TO A NETWORK MARKETPLACE
information technology to the force. Te “network marketplace” model fol- lows a pattern: Te government owns the infrastructure or foundation of a capa- bility—such as a radio waveform or a mission command operating system—so the Army sets the standards for interop- erability and security. Tird parties, such as industry, DARPA or other partners, receive access to these foundational tech- nologies and know the standards
they
must follow. Te Army can then issue contracting actions for a lighter radio, a faster network reconfiguration app or other capability need, encouraging com- petition for the best of breed technologies within the marketplace. Te standard infrastructure will allow the Army to integrate new hardware and software into the capability set baseline, while simpli- fying training and sustainment.
“Just imagine a network where if you
come in with a better widget, the network is adaptive enough for us to say, ‘I want 1,000 of those, and get them into the hands of Soldiers within weeks,’ and they will seamlessly fit in with the rest of the network,” said MG Daniel P. Hughes, the PEO for C3T. “We’re building that backbone to plug in the new apps, to plug in the new devices, to get the best ideas and move out.”
For the next generation of Rifleman and Manpack radios, the Army is moving to competitively procure non- developmental item radio hardware from multiple vendors. Te radios will operate the same government-owned waveforms for interoperability, but industry has an incentive to innovate in areas
such as
weight, processing power and battery life. Te same concept can also be applied to satellite communications waveforms such as BFT2: by providing industry with access to the government-owned wave- form, vendors can offer transceivers that
50 PROCESS OF ELIMINATION
The WIN-T Increment 1 End of Life (EOL) Technical Refresh capitalizes on virtualization, modernizing the system so that it can continue to operate on the Army’s tactical network. In addition to ensuring that all Soldiers are fighting with the same equipment, the EOL Technical Refresh also enables the Army to reduce a unit’s network transit cases by one third. This equipment was eliminated from the Maryland Army National Guard’s C Signal Company, 29th Infantry Division Headquarters. (U.S. Army photo by Amy Walker, PEO C3T)
are compatible with and build upon that technology.
For mission command, the Command Post Computing Environment (CP CE) is consolidating multiple systems and servers to create a common infrastruc- ture. CP CE will provide a software development kit enabling third parties to contribute new tactical applications to that standard baseline—much like developers can build smartphone apps that smoothly integrate with the iOS or Android operating systems. PEO C3T is now examining methods to create a competitive
contracting
that will allow the Army to procure these applications as needed.
CONCLUSION Tere is still work to do to achieve the network marketplace. But the approach is the product of valuable experience and represents a shift in how the Army has acquired and fielded information technology. In support of the new Army
Army AL&T Magazine April–June 2015
Operating Concept, the marketplace will allow the acquisition community to be disciplined, flexible and responsive—all at the same time.
Te following stories illustrate the growth of select tactical communications capa- bilities, and how both the technologies and acquisition approaches have evolved to enable the network marketplace.
For more information, go to http://peoc3t.
army.mil/c3t/ or https://www.facebook. com/peoc3t
environment
MS. CLAIRE HEININGER is a staff writer for Symbolic Systems, Inc., supporting PEO C3T. She has covered Army network technologies, programs and processes since 2010. She holds a B.A. in American studies with a minor in journalism, ethics and democracy from the University of Notre Dame.
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