• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Excelitas Qioptiq banner

BATTLESPACE Updates

   +44 (0)77689 54766
   

  • Home
  • Features
  • News Updates
  • Company Directory
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media Pack 2022

NEW NETWORK

June 29, 2012 by

U.S. ARMY TO FIELD NEW NETWORK AFTER NIE REACHES ‘NEXT LEVEL’
By Claire Heininger Schwerin, U.S. Army

28 Jun 12. The U.S. Army’s strategy for enhancing its tactical communications network through large-scale, Soldier-driven evaluations conducted every six months has reached a critical milestone as the service moves toward fielding the network to deploying brigade combat teams.

The five-week Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE, 12.2 in May and June served to validate and finalize the makeup of Capability Set, or CS, 13, the Army’s first package of network components, associated equipment and software providing integrated connectivity from the static Tactical Operations Center, or TOC, to the commander on-the-move to the dismounted Soldier.

The CS 13 network, Army officials say, will give U.S. forces a significant advantage over adversaries by enhancing situational awareness, improving maneuverability, speeding decision cycles and connecting Soldiers at the lowest level with one another and their higher headquarters.

“This allows us to have a greater communications capability at every echelon — from individual Soldier to the battalion to the brigade combat team,” said Col. Dan Hughes, Army director of System of Systems Integration. “They have communications that we never envisioned 10 years ago.”

With three NIEs now accomplished, the Army has established an integrated network baseline that will serve as the foundation for additional capabilities to be added as technology progresses. The NIE has also put in place a systematic, Soldier-driven approach to assessing network capabilities and determining their implications across doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, personnel and facilities, known as DOTMLPF.

“When you bring those two things together, we’re really starting to see the maturity of the NIE,” said Brig. Gen. John Morrison, director of the Army G-3/5/7 LandWarNet-Battle Command Directorate. “This NIE really turns the corner to where we start taking it to the next level.”

Insights gained during the NIE in areas such as training and tactics, techniques and procedures, known as TTPs, will be essential as the Army begins to field Capability Set 13 in October, Morrison said. Equipping the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division — the unit that executes the semi-annual NIEs at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M — with CS 13 also prepared the Army to integrate, train and field the equipment to deploying brigades.

“The NIE construct is doing what we want it to do,” Morrison said. “I can’t emphasize enough bringing the Soldier into the process early, because it’s allowed us to shape decisions the Army is making. And now as we get to field the capability set, we’ve got TTPS that are already being established, we’ve got smart, informed decisions because we ran the equipment through operational paces. All the lessons-learned with actually fielding to a unit have been learned, and we are well postured heading into the fall to field this capability.”

NIE 12.2 was the largest NIE accomplished to date and was the first full brigade-level validation of CS 13 network architecture conducted in a hybrid threat environment. NIE 12.2 also accomplished three program tests for record and evaluated 35 government and industry Systems Under Evaluation, or SUE.

The NIE completed the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T,
Increment 2 Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, or IOT&E, and marked significant vehicle integration across the brigade combat team, or BCT, with more than 350 vehicles integrated with CS 13 baseline systems, including Infantry BCT, Stryker BCT and Armored BCT platforms.

While official results from NIE 12.2 will be released in the coming weeks, the Army is already applying emerging insights from the exercise to make any necessary tweaks to CS 13, Morrison said.

In parallel to the CS 13 fielding effort, the Army has also begun risk

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • qioptiq.com
  • Exensor
  • TCI
  • Visit the Oxley website
  • Visit the Viasat website
  • Blighter
  • SPECTRA
  • InVeris
  • Britbots logo
  • Faun Trackway
  • Systematic
  • CISION logo
  • ProTEK logo
  • businesswire logo
  • ProTEK logo
  • ssafa logo
  • DSEi
  • Atkins
  • IEE
  • EXFOR logo
  • KME logo
Hilux DVD2022

Contact Us

BATTLESPACE Publications
Old Charlock
Abthorpe Road
Silverstone
Towcester NN12 8TW

+44 (0)77689 54766

BATTLESPACE Technologies

An international defence electronics news service providing our readers with up to date developments in the defence electronics industry.

Recent News

  • EXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCES

    May 20, 2022
    Read more
  • MANAGEMENT ON THE MOVE

    May 20, 2022
    Read more
  • CONTRACT NEWS IN BRIEF

    May 20, 2022
    Read more

Copyright BATTLESPACE Publications © 2002–2022.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use the website, we'll assume you're ok with this.   Read More  Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT