Army to upgrade Land Warrior system with blue-force tracker.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Soldier System

In response to feedback from soldiers in Iraq, the Army intends to add blue-force tracking capabilities to a handheld computer that is being developed for the Land Warrior program.

The battle-management computer, called the Commander's Digital Assistant, was designed to help battalion and company commanders, as well as platoon leaders, maintain "situational awareness" of their troops as they move around the battlefield.

The CDA is the cornerstone piece of technology the Army intends to field in Land Warrior, a system that integrates everything that a soldier wears or carries. Land Warrior also is part of an ambitious long-term plan to connect dismounted troops into tactical networks. Several units in Iraq tested handheld and laptop-size versions of the CDA in recent months. Their observations--many of which were critical of the system--are shaping future upgrades to the technology.

The next step in the evolution of Land Warrior, said program officials, is to combine the CDA technology with the blue-force tracking device widely used in Operation Iraqi Freedom--the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below, or FBCB2. The merging of the two systems makes sense, officials said, because both have overlapping features and, collectively, could become much more useful than in their current form, particularly in helping prevent fratricide. Another key feature that the Army wants in the CDA is L-band satellite connectivity, which is available in FBCB2.

During senior-level meetings at the Pentagon last December, Army officials expressed interest in moving the CDA-FBCB2 to the field as soon as possible.

Lt. Col. David Gallop, Army program manager for Land Warrior, said it would not be unreasonable to expect the L-band upgrade and the blue-force tracking capability in CDA by April. The long-term goal is to provide T-1 encryption, which is the highest level. Current CDAs have T-3 encryption.

The next Land Warrior upgrade--to be fielded in 2006--will have T-1 encryption, as well as satellite connectivity, possibly L-Band and Iridium. The current CDA only is connected to a SINCGARS ASIP radio for extended-range communications. The CDA supports both voice and data, but gives higher priority to voice traffic.

The program managers for Land Warrior and for FBCB2 recently decided to merge the two systems, under a memorandum of agreement. So far, however, the technical requirements of an FBCB2-CDA unit have not been set.

"Combining CDA and FBCB2 is one of our next spirals," Gallop said in an interview. "It's a great technical marriage."

One significant hurdle, however, is making competing contractors work together, Gallop said.

The CDA and the FBCB2 so far have been competing technologies. General Dynamics Decision Systems makes the CDA and the Land Warrior. Northrop Grumman Tactical Systems produces the FBCB2.

Making the two contractors work together will not be easy, Gallop said, not because it's...