Making IT Happen: Transforming Military Information Technology

摘要

The Center for Technology and National Security Policy has investigated how the Department of Defense can enhance its engagement with the commercial market while meeting requirements for operations. A chief complaint from information technology companies is that they do not know what the services need. This report is a primer for commercial providers to gain some understanding of the military's thinking about military information technology and some of the programs it foresees for the future. Chapter 1 focuses on the development of critical technologies required for ground tactical operations. It presents the Army's efforts to enhance data and information exchange among systems of systems on the battlefield. Key among these is the development of mobile ad hoc networks and applications. The discussion in Chapter 2 emphasizes the technical objectives of the Navy's FORCEnet to meet its operational capabilities, characterized broadly as Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. The chapter focuses on the functionalities that FORCEnet requires and the technologies needed to produce these functions. Chapter 3 discusses activities in the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Air Force Battle Labs that support the Joint Battlespace Infosphere. Chapter 4 provides a detailed overview of the issues and requirements necessary to insure that networking and information sharing occurs across the services. This chapter characterizes the nature of the interoperability problem, describes recent initiatives to ameliorate interoperability shortfalls, and identifies interoperability challenges. The unique problem of sharing information with allies and changing coalitions is addressed in Chapter 5 in the context of NATO operations. The chapter describes NATO's efforts to move into an age of information-intensive military operations with particular attention on political decision-making, and the command and control of distant multinational operations.