Tactical communications are military communications in which information of any kind, especially orders and military intelligence, are conveyed from one command, person, or place to another upon a battlefield, particularly during the conduct of combat. It includes any kind of delivery of information, whether verbal, written, visual or auditory, and can be sent in a variety of ways. In modern times, this is usually done by electronic means. Tactical communications do not include communications provided to tactical forces by the Defense Communications System to non-tactical military commands, to tactical forces by civil organizations, nor does it include strategic communication.
MIL-STD-188 is a series of U.S. military standards relating to telecommunications.
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.
A military artillery observer,spotter or FO is responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire onto a target and may be a Forward Air Controller (FAC) for close air support and spotter for naval gunfire support. Also known as Fire Support Specialist or FISTer, an artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry manoeuvre unit. Spotters ensure that indirect fire hits targets which the troops at the fire support base cannot see.
Link 16 is a military tactical data link network used by NATO and nations allowed by the MIDS International Program Office (IPO). Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links.
The United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), or USACAPOC(A), was founded in 1985. USACAPOC(A) is composed mostly of U.S. Army Reserve soldiers in units throughout the United States. Its total size is approximately 10,000 soldiers, making up about 94 percent of the DoD's Civil Affairs forces and 71 percent of the DoD's Psychological Operations forces. It is headquartered at Fort Bragg, NC. The current commander is Major General Darrell J. Guthrie, who assumed command in October 2017.
Naval Tactical Data System, commonly known as NTDS, refers to a computerized information processing system developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s and first deployed in the early 1960s for use in combat ships. It took reports from multiple sensors on different ships and collated it to produce a single unified map of the battlespace. This information could then be relayed back to the ships and to the weapons operators.
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.
TADIL-A/Link 11 is a secure half-duplex tactical data link used by NATO to exchange digital data.
A combat information center (CIC) or action information centre (AIC) is a room in a warship or AWACS aircraft that functions as a tactical center and provides processed information for command and control of the near battlespace or area of operations. Within other military commands, rooms serving similar functions are known as command centers.
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, standards, 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.
The 350th Electronic Systems Wing is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was last active in 2010 as an electronic systems support unit located at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts.
Command and control or C2 is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... [that] employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or enterprise, according to a 2015 definition by military scientists Marius Vassiliou, David S. Alberts and Jonathan R. Agre, The term often refers to a military system.
The Over-the-horizon Airborne Sensor Information System (OASIS) is an organic over the horizon sensor targeting and surveillance system originally produced by Texas Instruments and now by Raytheon.
The Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) of the Stryker series provides automated enhanced surveillance, target acquisition, target identification, target tracking, target designation, position location and communications functionality. Targets will be transmitted instantly to the fire support system and shooter.
Operations Specialist is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating. It is a sea duty-intensive rating in the Navy while the majority of Coast Guard OS's are at ashore Command Centers.
The Advanced Combat Direction System (ACDS) is a centralized, automated command-and-control system, collecting and correlating combat information. It upgrades the Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) for aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious ships. A core component of non-Aegis combat systems, ACDS provides the capability to identify and classify targets, prioritize and conduct engagements, vector interceptor aircraft to targets, and exchange targeting information and engagement orders within the battle group and among different service components in the joint theater of operations. ACDS integrates the ship's sensors, weapons, and intelligence sources to allow command and control of battle group tactical operations.
Jerry Owen Tuttle was a vice admiral in the United States Navy. He was the first Captain of the USS John F. Kennedy; Naval Inspector General; Deputy and Chief of Staff for the Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Special Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations; and Deputy Director for Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency.
The Iris Digital Communications System, also known as the Tactical Command, Control, and Communications System (TCCCS), is a tactical communication system used by the Canadian Army. It was a pioneering system that integrated voice and data communications via the Internet Protocol and ST-II protocol. Elements of the Iris system, together with the High-capacity data radio, later formed the foundation of the British Army's Bowman communications system.
