It’s not easy to wrap one’s mind around the Future Combat Systems program and all its various components, capabilities and technologies. Indeed, the program is the most complex, multi-faceted and ambitious program in the U.S. Army’s history. Certainly it’s the most expensive program—forecasted to cost $100 billion or more over its lifetime. In a way it’s actually 19 programs consisting of 18 platforms plus the network linking them together. Yet it’s the very idea of developing all those platforms together, and to interoperate together, that’s at the heart of what FCS is. And don’t forget the logistical and embedded training advantages of having common hardware and software across many platforms (see sidebar “Advantages of Commonality and the LSI Model”).

Running down the roster of those 18 platforms, there are unattended ground sensors (UGS); two unattended munitions, the Non-Line of Sight – Launch System (NLOS-LS) and Intelligent Munitions System (IMS); four classes of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) organic to platoon, company, battalion and Unit of Action (UA) echelons; three classes of unmanned ground vehicles, the Armed Robotic Vehicle (ARV), Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle (SUGV), and Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment Vehicle (MULE); and the eight manned ground vehicles.

Common Operating Environment

Central to FCS network implementation is the System-of-Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE), which supports multiple mission-critical applications independently and simultaneously. It is configurable so that any specific instantiation can incorporate only the components that are needed for that instantiation. SOSCOE enables straightforward integration of separate software packages, independent of their location, connectivity mechanism and the technology used to develop them.

The SOSCOE architecture combines COTS computing hardware and a Joint Tactical Architecture–Army (JTA-A)-compliant operating environment. The result is a nonproprietary, standards-based component architecture for real-time, near-real-time and non-real-time applications. SOSCOE also contains administrative applications that provide capabilities including login service, startup, logoff, erase, memory zeroize, alert/emergency restart and monitoring/control.

The software applications running on SOSCOE—or Battle Command (BC) mission applications as they’re called—include mission planning and preparation, situation understanding, BC and mission execution and warfighter-machine interface (WMI). These four software packages’ combined capabilities enable full interaction among the FCS-equipped units.

The “engine” that makes the FCS network work is its multilayered Communications and Computers (CC) network. The network will support advanced functionalities such as integrated network management, information assurance and information dissemination management to ensure dissemination of critical information among sensors, processors and warfighters both within and external to the FCS-equipped organization.

No large and separate infrastructure is needed for the CC network because it’s primarily embedded in the mobile platforms and moves with the combat formations. The FCS communication network is comprised of several homogenous communication systems such as Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Clusters 1 and 5 with Wideband Network Waveform (WNW) and Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW), Network Data Link and Warfighter Information Network–Tactical (WIN-T).

The JTRS program is currently on hold, pending restructuring. But the basic plan calls for every FCS vehicle in the unit to be equipped with a 4- or 8-channel Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 1. Soldiers and other weight and power-constrained platforms will be equipped with a 1- or 2-channel Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 5.

In addition to the Wideband Network Waveform (WNW) and Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) communications backbone, the software-programmable Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) will support other waveforms to ensure current force Joint, Interagency and Multinational (JIM) interoperability. The WIN-T will provide additional communications capability within the unit, as well as reach to echelons above.

FCS will employ an integrated computer system (ICS) to host the SOSCOE, ensure common processing, support networking and employ consistent data storage/retrieval across all FCS platforms and applications. The integrated computer system consists of processors, storage media, dynamic memory, input/output devices, local area networks (LANs) and operating systems. A suite of seven computing system types have been identified to meet the various FCS platform-specific requirements for security, processing capability, computational capacity, throughput, memory, size, weight and power. The contract for the ICS is shared between General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and Rockwell Collins. LynuxWorks’ Linux-compatible LynxOS-178 safety-critical RTOS was chosen as the embedded operating system by General Dynamics for the ICS.

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
St. Louis, MO.
(314) 232-0232.
[www.boeing.com].

LynuxWorks
San Jose, CA.
(408) 979-3900.
[www.lynuxworks.com].

General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems
Arlington, VA.
(703) 271-7300.
[www.gd-ais.com].

Rockwell Collins
Cedar Rapids, IA.
(319) 295-1000.
[www.rockwellcollins.com].

SAIC
San Diego, CA.
(800) 430-7629.
[www.saic.com].