Tactical METOC Applications

Abstract

The Tactical Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) Applications Project provides cyber secure operational effects decision aid capabilities for Navy and Marine Corps warfighters in the context of Joint Operations in a net-centric environment. This project funds the agile software development of the Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System Next Generation (NITES-Next) program of record. NITES-Next program identifies and transitions state-of-the-art decision support software technologies from the government and commercial industry's technology base, and then demonstrates and validates these capabilities before fielding. These software decision support tools provide platform, sensor, communications, and weapon systems performance assessments for warfighters in terms of their littoral and deep-strike battlespace environments. These assessments allow mission planners and warfighters, from Unit to Theater level, to optimize their sensor employment on airborne, surface, and subsurface platforms in support of Naval Composite Warfare mission areas including Undersea Warfare (USW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Mine Warfare (MIW), Amphibious Warfare (AMW), Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW), Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Strike Warfare (STW), Expeditionary Warfare (EXW), Electronic Warfare (EW), Information Operations (IO), Intelligence Operations (INT), Non-Combat Operations (NCO), Command, Control, Communication (CCC), and Naval Special Warfare (NSW). Performance assessments leading to improvements in operational and tactical control are conducted through a two-tiered approach: 1) Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) Decision Aids and, 2) Operational Effects Decision Aids (OEDAs). METOC Decision Aides consist of a series of analysis tools which characterize the physical environment conditions of the battlespace based on the best set of physical environment data available at the time (i.e., some combination of historical and/or real-time (or near real-time) in-situ, and numerically modeled forecast data). OEDAs use the METOC Decision Aide information by fusing it with relevant, often-classified, sensor and target data to predict how weapons and sensor systems will perform. Performance results are displayed in tabular and graphic formats integrated into net-centric visualization tools for use by mission planners, and combat/weapon system operators to develop localization plans, USW/AAW/ASUW screens, STW profiles, and AMW ingress and egress points. METOC Decision Aides and OEDAs use data obtained through direct interfaces to Navy combat systems. Cyber secure capabilities are a current emphasis required to characterize and/or predict sensor and weapons system performance in the highly complex littoral environments in support of regional conflict scenarios. It addresses multi-warfare areas, particularly shallow water ASW, NSW, and missile and air defense/strike capabilities. Funding supports development and integration efforts for Meteorological and Oceanographic (METOC) systems to generate and collect METOC data and fuse multiple intelligence inputs to more robustly characterize and predict tactical atmospheric and oceanographic conditions. This integrated METOC picture will support real-time battlespace awareness of propagation conditions affecting signals across the electromagnetic spectrum. METOC data will be fused with other intelligence data and automatically provided to shipboard combat systems to inform kinetic and non-kinetic fires. Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 request provides for NITES-Next to conduct an Fleet Capability Release (FCR)-3 Field Technical Review (FTR) and seek to obtain an FCR-3 Fielding Decision (FD) to deliver the mobile variant and Electromagnetic (EM) Prediction capabilities. The program will also conduct an FCR-4 Build Technical Review (BTR) and seek to obtain an FCR-4 Build Decision (BD) from the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA). NITES-Next will begin initial software development of the FCR-4 capability, pending Requirements Governance Board (RGB) approval. The program will begin planning for the FCR-5 development and contracting activities (including initiating the update of all required documentation, Requirements Development Package (RDP), Cost Analysis Requirements Document (CARD), Program Life Cycle Cost Estimate (PLCCE) and Acquisition Program Baseline (APB). NITES-Next will plan for and conduct System Integration Test's (SITs) and Developmental Test& Evaluation (DT&E) for FCR-3. The program will update its Risk Management Framework (RMF) Authority to Operate (ATO) for FCR-3 software.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2020
• Source ID: 2343_0604231N_5_1319_PB_2020

Tags

Readers

• Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
• Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies

Technology Areas

• Cyber
• Fully Networked C3
• Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
• Microelectronics