1. The Operational Application Of Commercial Technologies
Lessons Learned
From
The Operational Application
Of Commercial Technologies
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning
I am Brigadier General Mehmet CETIN, Director of NATO Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Center, in short JALLC.
It is my greate pleasure to adress you here and I would like to thank Commodore Robert Howell for his kind invitation to this event.
Within the next 20 minutes, I will present you lessons learned from the operational application of commercial technologies that NATO is using in the operational theatres.
Overall classification of this conference is NATO unclassified. By
Brigadier General Mehmet CETIN
Director JALLC
JALLC

2. Current Usage Of Commercial Technologies
WHO?
Who are the companies that provide NATO with capability?
Just a few of them are listed here.
Showing the company logo is not to be construed as any sort of NATO standard.

3. Current Usage Of Commercial Technologies WHERE?
Interim Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan
(ISAF)
Kosovo Force, Balkans (KFOR)
NATO Training Mission – Iraq (NTM-I)
Assistance Mission in Sudan (AMIS)
These are the Operational theatres where these technologies are currently experimented ….

4. Current Usage Of Commercial Technologies WHAT?
Satellite Technologies
COTS (Commercial of the Shelf)
Web-based
And these are the most common technologies that we are using/experimenting with.

5. Application of new Technologies to Operational Theatres
Now, I am going to talk about the application of those new technologies to operational theatres and lessons learned from their applications.

6. Commercial Satellite Technologies
Satellite technologies are intensively used in the operational theatres to provide communication links from NATO HQ to Operational HQs (Strategic links), and from Operational HQs to Subordinate HQs (Tactical Links), as you will see in the following two slides

7. NATO Strategic CIS Links in ISAF
Space Segment HQ
TSGT
TSGT
Commercial Satellite Network.
As the ISAF operation matures, a commercial satellite network in the form of a digital commercial leased network will be used to extend and provide diversity for the NATO SATCOM network.
It would provide the minimum military bandwidth necessary through terminals located at secure ISAF military sites and would be operated and maintained by contractor personnel.
NATO network
DLOS
KMNB
KAIA

8. NATO Tactical CIS Links in ISAF
VSAT ROSHAN
PRT
KUNDUZ
The theatre tactical networks link the highest level of national/multinational HQs with the lower echelons and are a national responsibility.
Interfaces between NATO strategic and national tactical communications systems will be provided where operationally justified.
Additionally, subject to Ultra High Frequency (UHF) SATCOM bandwidth being available, UHF TACSAT terminals will be provided by NATO to support a High Command (HICOM) net and links between HQs and highest level of national/multinational HQs.
UHF TACSAT provides essential secure 24-hour voice and limited data communications to forces in the field.
VSAT ROSHAN
PRT
P e K
VSAT ROSHAN
ISAF HQ
PRT
M e S
FSB
M e S

9. NATO FRIENDLY FORCES TRACKING (NFFT) COMMERCIAL SATELLITE NETWORK
Germany (Backup)
Ops Center
L-Band
Ground Station
Thuraya
Sharjah, UAE
Inmarsat
Eik, Norway
Artemis
Lario, Italy
Europe
(AOR A & K alternate)
AOR A L2 A1 S1 I1
AOR K
GCCS(A)
Also, the NATO Friendly Forces Tracking (NFFT) system is based on BFT (name of the company) Satellite Service, and covers all current major operational theaters with a total of 4 beams from 3 Commercial Satellite Service Providers.
Data transmitted from each platform passes through the relevant satellite provider’s Earth Station, which is in turn linked to identical (primary and backup) BFT operations centers in Kuwait and Germany via Internet and VSAT Satellite links
All message data is processed at the operations centers. Only the primary operations center can transmit and:
Provides a Common Operating Picture (COP) for commanders
Broadcasts a common situational awareness (SA) picture to all platforms in each theater
Transmits messages to destination addressees in-theater through the L-Band system
Feeds data as appropriate to higher level systems including Global Command and Control System (Army) (GCCS(A))
Kuwait (Primary)
Ops Center

10. Lessons Learned
Operational Theatres, especially when located in remote countries, highly rely on availability of SATCOM (ISAF, AMIS, NTM-I)
NATO satellite capabilities are not sufficient to support all the demands
… and, of course, Lessons Learned that are emerging from exercises and operational theatres.
The first, and more important, is that NATO Operations in non-NATO/non-European countries must be supported by a robust and reliable availability of Satellite Communication Systems.
Currently, the NATO IV B satellite is almost at the end of its operational life. Applying Lessons Learned from the past, NATO is currently developing the NATO Post-2000 satellite program, that sees the coexistence of NATO and National military satellites, as well as the leasing of commercial satellite circuits, to support operations.

11. Commercial Off The Shelf
Technologies
Commercial Off the Shelf Technologies are intensively used in the operational theatres …

12. Decision Desk
…. As multiple displays for computers…

13. Decision Wall
…. Including the use of plasma/LCD screens…

14. Human Computer Interface Experimentation
…. Up to tablet PCs, wide screens laptops, integrated PDAs, etc.
The whole network, apart from the encryption devices, is based on commercial products (servers, routers, switches, optical fiber converters, etc)

15. NFFT Platform System
A Common Hardware is provided for Vehicles and Command Centers
Panasonic Toughbook, CF-29
MT2011E Transceiver
Garmin-16A Commercial GPS
Ancillaries
Padded carrying case
Docking Station
28 VDC Power Cable
Mounting kit
The FBCB2 Dismount Software is ported to W2K
A subset of the FBCB2 JVMF Message set is provided
Supports GIF maps and imagery (not CADRG/CIB5)
Zoom up to 2X available
Panasonic Toughbook, CF-29
The NATO Friendly Force Trcaker platform is also Commercial Off The Shelfs, and it’s basically a Panasonic Toughbook with a transceiver and a Commercial GPS as shown on the slide.
The system comes with a mounting kit, a padded carrying case and powers off the vehicle. A docking station makes it very easy to mount or dismount the PC from the vehicle.
The FBCB2 software is Window 2000 based.
MT-2011E
Transceiver
Garmin GPS Unit

16. Lessons Learned Sensible to rapid equipment obsolescence
(ISAF , NTM-I)
The standard life cycle of CIS equipment in NATO is comprised between 3 and 5 years
The commercial world CIS technological capabilities are doubled every 18 months (Moore’s Law)
… and, of course, Lessons Learned that are emerging from exercises and operational theatres.
The first lesson is that operational theaters should be provided with updated commercial technologies to empower the mission
The second Lesson comes from the extremely short life cycle of Information technology equipment.
The problem arises when there’s the need to integrate networks from different countries, because not all the countries are upgrading their equipment at the same speed. The problem might be overcome by using compatible technologies, and standard protocols.

17. Web Based Technologies
WEB based technologies are also extensively used in NATO to process and disseminate data…

18. Common Operational Picture capability
Today’s (limited) web
Common Operational Picture capability
In this example, you can see a very limited common operational picture (ground forces + a few air assets + movement vectors, no other info are shown).
This limits the Commander’s capability to assess and evaluate the situation.

19. Experimental COP capability based on emerging
web technology using multiple information sources in a plug-and-play architecture
Here, multiple COP are displayed (and the relative info are merged together) on real time imagery.

20. Multi-source information aggregation
Here, the Common Operational Picture is displayed together with the airport/depot status, weather impact on operation status, Commander’s intent status and map, and Status of Operations.
As you can see, the resulting picture gives a much more effective comprehension of “ what’s going on”, when compared to the first Common Operational Picture slide.

21. Multi capability integration
Here is another example, where typically “military” info are merged with civilian ones (Media and Weather Forecast)

22. High Definition Imagery
High definition imagery can be integrated in the COP….

23. NATO Global Grid (ENGINE)
Information flow and integration
…and merged with data coming from NATO assets (Friendly Force Tracker) and National C2 Systems….
Friendly
Force
Tracker
National C2
System
NATO
Web
Portal
National Global Grid
NATO Global Grid (ENGINE)
Gateway
Map/
Imagery
Service

24. NATO Global Grid (ENGINE)
Integrated, web based COP
Operational
Net
Assessment
NATO
Logistics
System
Web
Portal
National Global Grid
NATO Global Grid (ENGINE)
Gateway
Map/
Imagery
Service
… and integrated in a NATO Web Portal, where real time operations and the relative assessments, can be disseminated to all interested users

25. Web Based Operational Events DB
All data concerning all objects displayed on the Common Operational Picture can than be made available in a common database.

26. Lessons Learned Need for large bandwidth (ISAF, NTM-I)
to quickly and reliably transfer large
amount of data
Network and Web civilian technologies
are evolving at a faster pace than the
military applications
State-of-the-art technologies (IP-Crypto,
VoIP) still to be implemented
Outsourcing alleviates the problem
… and, of course, Lessons Learned that are emerging from exercises and operational theatres.
The third lesson is that the diffusion of large amount of data requires a large availability of bandwidth. So far, some of the technologies used by NATO communicators (bulk and channel encryption devices, PROMINA Bandwidth Management Equipment) are preventing NATO to have more bandwidth available, and to use state-of-the-art technologies, such as IP-Crypto and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). This impasse is currently being analyzed.
The fourth lesson is similar, but opposite, to the third. The progress of web-based technologies and products in the civilian world is so fast, that is becoming increasingly difficult to set standards in the NATO world, considering the different “speed” of the Alliance. This has been partially solved by “outsourcing” some of the CIS services, but a full solution is still far from being achieved.