Vanguard Magazine

12 DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024 www.vanguardcanada.com C 4 I S R S O L U T I O N B Y R I C K F A W C E T T C anada has identified that it needs an effective, enduring and scalable system, or system of systems, to provide auto- mated support to its command and control (C2) processes. With wars in Europe and the Middle East, growing ten- sions in the Pacific, and challenges globally to the rules-based international order, the need must be addressed now. Canada's C2 solution must provide national-level enterprise to tactical-edge connectivity and functionality, all domain situational awareness, and interoperability across all domains and services. This would support accelerated decision-making in the C2, Intelligence, Fires and Sustainment functional areas. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) vi- sion for an integrated combat force is, "a CAF that is relevant to our National Secu- rity Partners, abreast of our Allies through first day interoperability, with decision advantage over our adversaries." With the stated goal of being "digitally enabled" by 2025 and "digitally transformed" by 2030, a focused Defence Team effort will be required. Defining Integration and Interoperability Before discussing the need for interoper- ability and integration, a few definitions to synchronize the discussion is beneficial. Specific to technology, integration and in- teroperability are two terms that describe how software systems interact: • Integration allows multiple systems to share data and functionality, and to op- erate as a single system (i.e. a system of systems). • Interoperability enables systems to ex- change information or data, however, these systems remain independent (i.e. systems that speak the same language). Integration is not defined in either NATO or CAF documentation, but from a tech- nical perspective, the definition provided above is widely understood. It should be noted that while there are many tools and procedures available to integrate related systems, this approach can be expensive— especially given that many commercial or military off-the-shelf products require an investment of time to integrate success- fully. As a direct result, both cost and time must be considered as the CAF evolves its C2 system to take advantage of new inno- vations. The NATO definition for interoperabil- ity is "the ability for Allies to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives." The CAF definition goes fur- ther by stating that interoperability may be achieved through the compatibility of doctrine, processes and materiel. Also, in- teroperability can refer to the exchange of INTEGRATION AND INTEROPERABILITY At the Core of Canada's C4ISR Solution

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