The C2 battlelab provides the Army with the ability to share information in the battle space of the future

. It will allow information sharing in a secure wireless environment similar to the internet, and will allow commanders to ‘chat’ with subordinates, digital orders and overlays to be passed to individual vehicles over a large area, and target information to be passed back up the chain.

The focus for battlelab has been to build this upwards from the lower levels. The aim is to provide the lower tactical levels (section, platoon and company) with knowledge first.

It is a practical approach to providing soldiers with easy to use equipment (touch screens and big buttons), and the ability to access and pass information which will enable them to do their jobs quickly, accurately and more safely than anyone else. This mind set will provide a capability that the Army can be proud of and make other nations envious.

The C2 battlelab is part of the Army Experimentation and Innovation Programme (AEIP) and it aims to work with industry to help identify potential solutions to meet the needs of Network Enabled Capability (NEC ) required to support deployed land forces. The NEC is looking at ways to ensure the New Zealand Defence Force keeps up with the pace of technological change, and that the systems, technology and processes are the ones we need to accomplish missions in an agile, resource efficient manner.

The battlelab provides network enabled services to an Interim Combat Team (ICT) and Deployed Land Force Headquarters (DLFHQ). The business requirement is shaped around the delivery of services to these organisations as a means of demonstrating models and methods that could be employed throughout a deployed force.

Deployed land forces are likely to function in an operational environment that comprises complex physical, human and informational terrain. C2 environment will be characterised by fluid arrangements (Organisations), Connected and Disconnected operations and ad hoc networking environments.

The battlelab focuses on:

People
The integration of technology with people and procedures required for the operation of and command of Force Elements – Organisation and Task Focus
Information
The type, distribution, management, storage and display of information services – Information Focus

Networks
The necessary hardware, networks, applications and services required to support the war fighter– Technology Focus

Networked Elements
The potential for networked enabled sensors, shooters and platforms is vast. The C2 battlelab is concerned with three essential network enabled fighting elements – The Soldier, The Team and The Command Post.

The Soldier
The individual who will access the situation and interact with others, including the system, and make decisions.

The Team
The immediate small group of people working together e.g. an OC and their platoon commanders.

The Command Post
The organisation that provides the principal facility used by the commander to exercise command and control of operations. The Command Post will direct and monitor operations whilst using procedures and information systems to collect, process, display, store and disseminate data and information.

Functionality (Planning and Operational Support Toolbox)
The Planning and Operational Support Toolbox (POST) is a battlelab concept developed to support the soldier, team and command post by delivering a core set of common tools. Each tool kit will enable the planning, execution and management of operations.
Tool Kit One – Blue Force Tracking
Tool Kit Two – Command Post Management
Tools Tool Kit Three – Operation Planning and Visualisation
Tools Tool Kit Four – Unified Messaging Tools

Colonel Lofty Hayward, Commander 2 LFG, says the C2 battlelab demonstrates the Army is becoming familiar with a digitised battlefield.

“The challenges Major Chris Mortiboy and his team have faced have been complex, never ending and often frustrating. Little by little they have worked their way through them. With the help of contractors such as Hewlett Packard, Viasat, Eagle Technologies, Cisco, Northrop Grumman, Microsoft and Twisted Pair we have created a window into the future. Our soldiers are beginning to see the utility of the capabilities on offer and our knowledge is improving exponentially.

“There has been some absolutely superb work done by a small group of dedicated and persistent people. All sceptical and Kiwi downplaying of achievements aside, this is truly ground breaking stuff.”

MAJ Chris Mortiboy, S6, HQ 2 LFG, said the Forward Information Systems team (FIST) came out of 2 Sig Sqn as a communications access “tool” that can support about twenty clients. “There have been a few challenges getting to the stage we are at now with the C2 battlelab, mainly time and people, and getting the right people with the right skills. We have found that we have definite skill set deficiencies within the signals world but that is to be expected due to the newness of the tools and applications being used.

“We were struggling six months ago with respect to our knowledge. We have had good collaboration with the likes of Hewlett Packard and that has boosted the momentum, but we obviously still need continuation training. A lot of effort has gone into getting what we have ready for Ex Wolf 3 - a solid crew of five has worked 14 hour days for four weeks plus a lot of weekend work.

How does FIST work?
Satellite reach back capability and can also talk to other FIST vehicles. It can be supplied by local servers dependent on task.

Services provided
Internet access, restricted and classified data transfer, intranet, public telephone network, voice over I. P. (similar to Skype). WAVE (Wide Area Voice Environment) which enables access to radios through the network. C2PC – Blue Force tracking.
Groove (Microsoft product) which is a shared work site.
Wireless networking is being trailed.
The FIST vehicle can go wherever higher command wants information to be sent to and received rapidly.

The future
The integration of all of the above and future products as they become available is possible in the future. At the CP/vehicle level, the laptop/tablet can be a one stop station for forces tracking, reports and returns, phone access, internet and defence network access. It will give the ability to push more information to the troops on the ground and to gain more intelligence quicker locally, globally and on the move. Information will able to be collated so that commanders at all levels can make more informed decisions.

Physical attributes to the FIST vehicle
The vehicles have an auto point satellite dish (to track satellites) on a trailer which means rapid deployment and set up. With wireless access from the FIST vehicle, information can be instantly distributed to other vehicles locally. Through power modifications and electrical upgrades the vehicle can handle extra equipment such as the servers. It has 12V and 230V supplies to power military radios, satellite equipment, servers and other networking gear.

Extra fixtures added
Mount racks to hold the extra equipment secure inside, installed cables that have access from both inside and outside the vehicle, ladder and platforms installed on top of the vehicle that have been codified and extra antenna mounts e.g. wireless, four extra radio batteries installed. None of these have permanently modified the vehicle, still capable of performing the same tasks as an unmodified C2 LOV . Major James Kaio from 1 Battalion, 1 RNZIR says the C2 battlelab is “not just computers.”

“It’s about passage of information to enable commanders to make faster, more informed decisions at the right time. It links well with cavalry operations, it provides situational awareness, and it’s an enabler to allow a soldier to execute their mission, whatever that is. It will never replace the requirement for a soldier’s initiative. For example, the battlelab has a wireless in the field, new CP, and self contained units allowing us to replicate a normal office environment in a confined space in variable conditions.”

“It’s the way of the future, and we are proving and disproving some of the applications that go with it.”

From an administrative point of view it’s very easy to use, says LCPL Weens Taua. “We’ve been using Groove, and everyone has their own file - Command Group, Ops etc. That’s how we send documents to them, direct to their own file and signallers use them to do Ops logs. It can do all the normal stuff you expect from a work computer: Groove is like the next step in Outlook.”

LCPL Conan Wall, of 2 Sig Squadron, says his unit has been using C2PC along with the tactical edition used in the LAV s. “Using these we can plot routes, zoom in or out on a topographical map, get a bearing, work out and record distances travelled or about to be travelled, and create and send overlays.

“All of this is controlled through the FIST vehicles from a battalion HQ to a company HQ and so on. Using the Mobile Data Access Brick which can be run through wireless in the short term until fibre is down, it also has numerous ports for USB and scart.”

The tactical edition of C2PC is in the command vehicles through a tablet PC installed on the turret of the LAV . The tablet has a touch screen which negates the need for a mouse and it can display the tactical map with moving icons through the CO P (Common Operating Picture). It can also be used for comms for short messages utilising VHF.

“We’re experimenting with technology that is out there and seeing how we can adapt it to support cav ops. At the moment, no one else is trying to do what we are trying to do,” says LT Mike Koberstein of 2 Signals Squadron.

What is NEC ?
NEC stands for Network Enabled Capability, a programme dedicated to harnessing information age technology to create networks of capability within NZDF.

Basically, NEC aims to provide NZDF commanders with the information age capability to allow them to do their jobs, whether that job is in the military or corporate domain. It’s about matching military and capability needs with technological opportunities.

How does NEC fit into NZDF?
NEC is guided by the NZDF Strategic Plan 2007-2011, and the key strategic themes of Valued Partner, Agility, and Resource Efficiency. NEC is not just IT and computers, and it does not only affect CIS Branch; NEC is about using the most appropriate, up-to-date technology and integrating it throughout NZDF.

NEC is closely linked to the Defence Transformation Programme. Resources and savings from the IT Change programme will be fed back into NEC initiatives where ever possible to help protect and enhance military capability.

Network Enabled Capability -
information is power

The Network Enabled Capability initiative is looking at ways to ensure we keep up with the pace of technological change, and that the systems, technology and processes we have are the ones we need to accomplish our missions in an agile, resource efficient manner.

NZDF operates in a high stakes, high cost environment. IT has become such an integral part of what we do and how we do it that we simply cannot function without it.

Commanders need access to this IT infrastructure to do their jobs. Before taking action they need to know who is fit to deploy, what vehicles need servicing, ammunition levels and when the next re-supply will arrive. Each aircraft’s full maintenance history is now only available online. And all this information needs to be easily, securely available at the right time and place. When deployed, commanders need information capabilities that enable them to obtain decisive advantage in the battle space and realise the full potential of their people and equipment.

Additionally, technology keeps moving, and we need to ensure we have the systems and structures in place to keep up with new developments and innovations. Otherwise we risk being left behind. The NEC strategy has been developed by observing international best practice, with close study of the Australian Defence Force and US Military’s actions and initiatives in this field.

NEC is about the effective integration of sensors, decision makers, effectors, and support capabilities to obtain decisive military advantage.

CAPT Andy Watts, Programme Director NEC , says Defence’s NEC goals are derived from the NZDF’s Strategic Plan.

”So themes like agility and being a valued partner come through very strongly. Amongst other things, that means exploiting and sharing information with the same effectiveness as our coalition and multi-agency partners".

“We have to ensure that when we work with other Defence Forces, and Australia is a key example, we are able to offer not only technical interoperability, but doctrine, tactics, and procedures that ensure our people can exploit NEC as effectively as our coalition partners”.

NEC is not just about communication links, computers and applications, and it’s much more than “geek speak”. It is about building the basis for intelligent, agile decision making.

People are the key to the success of this concept within NZDF. In fact, Capt Watts says the term Network Enabled Capability was specifically chosen to reflect the central human element in networking, as opposed to Network Centric Warfare (adopted by the US and Australia), which indicates a more mechanical, machine centric view.

“The NEC concept emphasises alignment; ensuring that different strands of development do not follow uneven trajectories. However, we need to create this alignment without also creating process obstructions or bottle necks that hold up development; we need to encourage the vital, innovative work that is occurring in the three Services and in CIS Branch.

“The challenge is to encourage well informed, committed people who understand their own environments and capability needs to use their initiative to develop capability with a minimum of constraint by providing them with a common standards framework. This will develop capabilities that are interoperable, mutually supportive, and that contribute to the common vision.”

Image Gallery - Issue 382