ARMY’S NETWORK STILL EVOLVING


by LTC Joel Babbitt


F


rom early operations in Iraq to natural disaster response to the current Ebola fight in West Africa, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1 has been the Army’s primary tactical communications


network backbone and continues to evolve in support of new missions and requirements.


Te system that became WIN-T Increment 1—the Joint Net- work Node Network—was first conceived to quickly address problems that arose with outdated communications equipment in Iraq. To cut down on the standard development and pro- curement time, the Army purchased commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions that could be integrated into its systems to rapidly support urgent fielding requirements for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).


Te WIN-T Increment 1 network has been supporting a full range of military operations since 2004, providing high-speed, high-capacity voice, data and video communications. For units with higher mobility requirements, the follow-on WIN-T Increment 2 network adds on-the-move access to tactical com- munications and extends the network to the company level.


A result of choosing COTS solutions is that the Army can more easily insert new technologies into WIN-T. Advances in COTS technology and innovations from the Army’s science and tech- nology community enable the service to update its WIN-T


systems to increase capability and simplicity while reducing size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements.


Most recently, the End Of Life (EOL) Technical Refreshment update modernizes the Increment 1 system and is necessary for the continued operation of the equipment on the Army’s tactical network. Te EOL upgrades include new COTS hardware and software components that provide 50 percent more capacity for future modernization efforts.


Te in-progress WIN-T Increment 1b upgrade improves secu- rity and efficiency, while increasing interoperability between Increments 1 and 2. A Network Operations Convergence upgrade simplifies and reduces the number of network man- agement tools for communications officers, while an upgrade to the High Capacity Line of Sight radio provides a fourfold increase in throughput, enabling higher-data applications such as full-motion video, high-definition video teleconferencing and network convergence.


Te approach to fielding these upgrades also reflects lessons learned from the past 11 years. For example, whenever possible the Army is simultaneously fielding all four upgrades to increase efficiencies and cause the least disruption to units.


Te National Guard’s C Signal Company, 29th Infantry Divi- sion Headquarters received the EOL Tech Refresh first across


ASC.ARMY.MIL 51


ACQUISITION


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