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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
FY97 Annual Report

BATTLEFIELD DIGITIZATION: FORCE XXI BATTLE COMMAND, BRIGADE AND BELOW (FBCB2), AND THE TACTICAL INTERNET (TI)

	Army ACAT II Program 2015 systems [First Digitized Division (-)] Total Program Cost (TY$) $54,405M Average unit cost (TY$) $27K Full Rate Production 2QFY00 Prime Contractor TRW

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

Two important components of the Battlefield Digitization Program under oversight are the Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program and the Tactical Internet (TI). The heart of FBCB2 is a small laptop computer that is mounted in each vehicle or is carried by dismounted soldiers. This portability allows the soldiers to automatically send and receive position location reports and command and control message traffic, including graphical overlays. The TI is the network of radios and the routers that provides the linkages to connect the myriad FBCB2 platforms across the unit. There are several versions of the FBCB2 computer for vehicular mount that differ only in the degree of militarization, and there is one version for the dismounted soldier. The FBCB2 computer's primary function is to send and receive automatic position location reports, that are derived from its interface with the Global Positioning System, and to send and receive command and control message traffic via digital over-the-air radio transmissions. The TI consists of the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System radio, the Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System Improvement Program radio, and the Internet Controller router.

The TI with the FBCB2 acts as a network of computers within brigade-sized and smaller units. At the Brigade and Battalion Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs) the TI interfaces with the Army Tactical Command and Control System (ATCCS), which is an ethernet-based local area network of computers representing the functional areas of intelligence, maneuver, air defense, combat service support and fire support. This interface permits information collected and disseminated via the ATCCS systems to be rapidly passed through the TI to the FBCB2 computers down to subordinate units and even to individual vehicles, if necessary. Likewise, the position reports of individual and unit locations are passed upwards from individual vehicles through the FBCB2 and TI into the ATCCS systems for dissemination throughout the force. The FBCB2 and TI help provide information superiority to the dominant maneuver force. The basis for the new operational concepts in Joint Vision 2010 is improved command and control.

The Army initiated the FXXI Digitization of the Battlefield program in 1994 with the creation of the Army Digitization Office. The program's intent is to proliferate and integrate digital communications and information management technologies across the combined arms spectrum, including integrating the FBCB2 and TI with existing digital systems, such as the M1A2 Abrams SEP tank and the M2A3 Bradley vehicles. The Army's efforts are to be demonstrated in a series of Advanced Warfighting Experiments (AWEs). The first of these AWEs to use the FBCB2, called Task Force XXI, was conducted in March 1997 at the National Training Center. This will be followed by a Division XXI AWE in November 1997. The Army intends to procure through the Warfighter Rapid Acquisition Program (WRAP) those components that have been demonstrated in the AWEs to have shown compelling experimental success.

The TF XXI AWE used a live brigade from the 4th Infantry Division that had FBCB2 hardware and software installed on all of its 1,600-plus vehicles. The brigade trained with the new digital equipment, among dozens of other initiatives, for about eight months, then deployed to the National Training Center for a series of force-on-force battles with a live opposing force. The Division AWE will be conducted largely in a simulation CPX at Fort Hood, with selected battalion TOCs deployed to local training areas.

The TFXXI AWE was the only event related to this program occurring in FY 1997. There has been no formal operational test and evaluation activity connected with the FBCB2 and TI.

DOT&E conducted an assessment of the TF XXI AWE in the event the Army decided to begin an immediate procurement under the WRAP program. The assessment concluded that the digitized brigade performed much like the nondigitized baseline brigades at the NTC in the areas of lethality, survivability, and operational tempo. The fratricide that occurred during the AWE was much higher than baseline rotations, but this was not directly attributed to the digitization program. The degree of digital connectivity achieved during the TF XXI AWE was very low-not suitable for tactical operations, and this was probably a contributing cause to the poor effectiveness showing. The made a conditional Milestone I/II decision on the FBCB2 program at the conclusion of the TF XXI AWE; the actual decision to proceed to a full MS II decision is pending the completion and approval of its the ORD, System Threat Assessment Report, and TEMP.