'Bird's eye view': Army to create 'hybrid' network of incompatible blue-force trackers.

• Author: Jean, Grace V.
• Position: Tactical Vehicles

* A Chinook helicopter flies over a convoy of friendly troops in Afghanistan. Beyond the next bend, the pilot spots a couple of men digging holes on the side of the road. He quickly pulls up a digital map that displays several blue icons. He clicks on the one representing the convoy, types a quick text message to warn of the potential danger ahead and continues on his way.

Several years ago, it would have been nearly impossible for the helicopter pilot to contact the ground force he just passed. But with a technology that is known as blue force tracking, units can "see" each other on the battlefield and communicate via text messages.

Soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to rely so heavily upon the system that they continue to demand the latest variants in large numbers. As the Army fields the technology, officials are still working out some kinks.

"Is the system perfect today? The answer is, absolutely no," said Lt. Col. David Grauel, project manager for the blue force tracking system, which is known in the Army as Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below.

The FBCB2 is the Army's principal digital command and control system at the brigade and below level. It comes in two variants: one that is based on the ground force's ultra-high frequency radio network--the enhanced position location reporting system, or EPLRS--and one that utilizes a commercial satellite communications network.

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About 30 percent of the FBCB2-equipped forces are on the EPLRS network while 70 percent have the sat-com version.

Both variants display the locations of friendly and enemy forces on bird's eye view maps of the battlefield. They also provide tools for other capabilities, such as military graphics and overlays, medical evacuation requests and free text messages.

As the Army looks ahead, it sees a need to blend the two into a next-generation blue force tracking system. But before it gets there, officials say they need to improve the current technologies.

Soldiers have complained that the system occasionally misidentifies the vehicles they are in, and that communications via the L-band satellite link sometimes take too long to go through.

The former problem reflects the biggest complaint coming from forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Grauel. The issue originates from the system's software, which has an "inflexible database structure" that is updated quarterly.

The database consists of entries filled with information...