DOT&E FY2000 Annual Report
WARFIGHTER INFORMATION NETWORK - TACTICAL (WIN-T)
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| Army ACAT ID Program | Prime Contractor | |
| Total Number of Battalion Sets: | 63 | Source Selection 2QFY01 |
| Total Program Cost (TY$): | $3B (est.) | |
| Average Unit Cost (TY$): | $50M (est.) | |
| Full-rate production: | 2QFY04 |
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2020
The Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) will be the Army's tactical Intranet from theater and the sustaining base to the maneuver battalions in the field. WIN-T will be the communications network of the future and will replace aging Tri-Services Tactical Communications and Mobile Subscriber Equipment. The major WIN-T elements are network infrastructure, network management, information assurance, and user interfaces that provide voice, data, and video services. The network infrastructure consists of integrated switching, routing, and transport capabilities. The four major WIN-T elements, when integrated with the Army's Tactical Internet, form the Army's Tactical Intranet. WIN-T will enhance network management capabilities currently provided by the Integrated System Control and build on/incorporate these capabilities as the objective WIN-T architecture matures.
WIN-T will provide wired and wireless communications for voice, data, and video by relying on commercial products and technologies as available. WIN-T will support multiple security levels from Unclassified to Top Secret/SCI. It will operate in the tactical environment and be mobile, secure, and survivable. It will integrate terrestrial, airborne, and satellite-based transport capabilities into a network infrastructure to provide connectivity across the extended battlespace. WIN-T capabilities supporting the user will be integrated into maneuver platforms and deployed with the Warfighter. Network management and Wide Area Network coverage capabilities will be deployed by Signal Units to enable the Warfighter freedom of maneuver across larger areas of operation with greater dispersion of forces.
WIN-T is an enabler to gaining information superiority, and will integrate legacy and future battlespace networks into the Army's Intranet. The Army's Intranet is intended to meet the operational requirement for leaders to visualize, understand, coordinate, collaborate, and execute across the battlespace in order to bring their patterns of operation, as described in Joint Vision 2020, to a focused conclusion. In total, WIN-T's Intranet will provide the warfighter enhanced control over his battlespace, enabling him to personally influence the actions of peers, subordinates, and allies as he adapts his scheme of maneuver to defeat the adversary.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
WIN architecture was approved in January 1996, and the first draft Operational Requirements Document was approved by the Signal Center in April 1998. The WIN-T acquisition strategy was implemented in July 1998. Draft statements of work and developmental specifications were developed in October 1998. The WIN-T program was placed on the Pre-Major Defense Acquisition Program list in November 1998. In early 1999, the program office began OSD briefs, and IPT meetings commenced in May 1999. As a result of changes to the Program Objective Memorandum, a more extensive research and development effort, starting with a risk-reduction phase, will be planned.
TEST & EVALUATION ACTIVITY
Due to changes in the Program Objective Memorandum, all T&E activities were deferred during this reporting period. Although the Operational Requirements Document and the Critical Operational Issues and Criteria are still in draft form, operational test and evaluation strategies for the risk-reduction phase are in development and intended to be formalized in FY01. Initial Operational Test and Evaluation is being planned for 4QFY03, and is expected to test a battalion set of equipment in a division-sized operational test. A Product Assurance technical test is planned to precede IOT&E by one year, and will be conducted on a sub-set of the same production representative hardware used in IOT&E.
TEST & EVALUATION ASSESSMENT
No technical or operational testing has occurred. Operational test strategies are currently being developed for a division-sized network, with appropriate operational stresses to determine if WIN-T communications assets can support a deployed division. The intervening year between technical testing and operational testing is well advised to correct any identified problems prior to training of the operational test unit.
FY00 WARFIGHTER INFORMATION NETWORK - TACTICAL (WIN-T)
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