Land Forces Extend Combat Range With 'Netted' Radios.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Sophisticated new vehicles and weapons aside, the success of land forces in future wars will be linked inextricably to the strength of their communications networks.

That is the emerging doctrine that will be part of the Army's so-called "transformation" process. Under this doctrine, there are no heavy tanks and much less armor. To overcome the vulnerability associated with lighter vehicles, the Army believes that soldiers will rely on advanced tactical communications systems to figure out foe and friendly positions, and thus stay out of the reach of enemy fire.

"The goal is for the leader to make intellectual contact with the enemy before the soldiers make actual contact," said Brig. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, deputy commander for transformation at the Army's Training and Doctrine Command.

But tactical communications technologies today fall short of what the Army needs to make this transformation come to fruition, said Maj. Gen. Steven W. Boutelle, the Army's program executive officer for command, control and communications. "Terrestrial-based communications will not get us where we need to go," Boutelle said during a recent Army conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Boutelle's statement points to the core of the Army's problem: ground-based tactical communications systems are not robust enough to overcome the need for line of sight. One solution, said Boutelle, is the use of tactical satellite systems or unmanned aircraft, which can relay ground messages from point to point. "We need to extend the network to the three-dimensional world, or we will have significant problems," he asserted.

Part of the Army's massive investment in its transformation includes an increase of $1.2 billion during the next five years for [C.sup.4]ISR, a catch-all phrase that refers to technologies used for command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance functions.

A large portion of that money will be spent on "advanced technology demonstrations" to bring about more robust [C.sub.4]ISR systems, explained Maj. Gen. Robert L. Nabors, chief the Army's Communications and Electronics Command.

These projects will emphasize secure, on-the-move battlefield communications technologies that will give soldiers access to useful tactical information, Nabors told National Defense during an interview in Fort Lauderdale, where he was attending an Army symposium.

Among the top priorities is a program called "Mosaic," or multifunction on-the move secure, interactive, adaptive communications. The idea is to rely on "dynamic bandwidth management on the battlefield," so that information stays in the network and ensures that it is delivered to its destination, even if two or more radios become disconnected, he explained. Such a self-healing network automatically reroutes the information, so the message gets through.

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