ARMY AL&T
PEO Integration maintains persistent liaison with the USAF Electronic Systems Command and USMC to ensure our networks enable joint operations, whether it is execution of joint fi res, air-ground integration, or SA.
2009 saw the success of Multinational Experiment (MNE) 3.0 between the U.S. and United Kingdom (U.K.) armies. Experimentation was conducted at Fort Monmouth, NJ, as a collabora- tive effort involving PEO Integration, JIMI, Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Joint PEO, Tactical Communications Systems Program Administration, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Software Engineering Center Support Team, and U.S. and U.K. industry teams.
“Building applications in line with multinational requirements at the onset increases the U.S. Army’s own interop- erability and that between nations, their networks, and battle command applications. This eliminates stovepiped systems that inhibit communication and interoperability between systems, service branches, and other nations,” said MAJ Troy Crosby, who, at the time of the experiment, was the lead for joint and MNE efforts. “We are going to deploy or go into a theater with joint or coali- tion partners; it’s just the way the Army works now. So, instead of trying to work from a system and then make it interop- erable with DOD’s sister services and then our coalition partners, we’re trying to build it in from the beginning.”
Experimentation involved a mix of real and simulated systems set in a sce- nario involving a U.S./U.K. combined expeditionary force operating in a complex environment. The experiment was structured to meet four key stake- holder objectives:
• Investigate and evaluate Future Rapid Effects System/PEO Integration
6 APRIL –JUNE 2010
command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) inter- operability and U.S./U.K. C4ISR interoperability capability options.
• Assess functional and performance characteristics of the JTRS Bowman Waveform (JBW).
• De-risk U.S./U.K. capability options using Web services.
• De-risk U.S./U.K. land environment C4ISR interoperability capability options.
Plans are ongoing for MNE 4.0 to be held in October 2010 as part of the Limited User Test (LUT) for Increment 1 of the Early Infantry BCT. In the experiment, the Early Infantry BCT infrastructure will exchange situ- ational awareness (SA) and calls for fire messages with U.K., Canadian, and Australian systems at White Sands Missile Range, NM. This event will examine the JBW with U.K. type 1 cryptology in a radiating environment.
What’s Ahead? Progressing forward, PEO Integration is planning for joint information exchanges during Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX)-10/AGILE Fires with the joint USAF-Army Division Joint Air/Ground Integration Cell. The exchanges will focus on examining SA and tracking where friendly and nonfriendly forces are located on the battlefield, and includes passing images, text, fires data, and mapping capabilities among users. Also, planning continues toward integrat- ing U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and U.S. Navy (USN) assets into JEFX-10/ AGILE Fires.
Further interoperability experimen- tation plans are being worked with USMC. These experiments will help identify gaps and issues with USAF, USN, and USMC systems, software, and networks that enable critical mes- sage sets and information exchange. PEO Integration maintains persis- tent liaison with the USAF Electronic Systems Command and USMC to ensure our networks enable joint opera- tions, whether it is execution of joint fires, air-ground integration, or SA.
As PEO Integration continues to work across services to bring important tech- nology to the warfighters of tomorrow, the fruits of this effort can be seen in the field today. In 2007, USN acquired 20 micro-air vehicles for evaluation in Iraq by the U.S. Multiservice Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group. These vehicles represent precursor technology to the Class I Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that will be fielded as part of PEO Integration’s Increment 1 equipment set. The Class I UAS provides a networked, hover- and-stare capability to lower command echelons and its sensor platform can take still and video imagery, which provides key intelligence for precision targeting and surveillance operations. After the initial evaluation, the USN announced a requirement for 186 of the systems to be used for EOD work. The systems also proved valuable to National Guard troops. Fifteen Class I UAS were used for reconnaissance and other protection operations by members of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 56th Stryker BCT when they deployed to Iraq in 2008, thus showing the Army’s commitment to equipping its total force with PEO Integration’s BCT modernization capabilities.
SAM TRICOMO is a Media Relations Specialist with PEO Integration. He holds a B.S. in public relations with a concentration in crisis communications from Western Michigan University.
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