Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

MIT 2009 Volume: 13 Issue: 11 (December)

KMI Media Group is pleased to announce that Toye McLean has joined the company as database administrator, overseeing KMI’s comprehensive circulation lists of key military decision makers.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as an automated logistics specialist, McLean worked most recently as a project scheduling coordinator under contract to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Orbiting Router Speeds Global Communications

A space-tolerant router designed by Cisco has been lifted into orbit aboard an INTELSAT satellite. The payload, on the INTELSAT 14 satellite, is a demonstration of Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) for the military, which is expected to open up a number of commercial and military opportunities to improve communications connectivity around the globe.

The Department of Defense Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration (JCTD) of IRIS will be managed by Cisco and Intelsat General Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat. The Cisco IRIS payload will convert to commercial use following the three-month technology demonstration, set to begin in January 2010. The IRIS team expects to show that the payload will directly route an incoming signal on one of the satellite’s C- or Ku-band transponders to a number of ground receivers in either band, while avoiding the time delay and cost of double-hopping the traffic through multiple teleports.

“We expect IRIS to connect the Internet with satellites in space for the warfighters who need seamless communication between ground-based networks and satellites used for communications,” said Kay Sears, president of Intelsat General. “Once the capabilities of IRIS are demonstrated, there could be a great deal of interest in this technology from a wide range of end users, both inside and outside of government.”

Cisco used the commercial Cisco IOS Software for the on-board router, which is not unlike the routers used in Earth-based computer networks, except that it has radiation shielding for the harsh environment of space.

“Just as satellites transformed the global reach of communications and led to significant innovation, so too will the delivery of global IP-based communications services via satellite drive major cost efficiencies and flexibility to entities around the globe,” said Lieutenant General Steven Boutelle (Ret.), vice president, Cisco Global Government Solutions Group.

“IRIS has the potential to transform how government agencies and commercial organizations are able to buy and use IP-based network services to accomplish their missions.”

The JCTD grant for the project from DoD to Intelsat General is the first such funding ever awarded to a commercial satellite operator. IRIS offers several distinct advantages over conventional satellite technology. IRIS can route data to multiple ground receivers in a single step, increasing transponder utilization. Because the payload regenerates the signal, its power is increased slightly, allowing a reduction in the size of sending and receiving terminals, particularly important for mobile applications.

Finally, the software on the Cisco router and onboard modem can be upgraded from the ground, which increases the flexibility of the system and the return on investment for the operator.

With IRIS, users will be able to experience a true mobile network, one that enables them to connect and communicate how, when and where they want, and that continuously adapts to their needs without reliance on a predefined, fixed infrastructure. Cisco intends to partner with satellite manufacturers, system integrators and end users to deliver services globally.

Collaboration for Better Buying

An initiative launched this fall by the General Services Administration and two nonprofit organizations is working to improve the federal acquisition process, while also exploring the potential for using Internet technology to foster collaboration among government agencies and others.

Backed also by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s Acquisition Management Shared Interest Group, the Better Buy Project offers a Website (www.betterbuyproject.com) where visitors can propose, comment and vote on ideas for strengthening procurement by the federal government, which buys more than $500 billion a year in goods and services.

Since the site was unveiled, it has drawn some 3,000 visits from across the nation. Visitors have offered dozens of suggestions for changes in the market research and requirements definition, pre-solicitation phase and solicitation phase of the acquisition process. The most popular ideas put forth for improving market research and requirements definition, for example, call for improving acquisition training and for halting the annual procurement rush as each fiscal year draws to a close.

GSA will select promising ideas and pilot them in upcoming acquisitions. Backers say the initiative reflects efforts by the Obama administration to encourage federal agencies to use emerging social media platforms to share information and generate discussion on key issues.

“We started talking about how to use collaborative technology to improve the federal acquisition process, and specifically to make it more open, collaborative and transparent. The government spends $530 billion a year on procuring goods and services, and does so across a multitude of agencies,” Assistant Commissioner Mary Davie of the Office of Assisted Acquisition Services, who is leading the effort for GSA, said recently.

“It’s a complex and complicated process. So we wanted to find a way to apply collaborative technology at least to the pre-award part of the process that would result in better outcomes,” she added. “I’m encouraging other agencies to try these ideas out. I want this to be as open as possible, so that this can help improve the acquisition process across government.”

Dan Munz of NAPA also emphasized the project as a model for fostering collaboration to improve government operations.

“Part of the scope of this is to improve the acquisition process, but it is also to look at setting up a space and building a process where people can come together to improve government,” he said. “We see that as valuable beyond the short term. We’re hoping that we can not only improve federal acquisition, but also provide a model for people in government even if they’re dealing with other topics.”

Bold Quest Seeks Advanced Technologies for Combat ID

A coalition team providing humanitarian assistance to a war-torn village receives heavy sniper fire from a nearby building where friendly forces were patrolling earlier. From a defensive fighting position protecting the refugees, the team contacts a British joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) to provide close air support.

The JTAC locates the threat and passes the location information to a U.S. Air Force F-16 overhead. The pilot receives the threat information, initiates a friendly force location request from a Smart-Pull Warfighter Information for Targeting (SWIFT) Combat Identification (CID) Server on the ground, confirms there are no friendly forces in the targeted area, and neutralizes the threat.

This event is an example of a tactical scenario used to assess advanced CID technologies during the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) Joint Capability Development Directorate-led Bold Quest (BQ) 09 Coalition Combat Identification demonstration conducted this fall.

“We’re collecting quantifiable data on the CID systems’ performance as well as subjective evaluations of the aircrews and joint terminal attack controllers as a basis for post-event analysis to inform U.S. and allied senior leaders who can make investment decisions,” said John Miller, USJFCOM Joint Capability Integration and Fires Division’s BQ 09 operational manager. “We’re trying to give coalition shooters the tools that will allow them to sort through the confusion of war to be faster and more accurate in a gun fight.”

USJFCOM’s Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team (JFIIT) helped conduct the military utility assessment of the SWIFT CID server during the exercise.

“The SWIFT server is a perfect example of how we could improve the CID capabilities of our coalition team,” said Bob Summitt, senior analyst, JFIIT. “SWIFT provides the pilot with an on-demand request capability for friendly force location information. The pilot can initiate a request for friendly location information from the CID Server located on the ground and receive real-time situational awareness data in the cockpit, where he can quickly verify friendly locations in the area of interest to enable a more efficient response to the ground commander’s request for close air support.”

The demonstration’s focus was on air-to-ground CID system assessments and refinement of tactics, techniques, and procedures using a variety of air-to-ground CID technologies designed to improve U.S. and coalition capabilities and combat effectiveness. More than 800 personnel representing all U.S. services and coalition partners from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom participated in the exercise. ♦

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