NEXT GENERATION C4I-ENABLING TACTICAL INTERCOM SOLUTIONS FOR MODERN MILITARY PLATFORMS
Tactical Military Communications – an Evolving Landscape Tom Cropper, Editor
Why improved communications are crucial to the future operational efficiency of the modern military force.
Even in this age of high speed information technology, age old problems such as the shape of the landscape can still hinder communications
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URING THE First World War, the German General Erich Ludendorff remarked: “The English fight like lions,” to which his staff officer replied: “Yes, but they are led by donkeys1.” It’s an opinion that, to this day, typifies the view of the British force during the Great War. Of all their many faults, though, the biggest affecting poor military leaders tend to be poor communications.
The Key to Success Take the example of the 1915 amphibious invasion of Gallipoli. The British General, Sir Ian Hamilton, believed the best position to oversee the battle was from a command ship based offshore – not the worst choice one might have thought. But he chose a vantage point with little clear overview of the battle and with dreadfully poor communications to the shore. As a result, the soldiers on the beaches were left to face the chaotic situation more or less alone. More recently, a US army patrol in the Hindu Kush mountains found itself 100kms away from base with radio communications blocked by mountainous terrain2. With the mountains looking unclimbable, they had to hike to a location in range of a friendly radio retransmission station, which helped them set up a secure lifeline back to their base. It was only then that the patrol began to feel more comfortable. Both these examples show the crucial role communications can play in war, and that even in this age of high speed information technology, age old problems such as the shape of the landscape can still hinder communications. The goal of communications is also exactly the same as it ever has been – right back to the age of antiquity – to provide direct, clear and secure communication between army commanders and their troops on the ground. What has changed is the nature of warfare; the technical challenges of providing
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secure communication have evolved, and the available technology has improved. The goal of the modern military is to find a way to adapt to changing demands, to improve the efficiency, speed and reliability of communications, and find a way of adapting the latest mobile communications technology that most of us already take for granted.
Catching up with Consumers It is this third point which is perhaps the key to development. We live in a world of high speed communication – a place where a person can speak instantly with a friend living on the other side of the world. They can send text, images, audio and video straight away at the touch of a button. They can draw up instant information about their location and find maps to places they are looking to get to – all by checking their smartphones. Set against this, even the most advanced modern military machines often look as though they are stuck in the stone-age. Radio communications may have evolved considerably, but they are still lacking when it comes to the demands of modern warfare. For example, when speaking to Gizmodo, Doran Michels, Program Manager for DARPA’s Transformative Apps program, complained about the state of maps in the military. “It’s really strange,” he told the publication, “because in 2014, if you were to accompany, let’s say, a Marine patrol on a really scary, highly complex mission, they’re going to have paper maps, pencils, acetate, transparencies with magic markers [for] ‘John Madden drawings.’3 John Madden, for those who don’t know, is the American Sports commentator famed for drawing complex diagrams over TV Football replays. In other words, soldiers are using map reading technology which would not have been entirely unfamiliar to soldiers in the Second World War.