Vanguard Magazine

PerSPeCtiVe By MAj (ret'd) AuStiN dougLAS MSM, cd, MBA S ince the award of the Tactical Communications, Command and Control System/Iris Sys- tem contract to General Dy- namics Mission Systems–Cana- da almost 30 years ago, Canada has invested almost $3 billion to evolve this capability to the current Land Communications, Com- mand, Control and Computers Intelli- gence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (LC4ISR) system of systems, which is inte- grated into every Canadian Army platform. The projects outlined by the Canadian Armed Forces in Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE) include the next evolution of the LC4ISR System. Once integrated, into an evolved Land C4ISR and fielded, the ca- pabilities delivered by these programs will allow the Canadian Army to succeed in the future operating environment. While offering a huge potential advance- ment for the Canadian Army there is also potential risk. If a holistic approach to def- inition and procurement is not taken, the capital expenditures could result in an ev- er-expanding set of stove-piped solutions that make the system harder to manage, deploy, operate, and train. Additionally, the resulting solutions may not achieve the desired operational effect. 34 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com Sponsored Content More Than a Network The System of Systems that underpins all of these modernization projects is the Ca- nadian Force's Land C4ISR System. The Land C4ISR System is a complex system of systems composed of hundreds of com- ponents with thousands of possible physical configurations. Best known for its network- ing capabilities, when coupled with the sol- diers that use it, the Land C4ISR becomes a highly dispersed decision support system. The goal of this system is to provide sol- diers at every echelon with information superiority. By moving data across the network, turning it into information and presenting it to users in a meaningful man- ner, the Land C4ISR provides a higher level of knowledge, enhanced situational awareness, and helps soldiers in the field make better decisions. "The goal is not to adopt technology for technology's sake," explains J Sotropa, Chief Engineer, Land and Joint, General Dynam- ics Mission Systems–Canada. "Any technol- ogy insertion must add operational value. We need to help warfighters do their job better. In the case of tactical communica- tions and information systems, we focus on the speed and accuracy of decision making; essentially tightening the OODA loop." The Brigade as a Platform While the concept of a highly dispersed decision support system provides a useful frame of reference to assess the efficacy of individual technologies, to deliver a cohe- sive, integrated System of Systems, a physi- cal system definition is required. To address this, General Dynamics believes we should consider the Brigade as a Platform (BaaP). "At some point you have to move past the abstract to tackle the concrete issues of baseline management, system deployment, and institutionalization. We need a physi- cal boundary," added Sotropa. "Just as all systems on a ship need to work together and all systems on a plane need to work to- gether, the land domain needs a bounded, comprehensive physical form to which we can apply good systems engineering." Defining the Brigade as the physical scope at which the system is maintained and evolved enables the alignment of peo- ple, processes, and tools to achieve mission and program objectives. This increases project efficiency and decreases overall cost by providing a framework for the Land C4ISR portfolio of projects. This focus expedites the process of prioritizing high readiness units with a specific mix of mission essential elements while maintain- TacTical NeTwork as a service Better deCiSionS. Safer SoLdierS. faSter fieLding.

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