JNN: Bridge to the Future
COTS-BASED SYSTEM MEETS TODAY’S NEEDS WHILE FILLING THE GAP UNTIL ARRIVAL OF TOMORROW’S TACTICAL NETWORK.
As the Army continues development of its battlefield networking technology of the future, the Joint Network Node (JNN) is proving that an IP-based system relying heavily on COTS equipment can be both a bridge to that future and a valuable communications tool for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
JNN is a current force bridge that gives soldiers the capability in the field now until the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) arrives. Designed to replace the outmoded, circuit-based Mobile Subscriber Equipment, JNN was developed in a tight timeframe and delivered to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
JNN is currently fielded to 3rd ID, 10th Mountain, 101st Airborne, 4th ID, 1st Cavalry, 25th ID and 82nd Airborne.
This past fall, the Army Communications- Electronics Command awarded Data Path a $181 million prime contract to provide specialized satellite communications networks for the JNN program. The contract includes satellite communications earth terminals, software and additional satellite broadband and baseband systems and services to support numerous units.
DataPath began production for the JNN contract in the fourth quarter of 2006 and expects to complete production in 2007, with much of the work taking place this year. The services supplied under this contract will continue into 2008.
DataPath worked closely with the Army to develop a trailer-based solution—the Data Path ET 3000, or Satellite Transportable Terminals (STT)—that can talk back to the hub known as the DataPath DKET 4530Ku Mobile. Terminals no longer take a day or two to set up—the DataPath 3000 can be operational in less than 30 minutes.
Under the latest contract, DataPath will deliver more than 300 STTs, four Unit Hub Satellite Communications trucks, and several hundred spares kits. DataPath’s Integrated Logistics Support team will continue to expand its field operations and maintenance and training personnel deployed with U.S. units using STTs and other DataPath systems that support the JNN network.
STTs are versions of satellite earth terminals marketed as DataPath ET 3000 Portables. The DataPath 3000 is a compact, portable satellite earth terminal that enables secure and robust voice, video and data communications, regardless of how remote or extreme the environment. Unit Hub Satellite Communications trucks, marketed by Data- Path as the DataPath DKET 4530Ku Mobile, serve as the hub of the JNN program and allow battlefield commanders to establish communications outposts in remote locations.
DataPath delivered 50 of the trailer-based terminals under the Lot 8 contract. In total, the company delivered 500 trailer-based terminals to JNN; 300 more are in production and will be completely delivered by next year.
JNN is being deployed throughout all the Army divisions. Satellite communications networks offer flexibility and high bandwidth for more advanced applications on the battlefield. The JNN program has been successful in moving the network out to the end-user of mission-critical information, transforming the speed of deployment and coordination capabilities of our troops.
At the battalion level, DataPath will deploy their trailer-based terminals with a modem that can generate 40 megabits per second of throughput. All the battalion command post terminals can talk to each other in a mesh environment. They can communicate back to the brigade via the FDMA link or they can communicate back to the division headquarters—the DataPath 4000.
While it is being used in both Afghanistan and Iraq, the system has operated somewhat differently in the two countries, according to Dan White, vice president of engineering for DataPath. There was a more established infrastructure in Iraq, and DataPath wanted to take advantage of that.
“We took the capability of that semi-permanent Earth station we used in Afghanistan and applied that to a mobile solution that can deliver up to 40 megabits per second per truck terminal,” White said. “It provided six times as much communication capacity between the division level headquarters and the front line—six times as much communication capacity than they had with their previous legacy systems.”
WIN-T ENABLER
Those involved in the program reject suggestions that JNN and WIN-T development are redundant. In addition, some in Congress and elsewhere have faulted the Army for failing to move rapidly to transition from JNN to WIN-T.
“We are seeing that JNN is part of WIN-T; it’s an enabler of WIN-T,” White explained. “We are working closely with the WIN-T program office to ensure that we’re aligned with their direction and the initiative they’re pursuing— network-centricity, interoperability and mobility. The modem that will be used in the WIN-T program going forward is being integrated into our JNN terminals as part of a certification effort to use the terminal.”
White foresees that WIN-T and JNN will be working side by side through the next three to five years.
“We’re a maneuver brigade-based Army now,” said Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Mentzer, product manager for JNN. “On the active component side, there are 42 maneuver brigades, of which 39 are JNN equipped. By the end of summer 2007, we will have 39 JNN equipped out of the active force. But the remaining 28 out of the Guard are not doing so well—we’ve only got about eight or nine of those done.
“WIN-T is the replacement network for many pieces of equipment that configure the current force network, one of which is JNN. WIN-T is replacing not only JNN, but also an intel network and a logistics network. WIN-T is the objective for our Army, and JNN is just the bridge to help us get to that objective,” Mentzer said. “The requirements that WIN-T has levied upon them by the Future Combat Systems by our Army are not going to be met by JNN. JNN is a current force bridge in support of the fight to give us the capability in the field now and to sustain us until WINT arrives.”
Colonel Angel Colon, project manager for WIN-T, said the department is expected to continue to meet the near-term needs of the warfighter with JNN until WIN-T becomes available, at which point it will begin buying WIN-T.
JNN supports asymmetrical warfare with a small number of selected individuals on the move. JNN is primarily utilizing a satcom communications infrastructure that operates either at the halt or at the quick halt. WIN-T is about providing a dynamic, selfforming and self-healing network for formations on the move, as opposed to selected members on the move, in order to support asymmetrical warfare.
The procurement of JNN is based on spotmarket commercial technologies available now with no developmental technologies. The WIN-T program is moving to the next generation of communications, not based on spot-market buys but on the development of activities that lead to that formation on the move.
Mentzer said General Dynamics and DataPath are successful meeting the Army’s requirements for hardware deliveries, support to JNN programmatically in making things work and being responsive. In Iraq, things are working well from both the hardware and operational standpoints. “We have been able to take an IP-based network in the tactical Internet and put it down to battalion level or lower. It’s very much a success story,” he said.
The Army has had issues with field service support. Mentzer said that taking an office-type network and transporting it through satellite and putting it anywhere in the world is difficult. His team is using a lot of engineering brains to help make this happen. “We struggle with that sometimes because it’s hard to find a guy with that level of capability who’s willing to spend a year in Afghanistan and then come home and then spend a year in Iraq,” he acknowledged.
The Army has given a product to soldiers that they want. “A lot of times the pace of our acquisition does not keep up with the pace of technology. The real challenge for those of us in the acquisition corps is to field things that are on the cutting edge of technology. JNN has enabled us to do that. It’s made a great difference in the lives of our young soldiers and the guys in the fight,” Mentzer concluded.
COMMAND POST NODE
Tow-along satellite antennas in the Battalion Command Post node are also part of JNN. This node means soldiers can phone anywhere, view imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles, connect to classified and secure networks, to the Internet, and to any other command post in Iraq, be it next door or hundreds of miles away.
Information technology capabilities have increased the demand for bandwidth in the Army in recent years because these new capabilities provide data that must be transported across the battlefield. Examples include feeds from electronic battlefield sensors that show enemy activity and web-based logistics systems with current assessments of supplies. Some other examples are collaborative planning tools that connect commanders in briefings across Iraq, and computer-based systems that share and display aspects of current operations like troop locations and terrain, enemy activity reports and operational plans.
The availability of this information for soldiers depends on the capabilities of communications systems, which engineers call the “tactical transport layer.” The tactical transport layer relays data by radio, satellites, switches and Internet servers hosted on air and ground platforms and command posts.
With the JNN, IP is now the standard for transmitting both voice and data for the first time in the Army. IP allows the sharing of bandwidth among users. Rather than carving out whole portions of available bandwidth for specific users, IP allows the available bandwidth to adjust flexibly. Once a user hangs up, the bandwidth becomes available to the whole pool of users.
The satellite equipment allows soldiers to stop, set up and be connected to the network in less than 30 minutes; they don’t have to be tethered to a line-of-sight radio network. It means less planning and greater mobility for battalions. Unit reports operational readiness of JNN at 99 percent.
When JNN was under development, the Army’s force structure was in the process of changing from a model where the division was the primary unit of deployment to one where the brigade was the primary unit. General Dynamics is one company helping the Army transform to modular fighting forces, with contributions on JNN, WIN-T, Land Warrior and other programs.
“With JNN, satellite technology allows multiple command posts to be used in separate locations,” said Brian Lass, director of communication networks business development at General Dynamics C4 Systems. “Each command post independently receives communications capability from the satellite, so they don’t have to rely on each other to communicate. That allows each command post to be moved without disturbing the overall network.”
SATCOM PARTNERSHIP
The JNN program has proven to be an exciting challenge for all of the suppliers involved over the life of the program, said Kevin McMahon, director of domestic sales for MCL, a manufacturer of systems for the satellite communications market. “The key to the success of the program is the level of partnering that has occurred between all parties involved, such as customers, integrators and equipment suppliers.
“This program has challenged the SATCOM industry as few programs have done in the past, with the largest challenge being the delivery time-frame requirement that needed to be met in order to ensure that the finished terminals were available to the military forces when needed in the field,” he said.
“The consensus reached among the parties was that COTS equipment needed to be utilized in order to meet the delivery schedule mandated by the end customer,” McMahon explained. “Further reassurance was provided by the proven track record of the offered equipment, which had proven to be very reliable in similar commercial applications around the world.
“The success of the JNN program underscores the benefits of close cooperation between all parties involved in the effort. Effective and efficient manufacturing techniques, coupled with continuous communications between all those involved, have generated a JNN result that everyone can be very proud of. The willingness of the Army personnel to consider a COTS solution is admirable and indicates the level of understanding achieved between customersupplier to bring this program to the success level that it has achieved,” McMahon said. ♦
