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