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Monthly Archives: November 2011
One Network Connecting All
The U.S. Army is in the midst of a series of tests to determine the readiness of a single battlefield network poised to provide soldiers with enhanced operations integration. By Kris Osborn, ASA (AL&T) The U.S. Army is vigorously immersed in an ambitious, farreaching Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) at White Sands Missile Range, NM, designed to simultaneously test programs of record and assess a host of emerging network technologies, the services’ senior leaders said. The NIE, which includes five programs of record going though formal Limited User Tests (LUT) and a host of emerging or developmental technologies undergoing various evaluations, … Continue reading
Joint, Coalition Partners Prep IBCT for Combat in Afghanistan
By Casey E. Bain and Marie La Touche, JFIIT, USJFCOM Soldiers from the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), Baumholder, Germany, and joint and coalition partners from eight nations completed a unique exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) that focused on enhancing joint and combined fires, as well as improving the integration of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to better prepare the unit for the irregular warfare environment they will face in Afghanistan. This capstone training event for the 170th IBCT included vital support from the U.S. Air Force Europe (USAFE) Warrior Preparation Center, known as the … Continue reading
Blue Force Times Ten
The U.S. Army is upgrading its tried and true Blue Force Tracking System to accommodate data throughput at speeds much faster than current platform capability. By Kris Osborn, PEO C3T Public Affairs The U.S. Army is in the midst a host of high-tech upgrades to it force tracking system – Force XXI Battle Command Brigade-and- Below (FBCB2) – to include new, next-generation software and a new, faster satellite network, service officials said. As part of this overall effort, the Army is preparing to deploy the high-tech, high-speed Blue Force Tracking (BFT) 2 — a force tracking satellite communications network. Although … Continue reading
BCT Comms: Deploying Wideband Tactical Networking to the Tactical Edge
By Brook Reinhold, Harris RF Communications Brook Reinhold, an applications engineer for Harris RF Communications, is a former communications chief for the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. Reinhold and two colleagues—Will Fletcher and Mike Gonzalez—recently spent several months working with an Army Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan to deploy the first-ever battalion-level mobile wideband radio network for front-line personnel. This network consists primarily of Harris Falcon III® AN/PRC-117G tactical radios and meshes with larger networks at brigade and above. This is Reinhold’s personal account of bringing this vital new capability to currently deployed forces. FROM SATCOM BEGINNINGS A lifetime ago, I was trained to carry telephone wire to provide communications … Continue reading