Scandinavian Technology Blazes New Trail

Signal, Sep 2004 by Kenyon, Henry S

Internet-based software serves as a template for next-generation command and control networks.

A prototype command and control system is being used to develop future network-centric technologies for the Swedish military. The scalable, platform-independent software serves as a testbed to evaluate new applications, link legacy systems and develop new operational doctrine. This work is part of an ongoing effort to provide the Swedish armed forces with an advanced battle management capability.

Creating complex communications and data networks is not an easy task. It becomes more difficult when new technologies must work within existing infrastructures. The designers of Europe's next generation command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C^sup 4^ISR) systems are working in an environment of shrinking defense budgets where the armed forces must do more with less. One way to achieve this feat is by linking legacy systems to make operations more efficient. This challenge is causing defense firms to focus on available technologies that can be readily modified to create future networks.

The Scandinavian firm at the center of this effort is Saab Systems, Järfalla, Sweden. A unit of the Saab Group, the company has developed a prototype C^sup 4^ISR product called NetC4I. According to Mats Hamrin, Saab's NetC4I product manager, work began in 2000 after the Swedish government requested a study of network-centric technologies. The military was undergoing a series of budget cuts at the time, and the effort's goal was to examine the potential for cost savings and efficiencies in these applications. "We needed a tool that we could use to integrate all the older legacy systems to get a global situational picture," he says.

NetC4I was developed to test an Internet-based command and control approach. It was the only system available at the time to demonstrate a network-centric C^sup 4^ISR approach to Swedish military and government officials. Hamrin notes that Saab's original plan was to develop a system to connect legacy equipment and to study how the technology worked so the government could create operating guidelines.

The Swedish government plans to have an operational network-centric C^sup 4^ISR capability by the end of the decade, Hamrin offers. The military is working with Saab, Ericsson, Boeing, IBM and the Swedish Defense Material Administration to test a variety of technical approaches with the goal of having a definitive demonstration in 2006. In each of these steps leading to the final test, specific aspects of the system, such as security, situational picture and integration, are being explored and evaluated, he says.

NetC4I is built around the Java programming language. Because it was intended originally as a testbed for internal company use, the technology has not been certified for official use by the Swedish government, Hamrin shares. But the software has a variety of applications. In its current form, it is used as a framework to study and implement the integration of network-centric command and control (C^sup 2^) systems.

The platform-independent program has a role-based user system that grants access privileges based on pre-assigned classifications. NetC4I also is designed for distributed operations by connecting command posts to the network and downloading data updates and services to remote users. The technology can be adapted to a variety of legacy systems such as air defense, battle management, vehicle command and control, surveillance, airborne and naval applications.

The software has drawn the attention of other governments as well. One system has been delivered to an Asian nation for evaluation. Hamrin explains that this particular customer has linked NetC4I to simulators and is using it to demonstrate and visualize potential network-centric methodologies for its armed forces.

Although it is a prototype, NetC4I can serve several important functions, Hamrin notes. It can be used to demonstrate C^sup 4^ISR concepts, or it can be a platform itself. "You could basically ship it out tomorrow to a customer if he was willing to take the risk of it not being fine-tuned or certified. But right now we're using it as a testbed," he says.

Hamrin believes that NetC4I can be readied quickly for use by civilian governments, but some security issues must be resolved before it can be used by the military. The system's security currently is provided by a smart card and a user personal identification number to establish a secure socket layer to a server. While this is adequate for police, fire and disaster management agencies, it is not enough for military sensor-to-shooter systems that require encryption. He adds that Saab has several research groups studying in parallel for both civil and military network-centric applications.

As a prototype, the company is using the system to test applications such as role-based management, information sharing and display tools that permit users to send and receive battle plans based on their clearance within the system. Saab also has conducted research with Sweden's National Defense College to develop a user interface and methodology for the system. "We have the technical knowhow, but we need the end user input," he says.