1. Introduction
As military organisations are becoming more virtual and mobile, the requirements for command and control and communications are presenting new challenges. This short presentation is covering some of the main issues in building communications and information systems for the virtual and mobile military.The Cycle of military decision making (C2) projected to a battlefield has functions that consist of information flow, data fusion and data management. At mature state, decision making is an information-driven and technology independent system of systems which covers the whole battlefield.
The military C2 -process in Figure 1 and its usage in a real military organisation has some virtual characteristics:
- there is a geographical distance between interacting units,
- information flows and spreads between units as per their area of interest, and
- information is processed and fused through the C2-process.
Figure 1: Military C2 loop derived from Boyd’s OODA -model
The military planning and decision making are somewhat similar to a virtual corporation where the virtual product must be created before the physical one is manufactured and delivered.
Military organisation and its C2-process aims for accurate effect on opposing force at the right time. This is done by creating a virtual situation and testing alternative reactions for optimum impact in the given virtual situation = Wargaming. Information is no longer just an aid for operations but one vital part of a joint effort = Situational Awareness. For some strategic situations, information and its processing capacity are decisive for victory.
2. Virtual Military Organisation
What is virtual? The dictionary defines virtual "being such in essence or effect though not formally recognised or admitted". So virtual structure is not formally recognised. From the organisational point of view, this can be understood that it is difficult to define the hierarchy of the organisation from the position (physical or task) of the subordinate."Virtual Organisation" defined in the military environment would be something like several independent units that form together a virtual body of the organisation. This virtual body can act and transform itself according to environmental demands so it can execute its task in the best possible way. Units, the parts of the virtual body of the organisation, might situate geographically distributed and use information and CIS-services so that physical contact between units is not necessarily continuous.
The third organisation in Figure 2 possesses dynamics to cope with the changes of the battlefield more swiftly than an adversary. Information is used to clue units together, and leading is done by governance. The military leadership is focused on the units.
Figure 2: Real vs virtual organisation
Military virtual organisation differs from civilian mainly about the size of the independent unit. In a private matrix organisation, the smallest separate unit could be one person. The military unit consists of more personnel in the same physical closeness due to moral integrity, surviving casualties, and 24h operations.
3. Military Information System Model and Mobility
Military communications and information systems are different from civilian systems in various ways:- The requirement for the reliability of the IT-infrastructure is not as high as in civilian environment, although expectations are somewhat similar.
- Users are moving, their amount is varying, and their need for information services are time and space defined. In a military environment, time and space are not often predictable. Therefore the only way to prepare for action is to assume that the worst possible cases will take place simultaneously.
- Users use various access methods (radio, cable, async, sync, different protocols, etc.), workstation bases (PC, terminal, WS, operating systems, applications, protocols)
- Users require services in bursts whereas civilian use is more predictable. Depending on the situation, the strive for information may be higher than available transmission capacity
- Information security tends to restrict systems for separate security domains that have problems to communicate with each other. There is a greater need for gateways for secure connections between security domains.
Figure 3: Model of a military information system
The overall problem of serving a mobile user is having the right information at the right time and fusion level available to the user when needed.
4. Mobile User in a Military Environment
A Mobile user puts high demands for his information services. The CIS services must be available when and where needed. The air interface connecting the mobile user to his services must fulfil controversial needs for:- radio coverage maintained when mobile, inside buildings, and working in different parts of the organisation
- available access signalling and good quality of transmission
- transmission throughput is capable for at least the following media's: voice, text, data, and still video.
Moreover, a mobile station (a palmtop, laptop, or workstation) should be preferably a small, lightweight and ruggedised personal assistant.
Figure 4: Features of the mobile military user
The mobile user may be called as "a mobile telecommuting or teleworking user". Telecommuting (US) or teleworking (EU) can be defined as "a usage of organisationally dependent applications executed in one or more locations outside of the corporate office space."
Mobile workstation or personal assistant could be:
- A portable (laptop) station which can be connected by radio or cable to network
- A pocket station (palmtop) with integrated PC (personal agent, personal assistant), pen and voice-controlled user interface
- A Universal Personal Telecommunication (UPT) auxiliary like smartcard that could be installed to any terminal available. The card contains user profile and access to centralised assets.
The mobile personal assistant shall provide the following services (Example Nokia Communicator 1995):
- notebook
- writing tool
- drawing tool
- calendar
- fax
- electronic mail
- access to databases (minimum viewing)
- access to analysing assets
- position and orienteering services.
Access possibilities are variable. Military mobile user demands more parallel access means than a civilian, who is satisfied with one functioning. Usually, both radio and cable connections are essential options for the military. In this situation, separate workstation and communication devices give more flexibility than an integrated solution.
Means for wireless communications:
- combat network radio (CNR)
- packet radio
- GSM mobile telephone
- DECT (Digital European Cordless Telephone)
- TETRA 25 mobile telephone system
- HiperLAN, cordless local area network
- copper and fibre cabling
- V. -standard modems
- ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop
- HDSL High bit rate Digital Subscriber Loop
- X.25 or LAP-B based links for active error correction
- IP-based connections SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol), PPP (Point to Point Protocol).
5. Remote Access Physically
Problems of communicating and using information systems (IS) in a digital battlefield (possible virtual) are caused by:- feeble wireless communication path,
- unavailable network services,
- amount of information to be processed or transferred,
- the need for fusion and processing capacity, and
- the enemy counteraction to IS.
Briefly, these are the problems to be faced when the mobile user is going to be connected to a static IS-base.
The Finnish Defence Forces have defined the following physical connection methods that are in use in Finland:
- packet network's x.25 or PAD/serial connection
- ISDN-network's 2B+D services
- Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) -network's pre-ISDN services like DigiNet 64 Kbps link
- POTS -network's V.x -series modem connections (gateway is still in preparatory phase)
- GSM-data transmission (gateway is still in the preliminary stage)
- Other possible methods are in the development phase or research phase:
o CNR-access
o TETRA-25 -access
o DECT-access.
Currently, physical access is mostly done via the Defence Network, and there is only a fixed point - to - point connections.
Figure 5: Physical view of remote access
Physical access in the military environment prefers the following features:
- robustness of access devices,
- usability of connection procedures,
- ease of replication the access method to all network nodes and
- easy management of the access points.
Protocols over the physical layer are challenging as well:
- There is a need for error check and correction => a combination of strong frame level and short cells (LAP-B, HDLC, packet protocol).
- Connectivity and related integrity of connection has some unsolved problems like connected or unconnected (broadcasting) way of sending packets; time limits are often exceeded by slow connections.
- The server might support Telnet and LAT -applications. This is not allowing C/S -applications over remote connections. Answer today is bridging the whole frame level (MAC) to the remote node. This is impossible in a military environment since MAC alone doesn't have enough features for reliability.
6. Access Control and Information Security for Remote or Mobile Users
Managing a mobile user requires massive signalling protocols for:- network registration,
- user authentication,
- positioning,
- routing calls of both sides: mobile to fixed and fixed to mobile,
- possible billing,
- integrity and security management: key distribution and changes, and
- manage the use of the capacity of network and servers: Quality of Service.
Information security (authentication, integrity, secrecy) requirements must be met when establishing a gateway for the remote user. COTS devices offer security methods like:
- PPP-link PAP or CHAP authentication,
- Kerberos services,
- PAP -password coding with Kerberos to prohibit kidnapping of password going via unsecured and possible tapped connection, and
- PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) authentication and encryption.
Picture 6: A view for gateway security
7. Summary
Mobility in a military environment requires robust static infrastructure that provides gateways needed for mobile users even under electronic warfare measures. The access for a military mobile user shall be effortless and automated as much as the information security allows. Multiple access connections provide the survivability and best bandwidth for a job. Remote server and application filter offers the user with the additional computer performance which is not available in terminal devices. Information management shall take care of the presentation and location of information whether using push or publish and pull way of sharing data.
Picture 7: Summary of the systems view for the mobile user in a military environment
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