Joint Tactical Radio System - Arming the Warfighter With Advanced Tactical Networking Capabilities
Booz Allen helps warfighters cut through the fog of war.
From the earliest days of warfare, the exchange of information and the ability to identify, analyze, and communicate the changing conditions on the battlefield have challenged even the greatest fighting forces. “We often call this the ‘Fog of War’,” said Booz Allen Hamilton Principal Tim LaFleur. “It’s created by a lack of information regarding one’s surroundings and the actions of the enemy, compounded by stress and an incredible sense of urgency.”
A retired Vice Admiral in the US Navy, LaFleur, recently spoke at an AFCEA-sponsored symposium for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) US Defense officers and program executives about the Joint Tactical Radio System (JRTS). Designed to help reduce some of the conditions that create the fog of war, JTRS (pronounced “jitters”) allows for effective, secure exchange of information and communications among services, units, and warfighters in the field. The system is part of a range of technology tools and practices—known as network-centric warfare (NCW)—that uses satellite and Internet capabilities to deliver information directly to the warfighter.
LaFleur talked with boozallen.com about JTRS and about the capabilities Booz Allen brings to its support of the program and to the US Department of Defense.
boozallen.com: Assuming that the fog of war is always going to exist, is there a way to break through it?
LaFleur: It is a real challenge. You want to get inside what we call the “OODA Loop”—Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act—before your adversary is able to. This is especially difficult these days as our adversaries are becoming increasingly asymmetrical and mobile. Capabilities like JTRS use the power of networks and NCW to arm the warfighter with advanced tactical networking capabilities, including highly powerful, secure, and distributed networks that keep us ahead of our adversaries.
boozallen.com: What are some of the capabilities of JTRS that make it so useful?
LaFleur: By promoting the rapid flow of essential information to the people who need it the most, tactical networks enable better decision making capabilities among leadership, while better utilizing the imagination, input and perspectives of those closest to the battle. In the past, each service—Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines—developed its own radio systems, and they were often incompatible. Sometimes it was the cryptology that made the systems not work together; sometimes the frequencies they were on were not compatible. JTRS changes the waveform of the radio to make it possible for people to talk together. Whether you’re in the army, navy, air force; whether you’re in Asia, the Arabian Gulf region, the Mediterranean, or the US, you can talk to others directly without needing a signal translation device.
boozallen.com: Describe some of the benefits of JTRS and tactical networks in the battlefield.
LaFleur: There are many benefits that we are realizing today and anticipate for the future. Advances in technology and network infrastructure let the military prudently leverage resources, especially today when we are engaging fewer troops than we had in Desert Storm. Commanders are able to give and modify orders in real time with better battlefield information. Tactical networks also use available bandwidth more efficiently, which becomes important as military and commercial systems increasingly compete for available bandwidth. And advanced networking capabilities like JTRS will provide the necessary transport layer for tactical warfighters to leverage new improved command and control, intelligence, and reconnaissance applications in the future.
boozallen.com: How is Booz Allen helping support tactical capabilities and networks for the warfighter?
LaFleur: Besides day-in and day-out program support, we also continue to be asked for our expertise in areas such as strategic communications, wargaming, systems engineering, economic business analysis, and program management. The Systems Command, PEOs and their program offices look to us to help them address their toughest challenges.
story posted October 1, 2008
