National Academies Press: OpenBook

Naval Communications Architecture (1994)

Chapter: NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED

« Previous: GOAL ARCHITECTURE-NAVSATCOM-21
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
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Page 65
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
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Page 66
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
×
Page 67
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
×
Page 68
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
×
Page 69
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
×
Page 70
Suggested Citation:"NAVY OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ENABLED." National Research Council. 1994. Naval Communications Architecture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18600.
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Page 71

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

5 Navy Operational Capabilities Enabled The NAVSATCOM-21 goal architecture has identified communication attributes that enable enhancements in information transfer critical to the Navy's warfighting ability. This architecture supports the battle space expansion for naval strike missions and flexibility for cruise missile attack and allows for real-time battle damage assessment; increases joint and allied interoperability; enhances battlefield intelligence; expands the quality of command conferencing; improves communications covertness and survivability; and facilitates operational training. In short, major capabilities can be achieved if the Navy enhances information access and use. Each of these capabilities is discussed in turn below. 5.1 EXPANDED BATTLE SPACE The effective battle space is the volume in which a target can be located and identified, weapons delivered, and assessment of damage obtained. When the battle space is dynamic, as with mobile forces or in crisis situations with little warning, there is a burden on communication to and from the on-scene forces. Today we do not have sufficient communications capacity to support the volumes of plans, images, and continued updates of on-scene information from national or other sensors to provide timely informed and coordinated military operations. This situation is further complicated when the target area is in excess of organic sensors (1,000 + miles) but within range of current cruise missiles. The NAVSATCOM-21 recommends implementation of the planned EHF-MDR by modification of the programmed EHF terminals, to operate at the higher data rate, employ a commercial and lower-cost version of the SHF terminal and modem, and increase the capacity of the current UHF terminals by application of available modern technology. Augmenting these initiatives with the potential of commercial satellite service and flexible and controlled routing of data in a standard format over the projected alternate communications paths will make it possible to support the projected need. This rich interconnect with available satellite resources will result in an adaptable global communications network. As an example, the Air Tasking Order (ATO) in Desert Storm (500 pages) could be transferred by the EHF-MDR communications in less than 23 seconds. An image (20 megabits) could be transferred from a flagship or delivered in less than 15 seconds. This richness in capacity and connectivity provides the task force commander access to all available information necessary for the operation. To further refine the NAVSATCOM-21, a high-capacity MDR backbone must be established to support in-theater coordination. This backbone must be accessible by local or organic communications systems, and information should be passed in a seamless manner. Emphasis must be placed on gateways between and among forces to realize the benefits of the available communications capacity and connectivity. Where possible, commercial communications standards should be employed with the intent to divide data and communications 65

standards into a common form. An objective of the division would be to allow data in distributed databases to be interconnected in a transparent manner independent of the communications system involved. To support the expanded battle space, the NAVSATCOM-21 includes the control and receipt of information from an in-flight cruise missile. The cruise missile can be updated to change flight profile or target area during its nearly 2-hour flight to target. When the cruise missile is entering the final phases, indications of the weapon effectiveness can be relayed to the release authority for rapid retargeting or placing a high confidence on the mission's success. The EHF-MDR service with a small terminal for aircraft and cruise missiles can support this operational cruise missile weapon delivery. The architecture allows this capability to be accomplished by a UAV or E2-C for shorter-range engagement. However, the panel recommends that the information transfer for this extended weapon control and battle damage assessment be independent of the relay platform. A foundation for the adaptive communications services is knowledge of the force location and uniform timing. Integration of GPS allows this information to be available for all force units. 5.2 FLEXIBLE CRUISE MISSILE ATTACK In-flight updates provided by the goal architecture permit adjustment and alteration of preplanned targets and flight paths loaded into cruise missiles. This capability permits the use of dynamic battle management concepts. At present, cruise missiles accommodate a single route plan, which can be used for alternate targets. Future variants will incorporate multiple route plans, each of which can accommodate alternate targets. The combination of multiple ami points and the ability to choose among them permit great flexibility in the development of pre-planned attack options against relocatable targets. This flexibility can be exploited in air attacks using combined aircraft and cruise missiles. When an attack is being executed under the direction of an E-2C or AW ACS, missiles may be reallocated to higher-priority targets that are beyond the air defense suppression zone. An important example of this capability is the opportunity to engage newly emergent targets (like the SCUD or a mobile surface-to-air missile [SAM] battery) that could pose unacceptable threat to a manned aircraft or follow-on cruise missiles delivering ordnance to a target area. 5.3 REAL-TIME BATTLE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT (BDA) Currently, BDA requires delayed imagery assessment requiring considerable judgment to interpret of target status and determine the effectiveness of strikes. With flexible relay of imagery data from cruise missiles or UAVs as provided in the goal architecture, prompt assessment and decisions to restrike can be taken—perhaps during the execution of the original strike with the possibility of vectoring returning aircraft with unused munitions to re-attack the selected target. The NAVSATCOM-21 also provides for integration of GPS on the cruise missile platform, providing for BDA information by relaying attack missile profile and pre- 66

impact position. It is noteworthy that in-flight updates of missiles permit attacks on deep, relocatable targets even before air defenses can be suppressed and with fewer weapons through improved dynamic battle management. The source of imagery includes the terminal guidance sensor of precision guided munitions or UAVs with specially designed payloads that penetrate deeply into defended territory. The current reconnaissance systems include specially configured aircraft in addition to national systems. The capabilities enabled through the use of UAVs for battle damage assessment are not much different from those available from national systems (assuming comparable quality and resolution). However, UAV sorties may provide the functions of a ferret from which SAM site radars and operations can be observed. When ferret sorties are combined with in-flight replanning of missiles, the hostile air defense system can be "mapped" and targeted. This tactic was used with great success by the Israelis in the Bekaa Valley and resulted in the destruction of many Syrian SAM sites. At times of crisis, tasking of national systems may lead to less than timely responses on a sufficiently large target set, making UAV augmentation desirable. The contribution of terminal guidance sensors to battle damage indications can be considered in three alternatives. Each alternative assumes that the missile relays the image from its terminal guidance through some range-extending communications relay (be it SATCOM or UAV). • The first alternative uses the weapon's own imagery from its terminal guidance to perform battle damage indication before impact. This results in an indication of probable damage and enables mission planning for possible re-strike. • The second alternative assumes that subsequent missiles fired after the initial salvo image the prior missile target as they makes their way toward a nearby target. It is important to delay the second salvo to permit smoke, fire, and dust to clear before an attempt is made to image the second first-salvo targets. • The third alternative uses this type of imagery to identify the targets for follow-on attacks, just as airborne reconnaissance would image likely targets for the intelligence preparation of the battlefield. In each case the capability enabled is improved timeliness and accuracy of damage assessments from aircraft and missile attacks to aid in the planning of follow-on attacks. The military benefit is the reduction in the number of sorties required to achieve a given level of damage expectancy, the increased effectiveness and economy in the use of weapons, and the diminished number of personnel exposed to lethal threats. 5.4 INCREASED JOINT/ALLIED INTEROPERABILITY The goal architecture, through employment of communications standards, will provide the following new capabilities for joint, allied, and coalition communications: 67

The ability for naval forces to exchange information with other components of whatever larger forces they are assigned to. True joint command structures, in which integration of forces is absolutely essential. Reliance will be placed primarily on jointly developed and fielded systems and capabilities, so that information created on Navy systems is consumable in Air Force systems and vice versa. More focus on commonality of equipment and software. Where system limitations preclude commonality, interoperability will be achieved by translation at the best location. 5.5 ENHANCED BATTLEFIELD INTELLIGENCE The ability to integrate data from a variety of national and organic sensors into a meaningful representation for battle management is a challenge. The data today reside in a variety of data storage media and with varying amounts of detail for numerous applications. The goal architecture will make possible the exchange of data in various systems through a robust, high-capacity communications network. The transport media are transparent to the data, with the objective of information exchange limited only by the compatibility of the databases and their manipulation. Real-time sensor products can be presented to the command forces with the proper historical prospective and mensuration. The ability to massage the information with a common understanding produces the best available information. The goal architecture does not create artificial barriers to information exchange. 5.6 EXPANDED COMMAND CONFERENCING In organized undertakings where humans are involved, direct human interaction is vital. This fact has always driven the need for increased voice capacity with adequate voice recognition. Commanders in war need to have the utmost confidence in the capabilities, commitment, and self-confidence of their subordinates. More data cannot provide this information, and knowledge of past performance in similar conditions, although reinforcing, is not sufficient. Data transfer is important to provide specific details that enhance "situational awareness," but transfer of digital information does not convey to the commander those elements of information critical to building and maintaining confidence. Personal confidence and convictions are better conveyed by voice. They are best conveyed in face-to-face meetings, when the levels of human emotional response can be observed and gauged. Since the introduction of the secure voice radiotelephone, military leaders have relied on simple voice communications to obtain the necessary human interaction. Voice alone is not adequate for some human interactions. Pictures plus voice is an outstanding information transfer medium. It is the best way to teach, and the best way to conduct human interaction, absent face-to-face meetings. NAVSATCOM-21 provides sufficient data rates to conduct video teleconferencing (VTC). VTC allows the commander to brief his seniors and 68

subordinates on the plans of action, the current situation, the expected outcome, and results of military actions. Once the capability for VTC is established, the other aspects of video transmission fall quickly into place. VTC obviously can support news gathering. The public relations confidence building that comes from informal, rapid news gathering is accelerated by effective video transmission. Wars, after all, are more about national will than about dispassionate data, and TV provides powerful boosts to confidence, either affirmatively (as in Desert Storm), or adversely (as in Viet Nam), to the warfighter or to the nation as a whole. VTC can substitute for the physical presence of instructors, allowing for greater scope of education and training. VTC also provides inputs from experts on subjects broadcast from distant sites. An extension of VTC can be employed to support reception of multiple channels of TV for situation awareness. Only the receiver sets need to be enhanced to support these capabilities. Satellites usually support both VTC and broadcast TV, so another antenna may not be necessary. 5.7 IMPROVED LOW PROBABILITY OF INTERCEPT/ANTLJAM NAVSATCOM-21, based on expanded data rates and higher frequencies, favors significant improvement in communication operations for LPI/LPD and communications survivability against jamming and nuclear environments. LPI/LPD results from allowing very little energy to be received by detection sources outside the direction of the intended signal. Two techniques are employed. First, the narrower the beamwidth of the radiating element, the less energy is available for detection. The higher- frequency antennas provide narrower beamwidths. Second, spread-spectrum transmission techniques and available bandwidth determine difficulty in detecting signals. Direct-sequence spread-spectrum signals offer the best protection. The probability of exploiting the signal for some intelligence varies between the spread-spectrum techniques. As "New World" shifts focus on regional conflicts with tactical operations emphasized, more LPI/LPD operations are expected. Survivability of command and control (C2) communications depends on ability to resist jamming and to propagate through a nuclear-disturbed environment. In both of these areas the use of higher frequencies provides more capability. For antijam, the wider bandwidths and narrower antenna beams force jamming signals to overcome the advantages of antenna discrimination and wide bandwidths over which C2 signals can be spread. For anti-nuclear propagation, the higher frequencies, coupled with frequency hopping and interleaving coding techniques, provide less disruption to communications when operating. Survivable communications will contribute significantly to operations by relaying intelligence information without jeopardizing mission or personnel.

5.8 IMPROVED OPERATIONAL TRAINING NAVSATCOM-21 provides significant enhancements for training of naval forces by providing high-capacity links between naval units and to joint and allied units. Operational training is the basis on which warfighting effectiveness is honed. There is absolutely no substitute for training, under conditions and scenarios as realistic as possible. The goal architecture has provided major improvements in warfighting capabilities. The training environment will need to expand into the same communications regimes for exercises and training. Beyond-line-of-sight real-time links between ships, amphibious forces, air surveillance assets, and weapons such as cruise missiles will be possible at entirely new levels of capability. Access to large-scale databases in real time will provide the user with transparent intercommunications in which the data and type of communication transport do not constrain or impede the end user. Because of the growing requirements for naval forces to operate in a joint service environment and to function effectively with allies and coalition forces, effective communications will be required. Again, expanded communications capabilities, as defined in the goal architecture, are tied to interoperability, which will provide the basis to exercise and train in expanded force configurations to ensure that warfighting capabilities will be present when needed. 5.9 RECOMMENDATIONS The NAVSATCOM-21 goal architecture provides the Navy with an opportunity to take a significant step forward in increasing its warfighting effectiveness. It supports far greater capability in naval strike missions, either alone or as part of a joint force, and at the same time it provides for survivable and protected information exchange, including rapid access to independent databases for battlefield awareness and much improved command conferencing. The expanded capabilities provided by the goal architecture also support a commensurate increased level of peacetime training. It is clear that Navy communications cannot be enhanced without careful planning and programming. The goal architecture can be time phased, as discussed earlier in this report, to evolve to its objectives. Therefore, the panel recommends that NAVSATCOM-21 be implemented through judicious enhancement of current naval communications. The principal features of the goal architecture are summarized in Table 5.1, which relates these features to naval operations today (circa 1992) and those of the future if the architecture is implemented. (The letters in the arrows in this table indicate those specific features of NAVSATCOM-21 that enable respective future operational capabilities.) 70

TABLE 5.1 Future Operational Capabilities Enabled by NAVSATCOM-21 NAVSATCOM-21 GOAL ARCHITECTURE I OPERATIONS \ TODAY I OPERATIONS \ \ ENABLED ) A) ADAPTABLE GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK B) MDR INTEROPERABLE BACKBONE C) GATEWAYS TO INTERCONNECT BACKBONE TO WANs D) AUTOMATED AND DYNAMIC NETWORK MANAGEMENT OF DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS E) SMALL TERMINALS FOR AC AND CMS F) INTEGRATION OF GPS INTO ALL PLATFORM SYSTEMS G) TRANSPARENT TO DATA OR OTHER USER TRANSPORT • BATTLE SPACE ,= 300 MILES • CM FIXED TARGET AREA AND FLIGHT PROFILE AT LAUNCH • LOS RECONNAISSANCE FOR CM-BDA • LIMITED JOINT AND ALLIED COMMUNICATIONS • INDEPENDENT DATA BASES • COMMAND VOICE CONFERENCING • SPECIALIZED LPI/AJ CAPABILITY • UNIT LEVEL OPERATIONAL TRAINING • BATTLE SPACE EXPANSION TO 1000+ MILES • FLEXIBLE IN-FLIGHT ATTACK OPTIONS REALTIME BLOS BDA FOR CM RETARGETING EXPANDED INTEROPERABILITY • RAPID DATA SHARING FOR BATTLEFIELD AWARENESS > COMMAND VIDEO CONFERENCING • ENHANCED LPI/AJ < INTEGRATED OPERATIONAL TRAINING AMONG OWN, JOINT AND ALLIED UNITS 71

Next: A COMPARISON OF NAVSATCOM-21 WITH CURRENT NAVY COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE »
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