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Terrain based situational awareness is carried out by armies for positioning of military combat units. Situational awareness can be assessed in various ways, but a weight-based analysis using thematic layers and other terrain inputs is a unique approach. An application using satellite imagery, to assess quantitatively the covering terrain, with focus on mountainous combat zones for positioning of combat units, has been developed. A weight based analysis on terrain inputs has been done to determine safer terrain positions. Since the intended target user group was the army commanders, for ease of end member use, NASA World Wind with its 3D visualization capability was used. The application although was developed for mountainous regions, it has generic capability and with correct inputs can be applied to all kinds of terrain.

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Nowadays, the type of vehicles, either tracked or wheeled in the Army has increased considerably and every decision maker wants the current details of off-road trafficability for operation planning. Therefore, vehicle-specific trafficability maps are the need of the hour. Emphasis should be given on soils capable of bearing the moving load of a vehicle and it is an important factor to be considered. Soil variability in spatial and temporal dimensions affects the assessment of off-road trafficability. Genetically, it is assumed that similar soil types behave similarly at a regional scale to reduce the complexity due to its variability. Remolding Cone Index (RCI) of Soil is the indicator of its capability and for generic solution; its value can be related to gravimetric moisture of soil for getting a general idea. In this paper, a logics-based, new concept has been introduced to rationalize the RCI values of these moist areas. Most significantly, moisture- and water-bound areas play an important role in the assessment of off-road trafficability. Therefore, to cover larger areas, a grid-based approach was taken as a base and, to get a preliminary idea of prevailing moisture, Normalized Difference Water Index was also mapped. Every vehicle has fixed vehicle cone index based on its vehicular characteristics and can be related with RCI for trafficability purpose. This new technique will save time and field work and is immensely useful for the trafficability assessment of any specific vehicle.

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