KNOWLEDGE SUPERIORITY AND ASSURANCE (KSA)
Abstract
A portion of this activity is devoted to mid-term technology development in close concert with programs of record. The products of these efforts are expected to transition at the end of their schedule into the associated acquisition programs of record. This activity area also appears in PE 0602235N. The aspects of a given EC in PE 0602235N focus on component technology, while this PE focuses on the integration of the components and on demonstrations. Warfighter Capability Gaps are being addressed by EC's. Each EC delivers capability-level products to acquisition in a three to five-year effort, and allocates a sufficient investment to ensure a capability is provided. The Future Naval Enabling Capabilities in this activity span across the Information Infrastructure, Applications/Tools/Decision Aids, Command and Control, Apertures and Radios, and Tactical Networks and Network Control/Management, and Computer Network Defense and Information Assurance technology areas. Technologies being developed will integrate sensors, networks, decision aids, weapons and supporting systems into a highly adaptive, human-centric, comprehensive maritime system. This system will operate from the sea bed to space in a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that can be used in a Joint Environment. To accomplish this information integration, efforts are underway to develop rapid, accurate decision making and dynamic, efficient, mission-responsive communications and networks. Objectives of the current ECs are: a) Combat ID in the Maritime Domain to Reveal Contact Intent: Develop an automated capability to understand and interpret relationships among objects in the context of the maritime environment to include threat prediction and intent as well as event outcome assessment. Benefits to the Naval decision-maker include: automated interpretation of asset relationships and threat/impact assessment; automated processing over wide disparate datasets; recognition of anomalies, and proactive means to confirm or discount suspicious activity; framework extension of fusion to a real-time SOA enterprise environment. b) Automated Control of Large Sensor Networks: Develop a capability for automated and mission specific tactical sensor fields capable of fulfilling specific mission objectives with smart sensors that are capable of forwarding knowledge vice raw data. Technical development efforts also include a fusion engine capable of translating tactical sensor data into appropriate situational awareness for battalion level forces and below. Integration of the tactical sensor network with Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) will assure that fusion, visualization, resource management and information dissemination engines run seamlessly from the individual Marine to the Commander, Joint Task Force (CJTF). c) OCO Focused Tactical Persistent Surveillance: Develop a netted, organically controlled, adaptive sensor field that is capable of detecting and classifying features relevant to OCO. This includes organic sensors for small tactical expeditionary units, capable of supporting the dynamic character of modern operations from the highly mobile to the long-term. Also, Tracking, Tagging and Locating (TTL) technical development of Quantum dot, Electro-Optic (EO) phase shifted and optical tags for use against vehicles and high priority entities. Finally the effort includes technical development to enhance tactical sensor communications for a two-way high data rate radio. Technology allows for automatic adaptation of waveforms for increased network capacity. d) Globally Netted Joint/Coalition Force Maritime Component Commander: Develop 'globally- networked, theater-focused' maritime capabilities to enhance Joint Task Force (JTF) and COCOMs' ability to execute their intentions. The efforts will support multiple users and multiple roles to access data at any command echelon; provide consistent, qualified, and traceable operational & tactical maritime information across theaters; provide pedigree to provide a clear representation of complex situation and threat elements; supports user interaction across the SOA environment. The benefits to Naval forces include: exploitation of navy presence FORWARD to monitor vessels, people, cargo and designated missions, areas of interest within the global maritime environment; access to all relevant databases; and collection, analysis, and dissemination of relevant information. e) Dynamic Tactical Communications Networks: Develop, integrate and demonstrate dynamically adaptive automated software algorithms, protocols, and network management techniques that provide a rapidly auto-configuring and self-organizing networking capability. This capability will adapt to available links of opportunity at lower echelons and assure priority movement of critical data intra-network and through reachback gateway networks that interface with the Global Information Grid (GIG) across multiple security/routing domains. Benefits of this effort to the war-fighter include: timely exchange of situational awareness and C2 information for the Naval Expeditionary Combatant forces; high throughput tactical network access/delivery, SOA and coalition interoperability through a reliable communications grid; ad-hoc re-tasking and targeting of warriors, weapons and sensors with minimum human intervention; shortened kill chain for tactical engagement missions. f) Dynamic C2 for Tactical Forces and Maritime Operations Center (MOC): Develop a capability that will provide the maritime commander with agile and responsive control and management of tactical Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) interactions in a net-centric enterprise environment. Focus will address classified ASW requirements for command and control at the tactical level. Benefits to Naval forces include flexible command and control among tactical units with severely degraded communications with the Maritime Operations Center. g) High-bandwidth Free-space Laser Communication (Lasercomm): Develop an affordable, reliable and high-bandwidth Free-Space Lasercomm capability which is adaptive and agile in mitigating a wide range of atmospheric and sea surface/state turbulence, precipitation and obscuration conditions. Benefits include real-time high-bandwidth direct ship-ship, ship-air and ship-shore links in RF denied environments; enhanced reachback for Forward Operating Bases (FOB) to Marine expeditionary Command Operation Centers (COC) with limited SATCOM access; and biometrics information sharing between Marine Interdiction Operation (MIO) parties. h) Actionable Intelligence Enabled by Persistent Surveillance: Develop a capability to provide accurate threat detection by exposing the enemy's vulnerabilities, unmasking their latent networks, discovering their tactics, techniques, procedures and exploiting in new ways the vast amount of sensor data available today against an irregular threat. Also being developed: an electro-optical, infrared and laser Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Targeting (ISRT) optics technology, capable of wide Field of View/Field of Range (FOV/FOR) at variable resolution & pointing direction, for installation in mobile platforms without gimbals; a light weight, low cost sensor suite and autonomy algorithms to enable detection and avoidance of all classes of aircraft or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). i) Pro-Active Computer Network Defense and Information Assurance: Develop a capability to 1) identify and counter real-time threats to the network during mission execution; 2) provide dynamic security management and component management of network-based assets to support mission execution; and 3) ensure mission essential capabilities and data exist despite malicious cyber actions. Specific efforts include: 1) Next Generation Sensors and Gateways to provide security and control mechanisms to protect networks, data and systems from attacks (e.g., malicious code, data exfiltration); 2) Next Generation Security Protocols and Security Management Protocols to provide hardened, highly survivable, stealthy, reconfigurable overlay of protocols onto networks to ensure network-base configuration and control of security components essential to mission operations, as well as provide data provenance to support dynamic resource management and decision support; and 3) Common Operational Security Decision System to aggregate, correlate, fuse and visualize network security posture information to support integrated warfighting decisions. j) Fast Magic: Develop a capability for enabling Information Operations from tactical platforms in a net-centric environment. Details are classified. k) NRL Space: Develop a capability to integrate multiple sensor information from multiple net-centered data stores in a service oriented architecture environment for persistent vessel tracking situational awareness. Details are classified. l) Advanced Tactical Data Link - Develop a capability to support Advanced Tactical Data Link operations in permissive, contested, and anti-access environments as well as the real-time network operations capabilities needed to dynamically add/remove participants, allocate Advanced Tactical Data Link resources to each participant, and add/remove network partitions in support of dynamic mission execution. m) Autonomous Tactical Persistent Surveillance - Develop a capability to allow autonomous control of persistent, tactical networks of sensors; enable ISR assets to provide an "Information Bubble" to the mobile user; provide revolutionary sensor and data support to agile tactical missions by anticipating information needs; and provide sensor planning and management relevant to a higher order knowledge model. This will provide the capability to autonomously maintain persistent surveillance of activities and entities over a region of interest, 24/7, while providing underlying context for real time adaptive surveillance in support of tactical mission objectives. The following accomplishments and plans are non-inclusive examples of accomplishments and plans for projects funded in this activity. The decrease from FY 2011 to FY 2012 represents the completion of multiple products in FY 2011 in the "Combat ID in the Maritime Domain to Reveal Contact Intent" and "Automated Control of Large Sensor Networks" ECs. The funding variation with this activity reflects the summation of the changing funding requirements between multiple FNC, EC programs and associated products. Each EC and its products represent multi-year development efforts with changing funding requirements across each products approved baseline. The decrease of funding from FY 2012 to FY 2013 is the result of the transfer of resources from this R2 Activity titled FORCEnet. Efforts in this R2 Activity have been continued from FY 2012 to FY 2013 in the new R2 Activity to support all FNC program EC investments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2013
- Source ID
- 2001aab90c5305697f823d2a1fa02b0c