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Army field-tests improved tracking software

The Army and Marine Corps are field testing software designed to better connect Blue Force Tracking systems on the battlefield, increase communications options and serve as a bridge to an improved system expected to be ready in 2010.

The software, called Joint Capabilities Release, builds on the existing Force Battle Command Brigade and Below system for both services to use interactively.

“Either service could bring other functions to it such as a battle command function or a sniper-sensor function,” said retired Maj. Gen. Joe Taylor, vice president of ground combat systems at Northrop Grumman.

JCR will begin fitting onto Blue Force Tracking systems for deployment as soon as the testing is finished, industry and service officials said.

JCR software can be added to Blue Force Tracking screens to connect regular Army forces to the emerging Future Combat Systems-networked forces, which operate with the System of Systems Common Operating Environment.

“JCR can talk to a SOSCOE-equipped vehicle. What this allows is the bulk of the Army to keep pace with the future battle command developments,” Taylor said.

New capabilities JCR can bring to the battlefield include an L-band satellite network with an encryption device called KGV-72 that allows for secure exchange of information, said Tim Rider, Army spokesman at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

The software also will allow forces to view a photo from a nearby UAV on the tracking systems, Taylor said.

JCR also has a simplified version of the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System terrestrial radio network, Rider said. This line-of-sight radio capability allows JCR to function without a satellite connection if needed.

“You could pull in a photo of an objective that a UAV has provided,” Taylor said.

JCR also brings a new map engine called Common Joint Mapping Tool Kit that expands use of current commercial imagery products, Rider said.

These developments are seen as crucial steps in Army and Marine Corps efforts to employ a new, joint Blue Force Tracking-type technology called Joint Battle Command Platform, slated to be ready in 2010.

The Army plans to field up to 120,000 new or retrofitted JBC-P sets. The Marines plan to receive enough gear to outfit 20,000 vehicles.

The emphasis on joint operations “goes back to Desert Storm, where we had a Marine division fighting side by side with an Army division and the coordination was a real challenge. That was a big driver to figure out how to make the next generation more joint,” Taylor said.