16 minute read
C4i Communications and the Future
Tom Cropper, Editor
How militaries around the world are having to update their thinking to adapt the best consumer technology for the battlefi eld.
THE SAVOX IMP HAS ALREADY BEEN INSTALLED ABOARD MARITIME VESSELS WITH MILITARY UNITS AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING ABOARD RIBS, OFFSHORE MULTI-ROLE CRAFT AND A COASTGUARD CUTTER. PICTURED: A FINNISH MARINE COASTAL JAEGER WEARING A SAVOX HEADSET CONNECTED TO HIS IMP PCU.
C4I COMMUNICATION technology is evolving quickly and, if a glance at the pace of technology elsewhere is anything to go by, the coming years and decades will see that pace pick up very rapidly. Current products have precious little time before they go from being cutting edge to obsolete. Military requirements are also changing as we adapt to a new type of warfare. For those companies developing the next generation of equipment, therefore, the challenge is to provide a defi nite upgrade on existing equipment, while also second guessing what the future might bring.
The Technology Gap A key challenge will be to close the gap between the technology consumers take for granted in everyday life and what’s available on the battlefi eld. That gap is currently considerable. While a soldier might be used to using his iPhone or Android device at home, when it comes to the theatre of war he or she will still be working with bulky radios and paper maps. If the army can take smartphone technology and use it to connect military units, the results could be transformative. This is the idea behind DARPA’s Transformative Apps program 12 . The aim is to bring together a small but nimble team of technical developers to create a military apps store similar to the kind we might be used to on our smartphones. These can be used with the growing range of rugged smartphones, such as the Samsung S6 Active, which has been specifi cally designed to pass military specifi cation testing. Devices such as this can perform a range of functions including command and control, disaster recovery, reporting, mission planning and intelligence. Features can include map viewing, time services, data synch, speech recognition, information assurance and peer to peer services. The rugged devices market is growing 13 , with developers working hard to remodel some of their most famous brands for use in hostile environments including the military.
In addition, the army is turning to other exciting projects such as Google’s Modular Smartphone. Developed with Motorola via Project Ara, the idea is to create a puzzle piece phone for less
than $50. In the same way as tech companies have moved towards open sourced software, this aims to do the same thing for hardware. It allows developers to play to their strengths. They could produce a camera here, or a GPS module there. Users will be able to build their own entirely personalised phone – one which has as much or as little functionality as they want, and for a more reasonable price.
This modular functionality and the ability to change specifi cations on the move could prove crucial for military personnel. Compared to a Samsung Note, for example, this is much easier to connect with external hardware, and could provide the fl exible option the army is looking for.
Creating a Network However, in many ways the biggest obstacle lies not with the devices themselves, but with the network they connect to. It’s all very well providing the army with Samsung’s latest top of the range smartphone, but if it can’t connect to the network, then all you have is an extremely expensive calculator.
The solution is for the army to create their own network and carry it with them – which is precisely what the Warfi ghter Information Network aims to do.
WIN-T, as it is called, will enable commanders to keep in touch via voice video and data and communicate with mobile strike-forces wherever in the battlefi eld they might be – as long as they are tapped into the army’s network. It consists of infrastructure and network components which relay satellite and terrestrial signals between command and the soldiers on the ground.
The Power of SMEs
This technology has undoubted promise, but there are problems. Projects such as these have been around for years, but all too often they fail to come to fruition. The military’s track record – especially in the US – of taking innovative technology from concept to application is patchy at best.
To improve their record, they are starting to open up their tender process beyond the usual defence contractors. DARPA’s Transformative Apps program, for example, takes a leaf out of the books of small and medium enterprises. Instead of a slow, bulky and bureaucratic system, they opt for the light, nimble and innovative approach of a small tech start-up. The result is a faster turnaround in getting ideas from the drawing board to reality.
In the UK, the MOD is also turning to SMEs to drive forward new communications technologies as it seeks to replace its Bowman Tactical Communications System. Dubbed Morpheus 14 , this project aims to consider and develop options to replace the aging Bowman system with something which can address the future requirements of the army, navy and air-force.
By doing so they are looking to tap into existing research and development taking place in the commercial world. In opening up this process to academics and businesses (especially SMEs) the MOD hopes to better tap the available technology.
“The key here is to examine all the potential options out there to identify the most operationally effective and cost-effective solutions,” said QinetiQ Morpheus project lead Rick Mather “We know there are lots of really exciting technology and security SMEs, as well as academics, doing exactly the kind of research and innovation this project needs. We also know a lot of them think that these kinds of contracts always go to the same old defence companies.
“That’s not the case here, we’re really open to innovative, and even unusual solutions to ensure that the fi nal options are the best possible.”
A New Approach This more dynamic approach will go a long way towards delivering the technology of the future that the armed forces demand. By drawing on the technological developments happening elsewhere in business – especially in the mobile SME space – the army can tap into a huge amount of innovation and talent. It can take existing technology and repurpose it for military use. As this article and others in this report have already demonstrated, doing so successfully will be challenging and there is much which still needs to be done including designing technology for use in hostile environments, addressing network security issues, and ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure.
The economic situation will also be an issue. More than most, the military will continue to be influenced by the fortunes of the wider global economy. The more that situation remains uncertain, the more militaries will be forced to focus on short term thinking. Even so, communications remains a priority and investment in the next generation of communication systems will remain strong for the foreseeable future.
Cobham – Delivering Next Generation Systems Today
Cobham TCS
Cobham and its partners are working with customers to deliver capability enhancements and increase the tactical awareness of our forces.
ENABLES FAST, SAFE, SECURE COMMUNICATIONS.
Executive Summary Today’s modern armed forces depend upon having access to the most advanced equipment, particularly in the fi eld of communications. Vehicle Intercom Systems (VIS) are pivotal to providing these communications and have become essential for supporting our friendly forces and for minimising battlefi eld casualties.
Cobham understand the nature and requirements of these troops and end-users more than anyone. With a global installed base of 125,000 systems across six continents they truly are the specialists in the VIS fi eld. • Enabling fast, safe, secure and reliable communications • Permitting scalable and expandable solutions for wider integrated tactical pictures • Increased Video and Data capabilities built upon existing Audio communications Future systems must retain the ease of use and ruggedness that have proved to be essential in modern operational theatres. Interfaces must remain intuitive and give access to core
functions at the fl ick of a switch, with hands-free operation where possible. Resilience to damage remains important, and systems with distributed functionality retain an edge in this key area.
Increased functionality will also be a key feature, particularly as the VIS will be part of a larger tactical awareness and communication system, encompassing the vehicle, its neighbourhood, but reaching back to the Battle Group, Formation, and Theatre Headquarters as necessary. Cobham’s next generation system, delivered as part of the US Army VIS-X program (now classifi ed as AN/ VIC-5), has been designed with this in mind.
Communication using Internet Protocols, remote access facilities, higher data bandwidths to permit transmission of high capacity data and video across the VIS backbone will emerge to permit fuller integration with other vehicle and C4I systems. Wireless capability will increasingly become available to add functionality, and is already integrated on Cobham’s and other systems. However, retaining the current strengths of proven VIS wired interfaces is important to
COBHAM’S VEHICLE INTERCOM SYSTEMS ENABLE FAST, SAFE, SECURE AND RELIABLE COMMUNICATIONS FOR SUPPORTING OUR FRIENDLY FORCES AND FOR MINIMISING BATTLEFIELD CASUALTIES.
ensure covert operation and crew confi dence and system reliability.
Helping Improve Effective Communications from Commander to Troop Level Vehicle Intercom Systems provide the commander and crew with the ability to interact with each other, and with the broader tactical environment through vehicle radios and communications equipment. This is a core function that must be available at all times, and the performance is critical to the effective and safe discharge of duties.
Northrop Grumman and Cobham created a joint venture (NGCI) to support the future intercom developments, initially in response to the US VIS-X requirement. NGCI have demonstrated the core communication requirements in their AN/ VIC-3, AN/VIC-5, ROVIS and TacG2 systems, offering a broad range of interfaces to third-party radios, SATCOM systems and audio equipment such as active-noise reduction headphones. VIS is all about the transmission of information, be it voice within or outside the vehicle, or from radio sources. Intelligibility and the ability to differentiate key messages in difficult environments drive the performance of troops. Cobham is in the fortunate position of being able to draw on a broad range of operational and design experience in optimising effectiveness, working with its partners.
Helping Improve Effectiveness within the Vehicle Crew communications remain at the heart of effective teamwork within fi ghting vehicles. The VIS is core to the delivery of this functionality, and remains an essential element of effective fighting vehicle design. The fighting vehicle is a difficult environment in many ways, as acoustic noise levels are high, vibration is severe, power supplies can be of varying quality and rotating turret slip rings introduce further constraints. Cobham brings a wealth of experience in these areas to bear in developing future VIS.
In conditions of high stress, such as when under fi re or in the dark, the user interface is critical. Rotary switch or simple push button based interfaces have been demonstrated to be the most appropriate under these circumstances, and key functions must be immediately and intuitively available. More complex interfaces can be used to access functions that are required less frequently, or to expand the capabilities of the VIS, but ease of use remains a paramount requirement. These can include reconfiguration of the system to meet specifi c mission profi les, managing access to features and resources but retaining common training and user interfaces. A further feature that has proved of great use in the fi eld has been a very short time to audio from switch on, as this permits rapid reaction in emergencies or in response to unexpected attacks.
Future systems will expand on existing binaural presentation of information to ease interpretation of information from different audio sources, and other techniques will emerge to draw the user’s attention to tactically important
TYPICAL COBHAM INTERCOM VEHICLE INSTALLATION.
audio messages. Systems such as Cobham’s AN/VIC-5 offer this feature, and have been designed with the spare capacity to take these innovations forward as the need evolves.
Wireless crew stations are already offered, but still retain some limitations when operating in jamming or radio silence environments. Crews must retain full confi dence in their equipment, and the inherent simplicity and reliability of a cable connection remains the requirement. Developments in adaptive radio, in battery technology and in miniaturisation will make this approach more capable in the future.
The interface with the vehicle will provide enhanced operability as vehicle electronics provide additional functionality. As an example, automated warning messages will inform drivers of vehicle performance issues, drawing information seamlessly from the CANbus or similar vehicle drive system data buses. These will inform crew members of potential issues and permit risk to be assessed on the fl y during missions. This information can also be routed automatically to maintenance radio networks via the VIS, allowing equipment support teams to plan ahead or to advise as required in real time. Cobham’s AN/VIC-5 system has been designed to provide the capability for easy expansion in these areas as the need develops.
While audio remains the most effective means of immediate communications between crew members, future VIS will integrate video capability, within the constraints of available data bandwidths. Given the investment in wiring and crew units, and the cost of installing different
systems into existing vehicles (an important feature in reducing overall life cycle costs of VIS systems), add-on capability to permit the transmission of video information across the existing cabling or systems would be very attractive. Such capability would permit the ready upgrade of vehicles to provide commanders with improved situational awareness while closed down, drivers with live feeds during vehicle manoeuvring, and mounted infantry with local information prior to dismount.
Cobham has exploited its strong market position on current fighting vehicles by providing direct upgrades (AN/VIC-3 to AN/VIC-5, ROVIS and LV2 to TacG2) that are backwards compatible and re-use existing cabling in the vehicles to deliver these advanced features.
The Demand for Interoperable Platform Teamwork within vehicles, between vehicles in a tactical unit, and between tactical units is at the heart of operational success. This demands seamless interaction at all levels, and the need to interface with existing and forthcoming communications channels.
The VIS is a key element of this system of systems, and must be able to provide effective interoperability and transparency in the sharing of information. While data formats used within the VIS can be a mix of open and proprietary standards, each optimised for the particular application, future systems must be able to support high data bandwidths and communicate using internet protocols. Selection of compression and encryption must remain fl exible, but military standards offer optimised performance to complement COTS options – the key is fl exibility and the ability to add new modules in the future. Cobham has developed a fl exible architecture in its AN/VIC-5 and TacG2 systems that maximises the appropriate use of open standards to provide this transparency and future upgrade path.
Vehicles will continue to communicate with each other and with higher formations through radios. These radios will continue to evolve and to become more intelligent in their use of the spectrum, so VIS must allow these to be managed remotely and seamlessly from C4I systems or other vehicle data storage and display systems. Separate consideration may be required for audio and data links, exploiting existing and new features in VIS to reduce overall system complexity and weight. Networks will operate at different levels of security, again placing an implicit demand on future VIS to provide adequate protection for this information as it is in transit through the system.
Expanding Communications to Dismounted Troops and Command Posts Vehicle Intercom Systems can be further enhanced by providing a link to dismounted users who require tactical voice and data communications to support operations.
Dismounted Commanders can remotely access Cobham’s VIS positions using a range of technologies including fi eld telephones, Combat Net Radios, SIP networks and IP devices. In addition to this, the Eagle Radio, Cobham’s adhoc network device, provides the capability for all dismounted soldiers in a squad to remotely access the VIS, installed radios and their own intra-group radio network. This extends capability of the group without having to provide each soldier with additional radio hardware.
Interfaces to existing radios can readily be made available, but the radio must not impact on the core function of the VIS, which is to provide crew communications and access to external audio channels. Such radios should offer full duplex operation, and the ability to control and be controlled by the intercom system, if the full potential of such systems is to be exploited. System architectures can maintain the different security levels within an intercom system through appropriate design, and high-bandwidth radios, such as Cobham’s MESH, can provide full IP interoperability and access to video content for surveillance and guard functionality.
The Future for Next Generation VIS Future VIS will remain core systems within fi ghting vehicles, but will allow system integrators to minimise system impact and weight through incorporating additional functionality. This will require the VIS to provide high data bandwidths in addition to excellent audio capabilities, and to support appropriate protection for classifi ed information, though none will be stored within the system itself. The VIS will be at the centre of local tactical situational awareness, providing wireless and wired interconnectivity for both audio and video, enabling vehicle crew members to access and display both types of information as required in pursuance of their tasks. Automation will increase with voice actuation and additional visual control panels complementing the current robust mechanical interfaces. Full remote control also permits integration with other vehicle C2 systems and intelligent radios.
The Vehicle Intercom is already the audio communications workhorse within the fi ghting vehicle, and forthcoming capability enhancements will enable it to become the cost-effective nervous system of the fi ghting system for audio, video and data to deliver tactical awareness. Cobham and its partners are working with customers to deliver this vision in the near future.
