C4I: ADF vehicle C4I integration no easy task | ADM Oct 2010
To meet the requirements of Land 200, C3 (communication, command and control) equipment is soon to be installed into hundreds of ADF vehicles.
But a major risk with this program lies with the installation design and the associated complex approval process.
Is this a harbinger of what lies ahead with other vehicle C3 and C4I (command, control, communication, computers and intelligence) programs?
Tom Muir | Canberra
Networking is a vital component of the ADF’s land force capabilities, however the large number and variety of nodes, such as individual vehicles and dismounted soldiers, and their need to integrate with joint forces and provide interoperability with coalition forces, will prove to be a major challenge for Army.
The need for improvement is evident from current experience, including operations in the MEAO, which has shown that relatively austere communication tools, the need for mobility and a difficult operating environment, combine to make it difficult for deployed Australian soldiers to access tactical ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) or to draw on strategic ISR resources.
This is despite support from manned and unmanned airborne surveillance capabilities such as AP-3C, ScanEagle, Heron, and soon Raven, as well as Coalition ISR capabilities.
As ADM readers must be well aware, the majority of the ADF’s land communications requirements are being acquired under JP 2072 Battlespace Communications System (Land).
Aside from initial procurements to meet equipment shortfalls, JP2072 is providing the digital radio backbone for the in-service battlefield command support system (BCSS) and for the mounted and dismounted battlefield management systems (BMS) being procured from Elbit Systems under Land 200.
And while one might assume that installation of networking radio systems for mobile platforms would be a reasonably straightforward task, the integration of more complex C3 and C4I systems for higher echelon mobile command platforms, specialist platforms envisaged under Land 400, and other special operations vehicles, will be a different matter.
The installation design and approval risks associated with the Land 200 program surely point to the pitfalls that lie ahead with the integration of complex mobile systems in joint and coalition environments.
It may be instructive to look at the C3 and C4ISR requirements of other land mobile programs.
A case in point appears to have emerged with the special operations vehicles, under the type name of Nary, acquired under Project Redfin’s first phase.
This saw the accelerated procurement of a replacement for the SASR’s ageing Long Range Patrol Vehicle with the sole source acquisition of 31 new SOVs, the HMT Supacat.
Tactronics Australasia is supplying and integrating the SASR’s Nary with an on-board management and communications system, similar to that developed for US Special Forces.
The equipment is claimed to be platform immaterial, ruggedised, modular and designed around open standards based on Wintel technology and Ethernet networks.
A key product is the TAC-SINe system, an integrated monitoring, video, communications and navigation system for use in mobile platforms.
Its primary function is to facilitate the collection and display of situational awareness and vehicle operational status information.
TAC-SINe comes with an integrated tactical audio communications system which provides uncompressed digital audio, delivering an uncommonly high level of fidelity.
Additional peripheral modules are also included to perform more specialised tasks.
From a functional standpoint, TAC-SINe is really a two-part system.
It offers multiple information display options for operators located in the forward portion of the vehicle.
For the operator located in the rear of the vehicle, the system offers control options for navigation and video.
The system aims to provide true mobile C4ISR capability across the network.
Based on open architecture standards, the TAC-SINe system allows for network integration of a wide array of sensors, communications devices and application software.
It was hoped that an initial operational capability of eight of the new SOV vehicles would be available from November 2008 for immediate operation in Afghanistan.
But this was not to be and the vehicles are still in country, despite initial operational acceptance, due to issues with the onboard communications and management system.
ADM understands these are concerned with the integration of the system in the HMT Supacat vehicles, which may be very different to those used by US Special Forces.
It is anticipated that these issues may be resolved before the end of 2010 and pave the way towards full acceptance of the vehicles by the Army and see them on their way to Afghanistan.
ADF Bushmaster vehicle comms
Last year the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) signed a contract with Thales Australia to provide the SOTAS IP vehicle communications system to the ADF.
Under the contract Thales will supply over 700 complete systems, plus spares, to be installed in various versions of the ADF’s Bushmaster vehicles, including personnel transporters, command vehicles, air assault vehicles and ambulances.
Installation was scheduled to begin in mid-2009, with in-service vehicles retrofitted at Thales’s Vehicle Support Centre in Brisbane, and potentially at ADF bases around the country.
In future, the system will be installed during Bushmaster production at the Thales Bendigo facility.
The SOTAS IP communications system provides vehicle intercom, Ethernet LAN and IP routing services, and allows further integration of VoIP services, battle management system, vetronics services, inter-platform communications, wireless LAN services, video on demand and mounted soldier systems into one rugged, reliable system.
Developed by Thales in the Netherlands, the SOTAS system has been installed in over 50 vehicle types in more than 25 countries, including the Thales Bushmaster vehicles supplied to the Netherlands.
SOTAS IP offers all required vehicle communications services on a single system and full connectivity for soldiers, extending the command and control chain to dismounted troops.
It is a hermetically sealed, robust system that requires no special protection measures when installed and is designed to be used in harsh environments.
Due to the system’s Dynamic Noise Reduction (DNR) and human voice recognition algorithms, SOTAS IP is said to provide clear voice communications in all types of vehicles, including those with high noise levels.
In addition to wired (fibre and electrical) networks, SOTAS IP provides ad-hoc WLAN networking with multi-hop routing, enabling random network topologies.
The system integrates the BMS, the radios, telephone and IP services, and provides interoperability between radio networks (UHF, VHF, HF) and with Wide Area Networks.
Looking ahead: Land 400 comms
The purpose of the Land 400 capability is to enhance the survivability and combat effectiveness of ground forces in close combat through the provision of a cost effective, integrated Future Combat Vehicle System (FCVS).
Land 400 envisages combat vehicle systems missionised for a variety of roles, all of which require knowledge systems appropriate to their mission, while some of these will have specialist communications roles.
According to Land 400’s earlier Request For Information, these are defined under the system attribute of knowledge which is seen as incorporating all platform sub-systems which relate to communication, sensing and data display.
At the time it was expected that the knowledge attribute would comprised three discrete sub-systems, providing the following functions.
• Internal communications — this includes distribution of voice communication and data from onboard sensors and offboard systems.
The information is expected to be made available to all crewmembers though aural receivers and visual displays.
• Onboard processing — it is considered essential that an FCVS close combat platform will be capable of conducting processing of onboard sensor feeds and fuse the information with external combat data presented as a single, fused, information display which allows various crewmen to optimise the information display range for their task on the platform.
• External communications — external communications includes all voice and data inputs and outputs from the platform.
These transmissions may be automated position location and IFF.
All Land 400 platforms must be capable of being integrated into the in-service tactical information network.
This may be achieved through provision of unique onboard communications suites which are compatible with the broader ADF tactical information distribution network.
It is essential that any unique communication suite provides the required level of encryption and is capable of seamless interaction with in-service tactical communications networks.
But with the Land 400 combat vehicle unlikely to be introduced into service before 2016 or even later other similar programs around the world, such as the US Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle program, may provide clues as to the shape of future land mobile C4ISR programs.
US Army GCV C4I
While the original Request For Proposal for the US Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program was abruptly cancelled mid-year, a new RFP with revamped requirements – aimed at improving the system’s affordability—was expected to be released by September 2010 or thereabouts.
An Request For Tender was anticipated 18 months after that point.
One of the contending teams for the GCV program, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman, announced that the team’s vehicle would have an integrated electronic network capability and embedded intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to connect the warfighters.
The open architecture electronics would also be adaptable to future network upgrades as new technologies mature. Northrop Grumman would serve as the C4ISR lead for GCV.
It was anticipated that the GCV’s C4ISR system would exploit the capabilities of WIN-T through integration directly into the vehicle and thus meet the requirement to augment the commander’s situational awareness and ability to coordinate squad operations.
Interestingly WIN-T was always an endpoint in General Dynamics’ plans for JP2072 before they were ousted, and leverage off WIN-T is seen as one of the acquisition options for Phase 2B, according to the most recent JP2072 Land Environment Working Group briefing this year.