As Army leaders develop a new approach to the network that allows soldiers on the battlefield to communicate with their commanders, officials are deviating from past practices as a way to improve connectivity, bolster resiliency and keep pace with technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s easiest to think of the integrated tactical network as a mix of existing programs of record and commercial off-the-shelf capabilities that allow a unit to communicate in congested environments and provide situational awareness. This approach is different than in years past in that it relies more on commercial systems \u2014 often a variety of them strung together \u2014 and a DevOps model that allows the Army to continuously iterate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three of the main benefits of the ITN that didn\u2019t previously exist are the redundancy in communications, unprecedented situational awareness for units and a secure but unclassified capability for lower echelons, unburdening units and allowing for greater information sharing with coalition partners. This detailed vision of the network, one of the top Army acquisition priorities, has emerged through several interviews with service leaders and visits to industry days and exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe ITN is not a new or separate network, but rather it is a concept that incorporates the Army\u2019s current tactical network environment (applications, devices, gateways, network transport) with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and transport capabilities to enable communications in denied, intermittent and limited bandwidth (DIL) environments,\u201d according to a pamphlet provided to reporters at the Oct. 30, 2018, Network Integration Evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By merging systems, Army leaders say the new approach will allow forces to be more expeditionary and mobile, which are key attributes for future conflicts. It will also for more opportunities for connectivity and allow the Army to keep pace with frequent commercial advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These systems include advanced networking waveforms, Android tablets that the Army calls \u201cend-user devices,\u201d small aperture satellite communications, tactical data centers and data link gateways. It also includes the individual soldier kit, which is a two-channel leader radio with the end-user device that provides geolocation services and chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By constantly leveraging and re-competing technologies that are associated with the network, Army leaders intend to allow commanders to stay ahead of threats and to give the service the ability to insert new capabilities when needed. In this scenario, the network will no longer be married to one system or vendor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dOne of the things we know for sure is if we were to sit down today and try to write a requirement for the network of 2028, we\u2019d get it wrong because technology, the available systems are changing too fast,\u201d Maj. Gen. Dave Bassett, Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, said during a February industry presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe direction that we were given was to not even try to write a 2028 requirement, but rather to talk about using experimentation to inform requirements and capabilities over time and to deliver an integrated tactical network in capability sets over time starting in FY21.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has led to another change in approach from years past: The Army wants constant feedback from troops through ongoing experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program office leading the network cross-functional team has worked with multiple units, at multiple training events, and taken advantage of operational deployments to refine the first set of capabilities, which is slated to be delivered to four infantry brigade combat teams and expeditionary signal battalions in 2021. Following that, Stryker and armored brigade combat teams expect to receive capabilities beginning in 2022, Bassett and Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, director of the network cross-functional team, told C4ISRNET.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two generals said that new capabilities will arrive roughly every two years from 2021 until 2028, the Army\u2019s intended timeline for overall modernization efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This constant feedback loop between the units and the Army materiel side, as well as the network cross-functional team, has led to tweaks in capability and approach, in some cases in real time. The experimentation includes fielding a portion of the kit to the Security Force Assistance Brigade in Afghanistan, as well as working with the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, during combat training center rotations, battalion training events and operational deployments the last two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery iteration we\u2019ve executed we\u2019ve attempted to introduce a new capability, we built on what we\u2019ve deployed by turning lessons learned very quickly and working \u2026 to gin up options and test many times to the point of breaking it \u2014 not physically but breaking the capability \u2014 [but] surpassing its own capability during a training exercise,\u201d Maj. John Intile, executive officer for 1-508th, said during a recent C4ISRNET visit to Camp Atterbury for a battalion exercise in which the unit was using the kit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would deploy with [the kit] now the way that it\u2019s configured,\u201d Intile said of the individual soldier kit. That setup includes the two-channel radio and end user device, which he said is the most developed part of the ITN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New benefits<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike the tactical networks of years past, the modernization provides units and commanders with multiple pathways of communication, which in turn allows for greater customization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This iteration is permissive enough for the use of TSM (a waveform from TrellisWare), high-frequency or local 4G LTE, Intile added, depending on what is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The end-user device also allows units to share\/receive location data from an individual soldier on the battlefield to a vehicle back to the command post, improving situational awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoth commanders I\u2019ve worked for, previous and current, I think, would say without a doubt that it has provided a more robust, complete situational awareness tool to them, one that has rapidly allowed them to see the battlefield, have appreciation for what risks they can assume and make decisions much more quickly,\u201d Intile said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This secure-but-unclassified path to transfer data not only relieves stress on units in terms of checking security clearances and providing highly classified systems; it also allows for greater information sharing in a coalition environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we have a coalition partner that we\u2019re operating with, we can now hand them a radio and they can see the same ground [common operational picture] that we do because it\u2019s secure but unclassified for that coalition,\u201d Bassett said during a February industry presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn addition, because we\u2019re not using Type 1 encryption on our radios and we\u2019re using this mobile ad hoc network, if we end up in an area that we know we need additional coverage \u2026 we can drop a radio in a position of advantage because it\u2019s not Type 1 encrypted, we don\u2019t have to leave a soldier with it. We can monitor it over the network and we can use that to connect in ways we never could have before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n