THE BIG PICTURE
SOLDIER-CENTERED DEVELOPMENT Lt. Col. Denny Dresch, the product manager for Ground Soldier Systems, noted how the Nett Warrior features a modi- fied commercial-off-the-shelf device, which allows the Army to quickly find and procure solutions to meet Soldier needs.
Strong partnerships among several Army organizations foster an environment that allows for the rapid incorporation of feedback and acquisition and delivery of Nett Warrior upgrades.
“When we get Soldier feedback, whether from a Soldier touch point or operational assessment, we take our lessons learned and begin to iterate for system-of-systems improvement using a test- fix-test methodology,” said Dresch. Te product manager shop, Dresch explained, conducts such events at several venues, includ- ing the Soldier Integration Facility at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the C5ISR Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and the Electronic Proving Grounds at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Te Program Executive Office (PEO) for Soldier also works closely with the PEO for Command Control Communications - Tactical (C3T) and its project manager for tactical radios to maintain interoperability standards on Nett Warrior systems.
COLLABORATION FOR FUNCTIONALITY Nett Warrior’s capabilities have expanded through its synchro- nization with the Army’s Integrated Tactical Network. Te Integrated Tactical Network is an approach that introduces innovative commercial components and network transport capabilities into the tactical network environment. By inserting commercial capabilities, Soldiers are operating a simplified, inde- pendent network solution that is modern and provides enhanced, flexible network availability at the brigade level and below.
Te network’s commercial components include several varieties of software-defined tactical radios, including both single- channel radios and two-channel leader radios, tethered drones, small satellite terminals and commercial phone technology. Its radios communicate using the Tactical Scalable Mobile Ad-hoc Network (TSM) waveform, which forms a mesh network the
Army calls a communications “bubble” for all the formations that need to communicate. Using TSM in conjunction with a tethered drone—a drone with a single channel radio affixed to it—can provide an extended network of up to 20 kilometers.
By integrating Nett Warrior with the Integrated Tactical Network radios, commanders achieve a consolidated air, ground and fires picture into a single common operating picture.
During several exercises in 2021 and 2022, paratroopers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, have used their Integrated Tacti- cal Network radios and Nett Warrior devices to provide their commanders with position location. Commanders have reported immediate 90 percent accountability before exiting the drop zone to execute their mission.
One key change the Integrated Tactical Network brings to the Army’s tactical network is the ability to operate over the secure- but-unclassified security enclave, which allows Nett Warrior to use a mixture of military and commercially available networks. By adding a secure-but-unclassified enclave to the Army’s commer- cial national security algorithm, Soldiers using Nett Warrior are no longer restricted to communications across a single-path transport. Multiple pathway options allow the generation of a more robust primary, alternate, contingency and emergency plan when Soldiers encounter contested or congested environments. Te secure-but-unclassified enclave also allows data to be catego- rized in accordance with its classification. Because the majority of tactical information below the battalion level is time-sensitive, perishable and unclassified, such as position information loca- tion during mobile missions, the secret network is not necessarily optimal in all operating conditions.
MID-TIER MAKES GOOD In late 2018, to rapidly field commercial network capability to priority units, the Army, through PEO C3T and PEO Soldier, formed a team of acquisition professionals to develop an acqui- sition strategy, procurement and test plans and production strategy for the Integrated Tactical Network effort. Te Army
The ability to take Soldier feedback and quickly incorporate it into a more advanced system has been a hallmark of the program since its inception.
62 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2022
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