Ten-Year Counterdrug Technology Plan and Development
Roadmap
Tactical Technologies
Scope: Tactical Technologies (TAC), shown above as the last two stages of supply
reduction, enable drug enforcement agencies to investigate and disrupt drug trafficking
operations in the wholesale and retail distribution of drugs at the domestic urban level
and along United States land and coastal borders. By concentrating on counterdrug tactics
and interdiction efforts aimed at the importation, distribution, transportation and
point-of-sale aspects of drug trafficking, the TAC panel supports Goals 2, 4, and 5 of the
National Drug Control Strategy [1]:
Goal 2: Increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug
related crime and violence;
Goal 4: Shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug threat; and
Goal 5: Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.
Background: The TAC panel covers localized surveillance,
navigation, interdiction, and communications systems. Examples of technologies that
support these systems include miniaturized electronics, data fusion, data/video
compression, high power microwave, advanced signal processing, and image analysis.
Information technology is an underlying and integral part of all these systems.
Significant ongoing efforts, like the multi-agency Counterdrug Intelligence Architecture
Review, bear upon projected forecasts and predictions.
The success stories of the ONDCP High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and other
federal, state and local task force programs testify to the ability and effectiveness of
cross jurisdictional efforts. Consequently, the projected activities for the TAC
technologies panel include the transition of appropriate technologies and systems to state
and local law enforcement for drug-related investigative support.
Operational Requirements: TAC operational requirements span the
following five categories: 1) Navigation and Tracking; 2) Communications; 3) Audio and
Video Surveillance; 4) Information Management; and 5) Interdiction. These requirements are
diverse but, not particularly unique to drug enforcement applications. Rather, they
represent the type of requirements encountered in everyday investigative law enforcement
operations. Table 3 shows the relationship between TAC operational requirements and each
TAC component.
Table 3: TAC Operational Requirements vs TAC
Components
Figure 10 lists the key systems and supporting technologies which satisfy TAC
operational requirements. These systems and technologies offer the potential for
significant operational improvements of drug-related investigations. Improvements in TAC
technologies are concentrated in three important programs:
- A Personnel Location System which can track and locate individuals
worldwide and which can provide alarms when agents are in danger. Such a device would be
about the size of a credit card, survive continuous shock and vibration, transmit
covertly, and be tamper proof.
- A Seamless Communications Intercept System which can intercept cellular
and Special Mobile Relay System (SMRS) radios in any operational environment. Such a
system would take advantage of satellite communications technology to provide an intercept
capability at any point on the globe.
- An Unattended Ground Sensor Network to provide INS with an intrusion
detection capability along the 2,000 miles of our southern land border and the 4,000 miles
of our northern land border. This system would employ various sensor technologies and fuse
remote video surveillance and GPS data for greater reliability and accuracy.
Figure 10: Harnessing Technology for Tactical Operational Capabilities
Technology Development Roadmap: A development roadmap for
Tactical Technologies is given in Figure 11.
Figure 11: Technology Development Roadmap
Tactical Technologies
