Army schedules new round of tests for battlefield network
Move sets stage for deployment of key tactical communications architecture
The Army plans to create an overarching battlefield network that will transport voice, data, and video across a consolidated information architecture linking soldiers, command posts and vehicles. Many of the components of this architecture are already in place and the Army hopes to validate the final pieces of the system in a series of tests held this year and in 2012.
According to the Army, the initiative will test capability sets—clusters of equipment and software released to gradually and systematically improve the service’s data and networking capabilities. The goal of these efforts is to introduce systems that immediately meet the requirements of forces in the field rather than deploying them haphazardly across independent acquisition timelines.
The tests, which will take place at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the White Sands Missile Range, N.M., are part of the Army’s network integration strategy. The evaluations will ensure network synchronization among a limited set of users. If successful, the service will begin deploying capability sets in 2015 or 2016.
About the Author
Henry Kenyon is a staff writer covering enterprise applications for Government Computer News. Follow him on Twitter: @kenyonista.