| The reporting, distribution and control of Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) data from sensor platforms to and from processing stations and user locations involves a number of communications systems to realize the Net Centric Operations in Warfare (NCOW) objectives. A study was initiated to tie together the requirements for the data links involved, the WIN-T ground, air and space layers, the associated ground terminals and evolving space networks. The characteristics of the various components discussed include bandwidths for threshold and objective systems, numbers of the different types of the Army platforms and reporting destinations. These include the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAV, Distributed Common Ground Sensor – Army (DCGS-A) and other airborne and ground sensors organic to the future force. Sources of data included the Satellite Data Base and the Intelligence Battlefield Operating System (IBOS). It is the objective of this paper to validate and modify overall SATCOM as required, by analyzing in more detail the ISR network traffic through the development of IERS and application of NETWARS.
A set of IERs required for NETWARS analysis was developed. These IER requirements include not only the demands on the Army platforms but also consider AF ISR resources. The IERs developed under this study will be merged into the existing, approved WIN-T Caspian Sea IER database. Data flow among the sources and destinations will ultimately depend on the notion of the Task Post Process Use (TPPU) concepts and assumptions for reach and reachback. Worst case scenarios considerations included network traffic of raw and/or processed data among users within a theater and beyond.
This analysis is an aid in the determination of probable air, ground and satellite resource overload. Other applications include the degree of network thickening required in each of the communications architecture layers to provide a given QoS. This analysis can also be used to predict likely frequency interference areas in a theater resulting from conflicting links in the same frequency band.
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