Vanguard Magazine

infrastructure can be re-used where avail- able and evolved as required. The TNaaS allows Canada to maximize the reuse of its prior investment and re- duce the overall cost and risk of delivering capital programs. The commonality in the fielded system will also reduce the training burden, expedite the institutionalization of the system and lower the total cost of ownership. Leveraging a common archi- tecture also enables the creation of a uni- fied C4ISR roadmap for the adoption of new technology. "We believe this idea to be applicable to the full portfolio of SSE and SSE 42 proj- ects specifically. By reusing a common core set of services, the Canadian Army can maximize the funds allocated to sourcing new capabilities, reduce the training bur- den, and shorten the institutionalization period," said John Fisher, Director of Ca- nadian Programs, General Dynamics Mis- sion Systems–Canada. Good for Canada. Good for Soldiers. Good for Business. Utilizing the ideas described above will provide economic benefits to Canada, sup- port the Industrial and Technological Ben- efits and Value Proposition policy, build the country's industrial base, maximize value for taxpayer dollars, and provide a value-driven solution over the lifecycle of the LC4ISR System. For soldiers, the operational benefits lie in the ability to make better decisions and an increased flexibility to operate indepen- dently or as part of a larger joint or coali- tion force. Maintaining continuity of the core services and the primary user interfac- es while peripheral devices and services are added increases usability and trainability. An established open architecture allows for rapid technology insertion and allows industry partners to develop with confi- dence and invest with a view to an estab- lished system roadmap. "Working together in a shared technol- ogy and process framework, Canada and industry partners can provide real value to soldiers. We are excited by the possibilities offered by the future portfolio of programs and the impact it can have on the Canadian Armed Forces," added Fisher. Maj (Ret'd) Austin Douglas MSM, CD, MBA, Senior Manager, Land and Joint Solutions, General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 35 Sponsored Content ing flexibility to train, project and sustain forces across the spectrum of operations. A Better Way As Canada matures and evolves the LC4ISR System there are important considerations for how the system will work as a cohesive unit while supporting pan domain force employment. Even with the best inten- tions, many of the components that sup- port key requirements could end up being duplicated across multiple programs result- ing in a host of solutions with disparate ser- vices, hardware, and capabilities. "Without a holistic, portfolio level ap- proach, each program could deliver a be- spoke closed system that employs its own protocols, connections, translations, and interfaces. Individual programs could de- liver 100% of the requirements but overall the System of Systems could still fall short in maximizing operational benefit," added Sotropa. As capital programs move from definition to fielding, each will procure many differ- ent system elements, whether that be sen- sors, effectors, communications equipment or software applications. By introducing these different solutions, the Army may inadvertently be creating an operating en- vironment that is incredibly difficult to use, expensive to maintain, almost impossible to train, and more vulnerable to cyber threats. In an effort to avoid this, the procure- ment of these disparate information sys- tems should seek to leverage the invest- ment already made in the Land C4ISR. Not only will this approach reduce in- tegration risk, it additionally focuses on procuring new capabilities instead of on duplicating existing capabilities. Further- more, a System of Systems aligned to a common enterprise architecture will al- low the Army to quickly reconfigure the system to support evolving Adaptive Dis- persed Operations. The Tactical Network as a Service To address this challenge, General Dy- namics has developed an approach called the Tactical Network as a Service (TNaaS). This approach allows Canada to consider the existing Land C4ISR, and its ongo- ing evolution, as a service provided to future programs. At its core, the Land C4ISR houses a common set of services built within an architectural framework. As driven by future operational and pro- grammatic needs, these core services and PerSPeCtiVe

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