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by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
MAY 1953
In May 1953, the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps awarded a research contract to the University of Michigan’s Willow Run Laboratory in Ann Arbor. This research effort, dubbed Project MICHIGAN, sought to identify the Army’s next combat surveillance and target acquisition systems for the Cold War era.
During the Korean War in the early 1950s, the U.S. Army was learning that the range and destructive capabilities of its firepower far surpassed its capabilities to see and accurately target the enemy. In response, the Army chief of staff prioritized research and development (R&D) efforts for the expedited delivery of new and/or improved combat surveillance and target acquisition systems.
In 1952, the Department of Defense convened the “The Eyes of the Army” (TEOTA) conference of scientists and engineers from industry, academia, and government agencies. After studying existing combat surveillance systems and Army requirements, TEOTA recommended the initiation of an R&D program at a reputable university. In May 1953, the Signal Corps awarded a tri-service contract to the University of Michigan’s Willow Run Laboratory. Through Project MICHIGAN, the labs were to conduct research and testing and make recommendations about which equipment and systems would best fill the Army’s combat surveillance gaps.
Initially, Project MICHIGAN personnel conducted independent research projects related to combat surveillance Early projects looked at how to help individual soldiers communicate on the battlefield, monitor the locations of friendly forces, and see at night; how to detect concentrations of troops, vehicles, and artillery; how to better prepare and control the terrain; and how to manage and disseminate all the incoming data. The Army provided little oversight in these first years. One researcher, Dr. Robert Terhune, described it as “a youthful, alive place…where students [could] come in and have such control—in other words, …[i]t was ideas that ruled the roost, not the administrators.”
In 1956, to better coordinate and accelerate the effort, the U.S. Army Combat Surveillance Agency (USACSA) became the primary monitor of combat surveillance projects within industry and the military. While the USACSA reported directly to the Army’s chief signal officer, it took guidance from the assistant chief of staff, intelligence (ACSI), who had overall staff responsibility for combat surveillance. In addition to being on the steering committee for the project, the ACSI sent personnel to the Ann Arbor facility to provide guidance directly.
When USACSA refined the R&D efforts of Project MICHIGAN, the scientists and engineers began exploring the possibilities of using manned aircraft, drones, balloons, and missiles carrying a variety of sensors to surveil and locate targets up to 200 miles behind enemy lines. The Army transferred eight C-46 aircraft to Willow Run, where they were transformed into flying laboratories. Instead of military pilots, Project MICHIGAN personnel flew the aircraft, allowing them to make immediate adjustments to the equipment during tests.
By the early 1960s, Project MICHIGAN efforts contributed to the production and fielding of the AN/TPS-25 long-range ground radar to detect movement at night and the AN/USD-1 drone surveillance system to provide photographic coverage of enemy held areas inaccessible to manned aircraft. Other projects included acoustic and seismic sensors, illumination devices like night vision binoculars, and airborne radar that detected vehicles moving in the dark. Perhaps one of the greatest Project MICHIGAN efforts for Army intelligence was the side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) mounted on the OV-1 Mohawk aircraft. By collecting images to the sides instead of directly beneath the aircraft, a Mohawk flying at 3,000 feet could quickly map the terrain fifty miles to either side of its flight path.
Project MICHIGAN was not the last military-academia collaboration, but it did help the Army better understand and address its combat surveillance problems on the more mobile and lethal battlefield envisioned during the early Cold War.
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| Date Taken: | 05.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2023 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 443722 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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