ARMY AL&T
SENIOR ARMY LEADERS PRAISE SUCCESSFUL NETWORK INTEGRATION EXERCISE Kris Osborn
The Army’s Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Integration Exercise at White Sands Missile Range, NM, success- fully connected Soldiers, sensors, unmanned aircraft systems, net- worked vehicles on-the-move, command posts, and other nodes over long distances using satellite and software-programmable radios, allowing the Army to evaluate the progress of the battlefield network, senior Army officials said.
“The Army’s battlefield network is showing itself to be extremely relevant to today’s operational envi- ronment. The ability to connect the dismounted Soldier to networked vehicles on-the-move at the battalion level and above to higher head- quarters provides an enormous advantage to the warfighting effort,” said Under Secretary of the Army Dr. Joseph Westphal, who observed portions of the exercise from Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD. “The BCT Integration Exercise showed that moving more combat- relevant information faster, farther, and more efficiently across the force will greatly enhance our Soldiers’ ability to prevail in current and future conflicts.”
The exercise, designed to help validate the concept of the objec- tive network planned for 2017, used satellite links to connect units and extended line-of-sight radio systems through an aerial tier. With the aerial tier, units did not have to place a
relay team on the top of a mountain ridge or reposition a command post to ensure communication between ground units over extended distances.
“We are building an Army that is a versatile mix of tailorable and net- worked organizations; the network is critical to this Army, and I am encour- aged by the significant progress we have made in developing it,” said Army Chief of Staff GEN George W. Casey Jr., who also observed the exercise from APG.
The idea was to connect multiple echelons and to move information from the dismounted Soldier on the tactical edge up to the platoon and company level, and all the way up to higher headquarters, said COL Michael Williamson, Deputy Program Executive Officer Networks, Program Executive Office Integration.
“This is designed not just to high- light technology, but to identify the gaps that we need to fill as we mature the network through 2017. This will help us shape how we bring networking capability to the field,” said Williamson.
The exercise was aimed at inform- ing the developmental cycle of the Army’s network. The goal was to connect nodes through one seam- less network wherein Soldiers, commanders, and sensors could share voice, video, data, and images across the force in real time.
The BCT Integration Exercise showed that moving more combat-relevant information faster, farther, and more efficiently across the force will greatly enhance our Soldiers’ ability to prevail in current and future conflicts.
“This is about the ability to move data and imagery down to the point where it is needed in a timely man- ner,” said Williamson.
A terrestrial network of sensors sent voice, images, and data through Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) software-programmable radios using high-bandwidth waveforms such as Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Wideband Networking Waveform. The information sent and received by the terrestrial layer was con- nected to Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), a satellite network able to send information over long distances.
Vehicles with Network Integration Kits (NIKs) served as key hubs con- necting the terrestrial and satellite layers of the network. The NIKs consist of an Integrated Computer System, JTRS Ground Mobile Radio, and Blue Force Tracker display.
By connecting the echelons, with dismounted Soldiers carrying either a JTRS Rifleman Radio or JTRS Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit radio, the Soldiers shared infor- mation instantly across the squad, platoon, company, and battalion lev- els and, if needed, all the way up to commanders at higher headquarters or command posts.
“What allows this [network connec- tivity] to integrate is the fact that we have stable hardware and stable soft- ware,” said MG John Bartley, Program Executive Officer Integration. “This is about platoons that are isolated reaching back for their support such as MEDEVAC [medical evacuation], food, water, logistics, ammunition, and resupply. How do you enable those folks so that they have assured communications moving forward?”
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