Defense Systems

Army CIO Sorenson acknowledges concern over cyberwarfare,

Not that Army information technology officers needed a wake-up call about the need to secure their networks, but the recent cyberattacks against Georgian networks that originated in Russia certainly served as reinforcement of that need.

Defense Systems

LandWarNet to Feature Interoperability Program

The growing importance of IT to military operations, particularly those conducted by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, is evident by the record number of exhibitors and registrants signed up for this year’s LandWarNet Conference.

Defense Systems

Army Lt. Gen Ann Dunwoody confirmed

Army Lt. Gen Ann Dunwoody became the first female four-star general in the U.S. military after the Senate confirmed her by unanimous consent July 23. She will head Army Materiel Command (AMC), based at Fort Belvoir, Va.

Defense Systems

Battlefield satcom

When the 3rd Infantry Division outran its ability to erect line-of-sight communication antennas during the charge to Baghdad, losing its terrestrial radio capacity, the planners knew something needed to change.

Defense Systems

All solutions go

After three years of wrangling, Defense Department and civilian agencies are finally digging into the Army’s Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-2 Services contract.

Defense Systems

The digitized battlefield

If survivability is the major goal of any system designed to be carried by soldiers into combat, the Army’s Land Warrior system has demonstrated its qualifications.

Defense Systems

Interview with Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson

Army CIO Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson spoke with Defense Systems contributing editor Barry Rosenberg about some of the challenges he’s tackling.

Defense Systems

ICS Is the heart of the future

The core of the Army’s Future Combat Systems, the networked hub of Land Warrior, and the rest of the digitally enhanced warfighter systems are elements of computer systems built largely with commercial components.

Defense Systems

Army studies biofuel cells for sensors

The Army is investigating whether a new type of fuel cell that uses biologically active enzymes as a catalyst could provide a longer-lasting power source for unattended ground sensors.

Defense Systems

COTS creates challenge

Almost every version of Microsoft’s operating systems can be found in the military, and the Army only recently upgraded its Standard Army Maintenance System from MS-DOS to Windows XP.

Defense Systems

Army prepares test of new wireless war game gear

In August, the Army will conduct its first functional field test of a wireless tactical training system that it will eventually embed in Future Combat Systems vehicles and weapons systems.

Defense Systems

Africom builds cooperation with collaboration

Challenges inherent in Africom’s mission — focused more on promoting regional security than warfighting — call for a somewhat different structure and create a challenge for Africom’s C4 operations.

Defense Systems

Army renews contract for munition logistics automation

The Army Joint Munitions Command has renewed a contract with Savi Technology to continue developing and supporting a government-owned software system that handles depot-level ammunition logistics.

Defense Systems

The future is slow to arrive

The Army's Future Combat Systems project is changing to meet criticisms and shifting priorities, but critics doubt the changes are coming soon enough to matter.

Defense Systems

Much more than a game

America’s Army provides an enterprise platform for Army training

Defense Systems

The risks of thinking big

There’s no crime in thinking big. However, as seen in the case of the Army’s gargantuan Future Combat Systems project, there are practical limits to how big a project can be.

Defense Systems

DHS ‘virtual fence’ and Army’s FCS test limits of networked sensors

The core of Project 28 is a network of nine mobile towers that carry a range of radar systems, cameras, and satellite and wireless communications. Unattended ground sensors (UGS) scattered along the border are meant to catch movement and alert the towers for a more detailed look.

Defense Systems

GAO says FCS threatened by software bloat

The centerpiece program of Army transformation, Future Combat Systems, could collapse under the weight of poor software design.

Defense Systems

Shifting frequencies: The Joint Tactical Radio System is a key element in DOD’s shift to network-centric operations

The changes made in the JTRS radio program have changed the game of development and procurement of communications gear — and might have provided a new model for joint systems development

Defense Systems

Army tests solar

The Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center runs two solar projects that emphasize soldier-portable systems.