Tool for VISualization of Threats and Attacks (VISTA) in Urban Environments

"Traditionally, the military intelligence analyst has been able to focus on a known enemy within situations that are relatively comprehensible. Uniforms, military equipment, and communication patterns, to name a few, could identify the enemy. However,increasingly the United States Army faces a new battlefield and a non-traditional enemy. The need exists for a tool that intelligence analysts can use to examine the sudden, non-linear, emergent events that characterize operations in urban settings. Inthis project, we will create a VISualization of Threats and Attacks (VISTA) tool. We will begin by identifying a constellation of variables that seem to describe critical aspects of urban operations. This work will explore how these variables interact andhow they change over time. We will then develop predictive equations and models that are based on these variables and that capture the occurrence of non-linear events, drawing on innovative modeling techniques from the emerging field of complex systems.By combining operational knowledge and research with predictive equations and models, VISTA will be capable of giving the analyst the vision required to produce enhanced intelligence estimates and predictions. The outcome of this program of developmentwill be a tool that assists military intelligence analysts in detecting emerging patterns in urban operations. This tool will greatly aid analysts in predicting areas of disruption, for cur