The NetFires program is poised to redefine extended range precision engagements for tactical ground forces. This system is designed to support light and mechanized near term and objective U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps forces. The system uses a combination of advanced propulsion, navigation and seeker technology, and networked data links to enable a new class of weapons enabling precision dominance on future battlefields. In addition the program is clearly focused on reducing the logistical footprint of future ground forces.

Data-centric protocols have been proposed as an alternative to traditional address-centric protocols for sensor networks mainly due to their inherent redundancy of data traffic. In this paper, we compare the performance of a data-centric Directed Diffusion based approach to that of a traditional address-centric routing protocol in a target tracking sensor network. We show that the data-centric approach provides significant improvement in certain metrics directly related to performance at the application level. We also examine some mobility issues related to the data-centric approach, and describe approaches to deal with them.

Dynamic microsensor networks offer methods of supplying critical data and information to C4ISR and other critical intelligence-gathering needs. Microsensor networks are dynamic in terms of their internal operation as well as in their ability to operate in changing external circumstances. Key elements of dynamic microsensor networks include diffusion routing, collaborative and corroborative signal processing, high level querying of distributed databases, and tasking of sensors.

A test bed to support research in collaborative sensing by means of energy-constrained, wireless networks is described. The test bed incorporates commercially available sensors and wireless networking technology, with the emphasis on providing a low cost, high-performance, easy to use development environment. The sensors comprising the baseline test bed, acoustic/seismic multimode sensors and panoramic color cameras, are described. A strategy for incorporating new sensors and deploying elements of the test bed to support field tests is described. Results of a field test conducted to demonstrate collaborative tracking, geolocation, and targeting of a tank are summarized. An example of motion detection and image extraction from a panoramic camera is presented.

The goal of the DARPA NETEX program is to create a wireless networking technology for the military user that enables robust connectivity in harsh environments and support its integration into new and emerging sensor and communication systems. Phase 1 resulted in a thorough understanding of the effects of UWB system operation on existing military spectrum users based on modeling, simulation, and measurements. DARPA procured UWB emitters and broadband antennas to use as interference sources and contracted with the NAWC AD to provide candidate victim systems from the existing US inventory for testing. Testing was conducted on thirteen systems from October 2002 through March 2003. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of these tests. It will provide a brief definition of UWB emissions as described by the US FCC and describe the generic UWB emitter used for these tests. It will then provide a brief overview of the general test plan and explain how it was adapted to the various systems tested. It will then provide a discussion of the results as they apply to the purpose of the NETEX program. Finally, the paper will look at where NETEX is going after Task 1.

This paper provides an overview of our efforts in detecting cyber attacks in networked information systems. Traditional signature based techniques for detecting cyber attacks can only detect previously known intrusions and are useless against novel attacks and emerging threats. Our current research at the University of Minnesota is focused on developing data mining techniques to automatically detect attacks against computer networks and systems. This research is being conducted as a part of MINDS (Minnesota Intrusion Detection System) project at the University of Minnesota. Experimental results on live network traffic at the University of Minnesota show that the new techniques show great promise in detecting novel intrusions. In particular, during the past few months our techniques have been successful in automatically identifying several novel intrusions that could not be detected using state-of-the-art tools such as SNORT.

Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) tactical battlefield systems must provide the right information and resources to the right individuals at the right time. At the same time, the C4ISR system must enforce access controls to prevent the wrong individuals from obtaining sensitive information, or consuming scarce resources. Because lives, missions and property depend upon them, these access control mechanisms must be effective, reliable, efficient and flexible. The mechanisms employed must suit the nature of the items that are to be protected, as well as the varieties of access policies that must be enforced, and the types of access that will be made to these items. Some access control technologies are inherently centralized, while others are suitable for distributed implementation. The C4ISR architect must select from among the available technologies a combination of mechanisms that eases the burden of policy administration, but is inherently survivable, accurate, resource efficient, and which provides low latency. This paper explores various alternative access enforcement mechanisms, and assesses their effectiveness in managing policy-driven access control within the battlespace.

A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) can provide useful communication protections for friendly forces in the battlespace. The PKI would be used in conjunction with communication facilities that are accorded physical and Type-1 cryptographic protections. The latter protections would safeguard the confidentiality and (optionally) the integrity of communications between enclaves of users, whereas the PKI protections would furnish identification, authentication, authorization and privacy services for individual users. However, Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and most Government-Off-the-Shelf (GOTS) PKI solutions are not ideally tailored for the battlespace environment. Most PKI solutions assume a relatively static, high-bandwidth communication network, whereas communication links in the battlespace will be dynamically reconfigured and bandwidth-limited. Most enterprise-wide PKI systems assume that users will enroll and disenroll at an orderly pace, whereas the battlespace PKI “enterprise” will grow and shrink abruptly as units are deployed or withdrawn from the battlespace. COTS and GOTS PKIs are seldom required to incorporate temporary "enterprise mergers", whereas the battlespace “enterprise” will need to incorporate temporary coalitions of forces drawn from various nations. This paper addresses both well-known and novel techniques for tailoring PKI for the battlespace environment. These techniques include the design of the security architecture, the selection of appropriate options within PKI standards, and some new PKI protocols that offer significant advantages in the battlespace.

This paper examines methods for providing PKI interoperability among units of a coalition of armed forces drawn from different nations. The area in question is tactical identity management, for the purposes of confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation in such a dynamic coalition. The interoperating applications under consideration range from email and other forms of store-and-forward messaging to TLS and IPSEC-protected real-time communications. Six interoperability architectures are examined with advantages and disadvantages of each described in the paper.

Defense organizations around the world are formulating new visions, strategies, and concepts that utilize emerging information-age technologies. Central among these is network-based operations. Measures and metrics are needed that allow analysts to link the effects of alternative network structures, operating procedures and command and control arrangements to combat outcomes. This paper reports on measures and mathematical metrics that begin to address this problem. Networks are assessed in terms of their complexity, their ability to adapt, and the collaboration opportunity they afford. The metrics measure the contributions of complexity to information flow, and the deleterious effects of information overload and disconfirming reports to overall network performance. In addition, they measure the contributions of collaboration to shared situational awareness in terms of the accuracy and precision of the information produced and the costs associated with an imbalance of the two. We posit a fixed network connecting a Naval Task Force’s various platforms, and assess the ability of this network to support the range of missions required of the task force. The emphasis is not on connectivity, but rather on information flow and how well the network is able to adapt to alternative flow requirements. We assess the impact alternative network structures, operating procedures and command arrangements have on combat outcomes by applying the metrics to a cruise missile defense scenario.

In the wired Internet, it is common practice to use Web caching to reduce network utilization and improve access time to a Web page. Mobile users introduce new variables in the communication process due to the fact that a user may dynamically change its contact point within the network, accessing the Web server through a different path, which may not have access to cached pages. In hostile environments such as domestic catastrophic emergencies, field units must have a higher priority to significant information available through Web servers, requiring lower response times and reliable access via Internet enabled cell phones. In foreign lands, specific infrastructure must be implemented and activated, which requires extensive work currently being researched by defense contractors. In domestic situations, the infrastructure exists and must be equipped to provide the necessary priority to civil defense personnel. This study discusses mechanisms used in Web caching and suggests features that should be added to current cache management algorithms to provide the necessary priority, including the use of standard protocol commands to identify cacheable information and establishment of priority and aging policies to control the length of time data should be maintained in the cache.

Three technologies form the heart of any network-centric command, control, communication, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) system: distributed processing, reconfigurable networking, and distributed resource management. Distributed processing, enabled by automated federation, mobile code, intelligent process allocation, dynamic multiprocessing groups, check pointing, and other capabilities creates a virtual peer-to-peer computing network across the force. Reconfigurable networking, consisting of content-based information exchange, dynamic ad-hoc routing, information operations (perception management) and other component technologies forms the interconnect fabric for fault tolerant inter processor and node communication. Distributed resource management, which provides the means for distributed cooperative sensor management, foe sensor utilization, opportunistic collection, symbiotic inductive/deductive reasoning and other applications provides the canonical algorithms for network-centric enterprises and warfare. This paper introduces these three core technologies and briefly discusses a sampling of their component technologies and their individual contributions to network-centric enterprises and warfare. Based on the implied requirements, two new algorithms are defined and characterized which provide critical building blocks for network centricity: distributed asynchronous auctioning and predictive dynamic source routing. The first provides a reliable, efficient, effective approach for near-optimal assignment problems; the algorithm has been demonstrated to be a viable implementation for ad-hoc command and control, object/sensor pairing, and weapon/target assignment. The second is founded on traditional dynamic source routing (from mobile ad-hoc networking), but leverages the results of ad-hoc command and control (from the contributed auctioning algorithm) into significant increases in connection reliability through forward prediction. Emphasis is placed on the advantages gained from the closed-loop interaction of the multiple technologies in the network-centric application environment.

A prototype combat decision aid software suite (CDAS) is described which provides the mounted/dismounted warfighter/commander with a fully integrated and scalable decision support capability to support network centric fires and effects based operations. CDAS is based on an open architecture, software back plane concept which maximizes flexibility in tailoring CDAS functionality to meet the requirements of any sensor, shooter or command and control node within an FCS unit of action. The architecture and back plane methodology will be described in section 2 followed by a description of major application component plug-ins in section 3. CDAS has been extensively tested in a number of battle lab Concept Evaluation Program (CEP) Experiments and successfully configured to support a number of technology insertion experiments. These results will be summarized in section 4.

The sensory planning in terms of deployment, asset allocation and sensory interpretation remains a difficult set of problems. The critical areas, where sensors serve as replacement for human observers, require continuous coverage. Their placement, management, and information processing requires careful planning. The need for effective intelligent systems to addressing these problems is apparent. Such systems require Multi-Resolutional Decision Making to be effective. This paper will discuss the technology that brings pragmatic solutions under an umbrella of Intelligent Nodes concept.

In this paper the argument is made that the offensive fire support organisation and doctrine, born of the "indirect fire revolution" of the first world war, is the start point for distributed sensors, shooters and deciders that may be transferred to a joint force; that the culture of directive control and mission orders developed by the German Army in 1918 and then adopted by most western armies is the start point for the culture required to achieve "self synchronisation" and that the network developed for the air defence of carrier battle groups is the start point for developing a networked ground manoeuvre force. We discuss the strategic expectations of network centric warfare, a "virtual war" scenario and the inherent vulnerabilities. The current level of understanding and implementation in specific areas is analysed and lessons for general application are developed and the potential payoff identified. Three broad operational domains are investigated, networked platform versus platform warfare between states, guerrilla/counter-insurfence operations and the emerging domain of "netwars" (terror organisations and criminal gangs).

Proper metrics are instrumental to help make sound balance of investment decisions and guide system development. In synthetic environment (SE) experimentation, metrics play additional but allied roles in several aspects of experimental design: guiding the choice of fidelity of representation of systems, focusing concept demonstrator development and giving structure to the experimental data collection and analysis. In order to generate C4ISR metrics, which align with the Network Centric Warfare (NCW) paradigm of producing superior effects via superior decision making through knowledge and information superiority, a five-level metrics hierarchy framework called the Knowledge Analysis Framework (KAF) has been proposed. In the framework, the C4ISR System-of Systems (SoS) provides the overall transition from obtaining data on the physical world to application of battlespace effects. Components of the system provide the transitions between the intermediate levels. Measures of different aspects of system components are labelled as system performance parameters. This paper reports our work on deriving Command and Control (C2) metrics based on this framework for a specific SE experiment aimed at developing and assessing C2 system concepts for the future Australian Army. Detailed metrics have been defined against the particular problem statement. The paper describes these metrics and associated data collection methods.

Portals have become an effective means of enabling organizations to access, share and manage information and knowledge of pertinence to the organizations. Several military organizations are rapidly adopting the portal approach for information exchange and situational awareness in their command & control systems. The Canadian Common Operational Picture 21st Century Technology Demonstration (COP 21 TD) project is implementing a Situation Awareness Knowledge Portal to support the Joint Staff at the Strategic level. This portal will provide commanders and staff with an integrated access to heterogeneous sources of information, personalization capabilities in terms of information content and tools, collaboration services with other users and efficient presentation techniques to provide situation awareness.

Information Operations are an emerging military capability in defence organisations worldwide and consequently little is known of their effectiveness or impact on current and proposed network centric systems. The conjunction of information operations with, for example, full spectrum conflict, and the overarching rapid changes in technology, represents a substantial change in the way modern military operations are likely to be conducted. Current simulation support for investigating the impact of information operations has been largely provided by enhancements and extensions to existing simulation domains or tools. This method potentially fails to consider the unique characteristics of information operations and thereby may provide an inadequate environment for investigating the issues such as the impact on network centric warfare. In this paper the authors describe the relationship between information operations and network centric warfare. The authors argue that broader architectural issues associated with information operations and related information technologies need to be considered when such systems are being developed. Finally, through an example of land force operations a simulation-based architecture for assessing the impact of information operations on Army reconnaissance architectures is proposed.

A fuzzy logic expert system has been developed that automatically allocates electronic attack resources on different platforms in real-time. This resource manager is made up of four trees, the isolated platform tree, the multi-platform tree that allows an individual platform to respond to a threat. The multi-platform tree allows a group of platforms to respond to a threat in a collaborative fashion. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize the resource manager. A genetic program is used to evolve optimal fuzzy decision tree topology. The non-uniqueness of the tree structure is considered. The superiority of a genetic program evolved tree compared to a tree written down exclusively based on expertise is discussed. Fuzzy membership functions related to four fuzzy concepts are given. Experiments designed to test these concepts in the expert system are discussed, as well as the resource manager's ability to: allow multiple platforms to self-organize without the benefit of a commander; to tolerate errors made by other systems; and to deal with multiple distinct enemy strategies.

The ability to strike moving targets with precision without putting friendly forces at risk remains an elusive goal. Unlike fixed targets, the engagement of moving vehicles requires target recognition in real-time. While automatic target recognition techniques have been pursued with vigor for more than 30 years, ATR is neither necessary nor sufficient to address this need. By taking a broader view of the problem of precision identification, we identify some promising research themes.

The ability to rapidly and inexpensively generate terrain databases to replicate actual terrain is critical to insuring correlation between the results from live, virtual, and constructive simulations used in testing and evaluating weapons, sensors, and battlefield command and control systems. In this paper we describe a technique for producing battlefield terrain data sets from oblique aerial photos and other nontraditional data sources using image differencing and 3D terrain editing tools. This technique uses a feedback loop to calculate terrain data parameters from differences between actual sensor imagery and synthetic imagery of replicated terrain created by an image generator. The technique is especially well suited for updating knowledge of battlefield situations from reconnaissance and remotely piloted vehicle sensors. It also holds promise for automation and real-time data reduction of battlefield sensor feeds and improved now-time situational awareness. W e will present the algorithms and approach utilized in the Image Differencing technique. We will also describe the software developed to implement the approach. Lastly we will present the results of experiments and benchmarks conducted to measure the effectiveness and progress made toward real-time terrain database generation.

Future conflicts will probably lead the armed forces also into regions, for which topographical data are missing as well as out of date. Here IMINT must support the planning and transaction of military operations through improved target recognition in combination with topographical information. High-resolution LIDAR data, multi-spectral image data and GIS with orthorectified elevation data, combined with 3Dimage maps with high geometrical and spatial precision integrated in a network (Smart Sensor Web, SSW), open new additional possibilities of the reconnaissance. To improve reconnaissance, we investigate the 3D-modeling of built up areas including texturing and visualization for the observer. In a future joint-sensor system the information of several sensors should be used in common and should also be combined with non-imaging knowledge (Rapid Terrain Visualization, RTV). By this, the technology is a key technology for military applications in urban warfare and in the battle against terrorism.

As part of an At-Sea Demonstration for Space and Naval Warfare Command (SPAWAR, PMW-189), a prototype RF sensor for signal acquisition and direction finding queried and received tasking via a secure worldwide Automated Data Network System (ADNS). Using extended mark-up language (XML) constructs, both mission and signal tasking were available for push and pull Battlespace management. XML tasking was received by the USS Cape St George (CG-71) during an exercise along the Gulf Coast of the US from a test facility at SPAWAR, San Diego, CA. Although only one ship was used in the demonstration, the intent of the software initiative was to show that a network of different RF sensors on different platforms with different capabilitis could be tasked by a common web agent. A sensor software agent interpreted the XML task to match the sensor's capability. Future improvements will focus on enlarging the domain of mission tasking and incorporate report management.

Automated all source data fusion primarily fuses analyst generated messages. The Automated Targeting Data Fusion (ATDF) effort created an application that rapidly associated very diverse information sources automatically. In recent military conflict situations, enormous amounts of multi-source data have been made available to war-fighters. These data include imagery, signals intelligence, acoustic information, input from human analysts, and other sources. The significant magnitude of collected intelligence overwhelms analysts, operators, collection managers and commanders. Complicating matters further is that the data is collected, transmitted, processed, exploited and disseminated via multiple stovepipe architectures involving different types of intelligence and support personnel. It is difficult for diverse users to maintain situational awareness over the battle-space. This is an extremely crucial issue with rapid targeting decisions. This ATDF capability offers an alternative to automatically support each individual user as well as decision makers who must use all of their collective command-level decisions. ATDF rapidly associates diverse intelligence products as they are collected and fuses it into actionable knowledge in near real-time.

Automated all source data fusion primarily fuses analyst generated messages. These messages represent a small portion, albeit a highly reliable segment, of the available information resources. Task saturation and computational limitations often prevent volumes of raw collection data from reaching an analyst in a timely manner. Valuable intelligence information that at least corroborates an important time critical target may be present in unanalyzed raw data files. Analyst generated messages are shown to direct a focused search for additional corroborating evidence in a small spatial-temporal segment of raw data. Automatic corroboration processing simply confirms or denies the presence of a feature in a particular location. Corroboration is a much simpler process than automatic target recognition and requires significantly less processing and fidelity since other information products detect and identify the potential presence of a target or event and focus raw data processing. The new approach transforms previously disregarded raw data into associated corroborative information without increasing analyst tasking. Existing software fuses the corroborative information with analyst messages. An example demonstrates raw data corroboration using imagery. The approximate location, time, and target identity are determined using two associated analyst messages. Raw imagery processing confirms the target and associates an additional message. The fused target priority is amplified by the corroborative message.

Digitization of the battlespace for current and future combat systems cannot be complete without effective weather intelligence products and decision aids. An important challenge facing current weather intelligence products involves the simultaneous collection and dissemination of the vast amounts of raw and processed meteorological data. Data can originate from various types of sensors, sources, and computing models. Also, data collections can be sporadic and their publication can materialize on an assortment of formats and through dissimilar channels. To resolve many of these challenges, we have investigated a tuple-spaces solution that provides lose-coupling of sensors, systems, and weather forecasting models in a networked environment. Of interest are the results of experiments that employ the Jini/JavaSpaces implementation to resolve the problems of data acquisition and dissemination. This paper will present our space-based design to loosely-couple several weather sensors and simultaneously acquire their data at high output rates. Our results show that tuple-spaces implementations simplify acquisition and distribution of weather intelligence information. Other experimental results will demonstrate that a space-based architecture can also be employed by other network centric systems that involve information dissemination, decision aids, and collaboration/computing environments.

Integrated Communications and Exploitation (ICE) is defined as "systems that provide end-to-end optimization from the output of the sensor to the exploitation analyst." ICE applies to the key phases of a military operation (e.g. intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, battle damage assessment, etc.). Recently, DoD reports, such as Network Centric Warfare, are beginning to emerge that characterize the importance of information superiority and of the Integrated Communications and Exploitation (ICE) problem space and offer recommendations and plan to address them.

Network-centric architectures are defined by the complete absence of a traditional central data fusion site and also, in general, a central communication facility. Instead, the data fusion is performed at each network node and these nodes communicate on a strictly point-to-point basis. The network topology, which may be dynamic, is assumed to be unknown. These governing constraints imply a fault-tolerant, scalable, and modular system. However, such systems are prone to possible inconsistent fused estimates as a consequence of the well-known rumor propagation problem. The algorithmic challenge is to combat this problem without sacrificing the aforementioned benefits. This has led to the formulation of a technique known as Covariance Intersection (CI). Most recently, CI has been integrated with the Kalman filter to produce the Split CI algorithm - a general solution to decentralised data fusion in arbitrary communication networks. These algorithms have not yet been evaluated outside of a limited simulation environment. The purpose of this paper is to present a study of their relative performance in a hardware-based decentralised sensor network system. The paper will describe a number of indoor experiments that involve tracking a ground target by means of multiple, networked, wall-mounted cameras. High precision ground truth target positions are available from a laser-tracking device. The experiments will evaluate Kalman, CI, and Split CI algorithm performance - measured in terms of consistency, convergence and accuracy - with respect to a range of static and dynamic network topologies.