the Joint Logistics
Commanders. By mid-1966, the JTCG/ME was supported
by three working groups: Target Vulnerability, Chemical and
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
WEAPONEERING: FROM A JTCG/ME PERSPECTIVE
Biological, and the original Air-to-Surface (JMEM/AS)
Group. These working groups, in turn, controlled the activities
of subgroups created and tailored for specific aspects of
the parent group’s mission. The JMEM/AS had subgroups for
weapon characteristics, delivery accuracy, flame and incendiary
effects, methodology, and publications. A separate Basic
Manual Working Group, chaired by the Defense Intelligence
Agency, was established to maintain the Weapon Effectiveness,
Selection, and Requirements - Basic JMEM/AS Manual. In
January 1967, JTCG/ME brought in a JMEM Production
Contractor to provide support for the development and
production of technical handbooks, JMEMs, special reports,
and related publications.
By 1967, the JTCG/ME was concerned not only with
deriving or validating data by tests, experiments, and mathematical
models, but also from direct inputs of data from the
battlefield. The JTCG/ME Wound Data and Munitions
Effectiveness Team gathered wound data from Southeast Asia
(SEA). Later, the team expanded the scope of its battlefield
collection to include materiel and sent specialized teams to
SEA under an effort labeled BDARP-Battle Damage Assessment
and Reporting Program. These data are currently stored
in the Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center
(SURVIAC) at Wright-Patterson AFB and are available for
study and research by DoD agencies and contractors.
In September 1967, a separate major group, JMEM/SS,
was created to examine and produce data on surface-tosurface
munitions. Manuals containing data on individual
surface-to-surface weapons were published and revised as new
targets or munitions were developed. To complete the
weapon-target interface the JTCG/ME established the Anti-
Air Working Group in 1976. Additionally, a Red-on-Blue
Working Group was formed in 1977 to address the effectiveness
of Red munitions on Blue targets. A Special Operations
Working Group, initiated in 1983, provided target vulnerability
and weapon effectiveness studies for Special Forces. In
1994, the JTCG/ME was reorganized with four major
working groups: Air-to-Surface, Surface-to-Surface, Anti-Air,
and Vulnerability (including Special Operations) to cover the
spectrum of weapon effects issues. In addition, each working
group is supported by a formally chartered Operational Users
Working Group (OUWG). The Central Office is the focal
point for all JTCG/ME efforts. They coordinate the efforts of
the working groups while the execution of those efforts is the
responsibility of the working group chairmen.
--continued on page 11
NPS Research page 10
October 2000