Army Battle Command System

Last updated

The Army Battle Command System (ABCS) is a digital Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) system for the US Army. It includes a mix of fixed/semi-fixed and mobile networks. It is also designed for interoperability with US and Coalition C4I systems.

Contents

Army Battle Command System (ABCS) Version 6.4 is an integrated suite that allows troops to obtain an automated view of friendly activity and supply movement; plan fires, receive situation and intelligence reports, view the airspace and receive automatically disseminated weather reports.

Systems

ABCS is intended to function as a System of systems concept, with the ultimate goal of being similar to what the internet provides to civilians. Similar to how those using the internet have no need to know the location of the network they connect to, ABCS is intended to provide the same capability. In this way, the ABCS system will allow commanders to see multiple systems on one screen and easily transfer data from one to the next. The system also provides up-to-date information on a map-based display.

Despite these capabilities, the system does have limitations. In particular, it does not integrate well with the GCCS systems used for joint operations. This creates a risk of bad data and database errors in such scenarios.

ABCS combines seven packages into a single system:

  1. The Maneuver Control System (MCS) allows the operator to define routes and view overlays to provide situational awareness. MCS is being phased out and replaced with "Lightning", an ABCS enabled Flash/Java Program that uses the Web Browser interface. It allows users to publish products from CPOF without using the BCS (Battle Command Server) PASS (Publish and Subscribe Service) Server, making Lightning more flexible as it can be used on any Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRnet-System) as there is no interface software required besides your web browser (Typically IE 8.0 or higher, not compatible with Opera or Firefox at this time.) The system was developed and integrated by Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp. (FACC), Colorado Springs, Colorado. [1]
  2. The Air and Missile Defense Workstations (AMDWS) provide soldiers with an Air Defense picture, and supports the Surface Launched Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (SLAM-RAAM) Air Defense Artillery (ADA) system by providing an automated defense planning capability for deployed units.
  3. The Battle Command Sustainment & Support System (BCS3) integrates multiple data sources into one program and provides commanders with a visual layout of battlefield logistics.
  4. The All Source Analysis System (ASAS) can analyze incidents and help determine the patterns of Improvised Explosive Device-related incidents. A commander can determine locations that are typical for IED attacks, so that they know to warn their soldiers of such a threat.
  5. The Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) plan and execute fires during each phase of action, whether a deliberate attack or defensive operation. AFATDS is fielded to all Active Component Army and Marine Corps units. About 90% of the National Guard has been fielded. AFATDS is installed on large-deck amphibious assault vessels of the United States Navy.
  6. The Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade & Below/Blue Force Tracking (FBCB2/BFT) system uses satellite and terrestrial communications technology to track and display friendly vehicles and aircraft that appear on a computer screen as blue icons over a topographical map or satellite image of the ground. Commanders and Soldiers can add red icons that show up as enemy on the screen, and are simultaneously broadcast to all the other FBCB2/BFT users on the battlefield. There are about 15,000 FBCB2/BFT systems in use today.
  7. The Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS) is an automated system for battlefield airspace management.

Additional systems that are integrated with the ABCS suite include:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NORAD</span> Combined organization of the US and Canada providing air defence for North America

North American Aerospace Defense Command, known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defense Information Systems Agency</span> US Department of Defense combat support agency

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA provides information technology (IT) and communications support to the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, the military services, the combatant commands, and any individual or system contributing to the defense of the United States.

Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, mobility, protection or security, and shock action. Tactics are a separate function from command and control and logistics. In contemporary military science, tactics are the lowest of three levels of warfighting, the higher levels being the strategic and operational levels. Throughout history, there has been a shifting balance between the four tactical functions, generally based on the application of military technology, which has led to one or more of the tactical functions being dominant for a period of time, usually accompanied by the dominance of an associated fighting arm deployed on the battlefield, such as infantry, artillery, cavalry or tanks.

Global Command and Control System (GCCS) is the United States' armed forces DoD joint command and control (C2) system used to provide accurate, complete, and timely information for the operational chain of command for U.S. armed forces. "GCCS" is most often used to refer to the computer system, but actually consists of hardware, software, common procedures, appropriation, and numerous applications and interfaces that make up an "operational architecture" that provides worldwide connectivity with all levels of command. GCCS incorporates systems that provide situational awareness, support for intelligence, force planning, readiness assessment, and deployment applications that battlefield commanders require to effectively plan and execute joint military operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IMETS</span> Military technology

Integrated Meteorological System, developed by Northrop Grumman is the meteorological component of the Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (IEW), an element of the Army Battle Command System (ABCS). IMETS provides Army commanders at all echelons with an automated weather system to receive, process, and disseminate weather observations, forecasts, and weather and environmental effects decision aids to all Battlefield Operating Systems (BOS). IMETS is designed to be a mobile, tactical, automated weather data receiving, processing and dissemination system. The IMETS is an Army-furnished and maintained system operated by US Air Force battlefield weather team personnel. It uses US Air Force and Army developed software to provide a total weather system to support the Army. The Integrated Weather Effects Decision Aid (IWEDA) software, originally developed by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in 1992, has been fielded on IMETS since 1997 to provide tactical weather support to the U.S. Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue force tracking</span> Battlefield awareness technology

Blue force tracking is a United States military term for a GPS-enabled capability that provides military commanders and forces with location information about friendly military forces. In NATO military symbology, blue typically denotes friendly forces. The capability provides a common picture of the location of friendly forces and therefore is referred to as the blue force tracker. When all capitalized, the term refers to a specific defense contractors' system, but the capability is found in many military and civilian mobile apps.

The United States Army's Command Post of the Future (CPOF) is a C2 software system that allows commanders to maintain topsight over the battlefield; collaborate with superiors, peers and subordinates over live data; and communicate their intent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below</span> Linux-based military communication platform

Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) is a Linux-based communication platform designed for commanders to track friendly and hostile forces on the battlefield. It increases a vehicle commander's situational awareness of the battlefield by gathering information near real-time based on vehicle locations being updated on the battlefield. This information is viewed graphically, and exchanged via both free and fixed text message formats.

List of abbreviations, acronyms and initials related to military subjects such as modern armour, artillery, infantry, and weapons, along with their definitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operational Test and Evaluation Force</span> Military unit

The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologic, and space systems in support Navy and Department of Defense acquisition programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Manager Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below</span> Military unit

The Project Manager Force Battle Command Brigade and Below is a component of the Program Executive Office Command Control and Communications Tactical Special Projects Office in the United States Army. The phrase "brigade and below" in the name refers to the fact that operations and communications within these smaller Army units are shifting to a digital integration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command</span> Military unit

The 32nd AAMDC or 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command is a theater level Army air and missile defense multi-component organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission. The 32nd AAMDC commands echelon above corps (EAC) ADA brigades and other assigned forces. Four such brigades, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, and 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade; by training, all stand ready to accomplish their mission of air defense against missile attack – 'anywhere, anytime' in support of the war-fighting combatant commander (CCDR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle command</span> Military discipline

Battle command (BC) is the discipline of visualizing, describing, directing, and leading forces in operations against a hostile, thinking, and adaptive enemy. Battle command applies leadership to translate decision into actions, by synchronizing forces and warfighting functions in time, space, and purpose, to accomplish missions. Battle command refers both to processes triggered by commanders and executed by soldiers and to the system of systems (SoS) that directly enables those processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PM WIN-T</span> Military unit

PM WIN-T is a component of Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical in the United States Army. PM WIN-T has been absorbed into PM Tactical Networks as Product Manager for Mission Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M2 Bradley</span> American infantry fighting vehicle

The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Justice</span> United States Army general

Nickolas G. "Nick" Justice is a U.S. Army major general who commanded the United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Manager Mission Command</span> Military unit

Project Manager Mission Command is a component of the Program Executive Office Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical within the United States Army. PM MC is responsible for the development, deployment, and maintenance of integrated Mission Command software capabilities for the Army and Joint forces. The project manager ensures efficient fielding, effective training, and professional support for tactical and other unit types. PM MC's product lines cover the areas of maneuver, fires, sustainment, and infrastructure.

The Joint Theater Level Simulation (JTLS) is used to simulate joint, combined, and coalition civil-military operations at the operational level. Used for civil/military simulations and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) scenarios, JTLS is an interactive, computer-assisted simulation that models multi-sided air, ground, and naval resources with logistical Special Operation Forces (SOF) and intelligence support. The primary purpose of JTLS is to create a realistic environment in which agency staff can operate as they would within a real-world or operational situation. A training audience conducts a scenario or event to practice their ability to coordinate various staff functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battlefield Coordination Detachment</span>

The Battlefield Coordination Detachment (US Army), or BCD, is the senior United States Army liaison element of the Army Air Ground System. The BCD serves as a bridge between the senior US Army headquarters element and the senior Air Force headquarters in each respective US combatant command or theater of operations. The BCD enables the coordination of Army-Air Force mission command, fire support, integrated air and missile defense, intelligence sharing, airspace management, and airlift. Additional space, cyber, and electronic warfare augmentation allow the BCD to further enable the designated Army force commander across the complete spectrum of warfare.

Kongsberg Geospatial is a Situational Awareness and Geospatial Visualization software company located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1992 as Gallium Visual Systems Inc. and purchased in 2006 by Norwegian Defence firm Kongsberg Gruppen. It currently operates as a subsidiary of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and in 2012, officially changed its name to Kongsberg Gallium Ltd. In 2016, the company changed its name again to Kongsberg Geospatial to better reflect its focus on geospatial software solutions..

References

  1. Army Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Funds, Hearings, 1985, pt. 7, p. 84.