NETWORK AFTER NEXT


NIE consistency and more competition will drive industry innovation


by BG Daniel P. Hughes, COL Mark Elliott and COL John Zavarelli J


ust weeks after deploying to Afghan- istan last summer, the commanders and Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Com- bat Team, 10th Mountain Division


(4-10 MTN) christened the Army’s new tactical communications network their


“digital guardian angel.” Capability Set (CS) 13 became critical


to their daily


operations in Afghanistan, enabling them to cover more ground safely and providing a considerable tactical advantage. Teir experience shows why the Army pushed so hard over the past two years to deliver CS 13, our first integrated package of com- munication systems that supports mission command on-the-move and brings the Soldier into the network.


But we owe it to the 10th MTN—and the units next in line for new network technologies—to go further. How do we continue to enhance and refresh the net- work with each capability set? How do we make the network more capable but less complex to use, train, maintain and


sustain? How do we focus innovation on capabilities that could be transformative for the network of 2020 and beyond?


Te answers rest in our partnership with industry. Examine Moore’s Law—that the number of transistors incorporated in a chip will approximately double every 24 months—or simply look at your own cellphone: When the pace of progress is exponential, the Army cannot keep up by itself. To field the latest tactical com- munication technologies to Soldiers, we know we need industry’s agility,


vation and investment, especially in a fiscally constrained environment. Our approach to driving


industry


all sizes to demonstrate their capabilities. While the Army is procuring commercial routers, antennas, network operations tools, operational energy solutions and other items as a result of the NIE process, it has taken several NIE cycles to refine the supporting processes for this new way of doing business. During that evolution, we have listened to feedback from our industry partners and are now implementing a new construct for NIE 15.1 and beyond.


inno- involve-


ment in the next phase of network modernization is built on two principles: consistency and competition.


A NEW CONSTRUCT Consistency is aimed at making the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) a more productive venue for businesses of


Tis new construct will give industry additional time


to respond to more


focused capability gaps. It will also be synchronized with Army program objec- tive memorandum (POM) planning so that successful


systems can transition smoothly into our portfolios.


Te other way we plan to engage the network industrial base is through more frequent competition. Government- owned waveforms and a standardized


54


Army AL&T Magazine


January–March 2014


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