The spring of 2011’s NIE 11.2, for example, involved six SUTs, including some of the systems that had emerged from FCS, along with 28 SUEs (all government). The following NIE 12.1 encompassed two SUTs and 47 SUEs (17 from industry). NIE 12.2, which was held in May-June 2012, included three SUTs and 37 SUEs (22 from industry).

 

Capability Set 13 Baseline

NIE 12.2 validated the Capability Set 13 (CS 13) network architecture, a baseline design focused on integrating the enhanced networking capabilities into both HMMWV and MRAP platforms. The platform selection for initial integration efforts likely reflected the belief that the light infantry units using these platforms would receive the greatest initial benefit from the expanded network capability.

In the fall of 2012, as the Army prepared to conduct its NIE 13.1 and was already making decisions regarding the following spring’s 13.2, fielding of the validated CS 13 hardware began for the first two brigades slated for combat theater deployment of the network: the 3rd and 4th brigades of the 10th Mountain Division. Subsequent to that fielding, Army briefers acknowledged follow-on plans for CS 13 fielding to one of the two division headquarters that were “already over there” as well as another division headquarters and two additional brigades out of the 101st Airborne Division. In addition to those deploying units, the Army’s 2/1 AD is also fielded with the baseline CS 13 network due to its participation in the NIE process.

The hardware centerpiece of the CS 13 package is the Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2, which includes four major elements: Tactical Communications Node (TCN), which serves as the centerpiece of the WIN-T Increment 2 network; Point of Presence (POP) vehicles, integrated platforms that enable Mission Command on the Move (MCOTM) by providing secret level network connectivity for battalion and brigade commanders; Soldier Network Extension (SNE) vehicles, integrated tactical combat platforms that extend the network down to the company level; and the Vehicle Wireless Package (VWP), which extends the WIN-T network to command post vehicles moving in convoy with the TCN.

The net result was a complex situation in which units were tasked with a new mission while receiving a significant amount of new equipment that might have been envisioned for an entirely different mission just one or two years prior.

In addition to enhanced MCOTM at brigade and battalion levels, the elements have paved the way for new CS 13 company command post capabilities that have been explored and rapidly embraced through the NIE process.

Other key elements of CS 13 range from FBCB2-JCR [Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below – Joint Capabilities Release] software that provides new cooperative capabilities like chat, file sharing, and data sharing, to the Rifleman radios that help to extend the network down to the individual soldier equipped with the soldier-worn Nett Warrior device.

The CS 13 fielding is being introduced into a dynamic tactical environment reflecting parallel evolutions in the battlefield network and the strategic and tactical environment in which it is being introduced. Specifically, following their equipment receipt and new equipment training in late 2012/early 2013, the first two deploying brigades received alert orders for deployment as Security Force Advise and Assist Brigades/Security Force Advise and Assist Teams (SFAAB/SFAAT), roles apparently reflecting a drawdown of direct U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan.

The net result was a complex situation in which units were tasked with a new mission while receiving a significant amount of new equipment that might have been envisioned for an entirely different mission just one or two years prior.