In response to feedback from soldiers in Iraq, the Army intends to add blue-force
tracking capabilities to a handheld computer that is being developed for the
Land Warrior program.
The battle-management computer, called the Commander’s Digital Assistant,
was designed to help battalion and company commanders, as well as platoon leaders,
maintain “situational awareness” of their troops as they move around
the battlefield.
The CDA is the cornerstone piece of technology the Army intends to field in
Land Warrior, a system that integrates everything that a soldier wears or carries.
Land Warrior also is part of an ambitious long-term plan to connect dismounted
troops into tactical networks. Several units in Iraq tested handheld and laptop-size
versions of the CDA in recent months. Their observations—many of which
were critical of the system—are shaping future upgrades to the technology.
The next step in the evolution of Land Warrior, said program officials, is
to combine the CDA technology with the blue-force tracking device widely used
in Operation Iraqi Freedom—the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below,
or FBCB2. The merging of the two systems makes sense, officials said, because
both have overlapping features and, collectively, could become much more useful
than in their current form, particularly in helping prevent fratricide. Another
key feature that the Army wants in the CDA is L-band satellite connectivity,
which is available in FBCB2.
During senior-level meetings at the Pentagon last December, Army officials
expressed interest in moving the CDA-FBCB2 to the field as soon as possible.
Lt. Col. David Gallop, Army program manager for Land Warrior, said it would
not be unreasonable to expect the L-band upgrade and the blue-force tracking
capability in CDA by April. The long-term goal is to provide T-1 encryption,
which is the highest level. Current CDAs have T-3 encryption.
The next Land Warrior upgrade—to be fielded in 2006—will have T-1
encryption, as well as satellite connectivity, possibly L-Band and Iridium.
The current CDA only is connected to a SINCGARS ASIP radio for extended-range
communications. The CDA supports both voice and data, but gives higher priority
to voice traffic.
The program managers for Land Warrior and for FBCB2 recently decided to merge
the two systems, under a memorandum of agreement. So far, however, the technical
requirements of an FBCB2-CDA unit have not been set.
“Combining CDA and FBCB2 is one of our next spirals,” Gallop said
in an interview. “It’s a great technical marriage.”
One significant hurdle, however, is making competing contractors work together,
Gallop said.
The CDA and the FBCB2 so far have been competing technologies. General Dynamics
Decision Systems makes the CDA and the Land Warrior. Northrop Grumman Tactical
Systems produces the FBCB2.
Making the two contractors work together will not be easy, Gallop said, not
because it’s technically complex, but because the companies have different
approaches to doing business.
“I’m trying to get the contractors to make it happen,” Gallop
said. “The technology is not hard to do.” The problems are “management
and cultures,” he said. If the programs are to merge successfully, it
will take “a bit of leadership on my part.”
Gerrit LeGrande, a Northrop Grumman business development manager, said the
company is aware of the Army’s intent to combine FBCB2 and CDA, but that
not much can be done until the service decides what features and functionality
it wants in the new system.
Northrop Grumman officials have had several meetings with General Dynamics
representatives, LeGrande said, “to make sure we are on a path to merge
the programs.”
Exactly how the companies will work together is yet unclear. “The eventual
contracting for the software and the hardware is still up in the air. That hasn’t
been fully resolved yet,” he said.
Lee E. Wright, senior director for tactical systems at General Dynamics, said
the company views the FBCB2-CDA merger as “technically achievable.”
Reviews from the Field
The tablet laptop-size CDA has been better received in the field than the handheld
version. Wright explained that, given the physical constraints of the handheld
platform and how it is used, there are some capabilities available on the tablet
that are not implemented on the handheld. For instance, the screen of the handheld
does not provide the same map view as the tablet. The same maps are used in
both, but how they are displayed is different to conform to the size of the
screen. Likewise, the processing power and storage capability of the handheld
are considerably lower.
The commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division recently asked
the Army to send 50 more tablet-size CDAs to Iraq. Although the larger CDAs
have received positive reviews, the feedback mostly has been negative on the
handheld versions.
“We expected negative stuff,” said Gallop. He said he welcomes
the criticism, because it helps improve the product. “That is the only
way you are going to get yourself better,” he said. “Otherwise,
you put money on guesswork.”
Among the complaints was the battery life. Gallop said power devices often
cause frustration, because they don’t last long enough. Many of the technologies
that the Army takes to war—such as the CDA—are essentially commercial,
and not designed for extended use. The CDA consumes battery power fast.
“The commercial sector is providing more power storage,” Gallop
said. “But the commercial sector is neglecting advances in power management.”
Power management, he said, is “a slick way of saying: turn off the device
when it’s not in use.” That sounds simple enough, but in a combat
situation, soldiers don’t have the time to wait for the computer to boot
up after it was turned back on. Wright said that, in the short term, the only
solution is to add extra battery sleeves for the vehicle power adapter kits.
The next spiral of the handheld CDA will include military chargeable and non-rechargeable
batteries. Fuel cells could be employed one day, but that technology is not
yet mature.
The Land Warrior office has been testing power management technologies, such
as a screen cursor that only eats up small amounts of energy as it moves. “We
are experimenting with shutting off the cursor as it moves, in increments that
are not noticeable to the human eye,” said Gallop. “Those are little
ways that we are nipping at the power problem.”
Any definitive solution still is years away, he said. “There is no silver
bullet for power. … Today, we are stuck with your basic D-Cell technology.”
The lack of training time sometimes adds to the difficulties of rushing equipment
to the field, noted Maj. George Holguin, test integration officer for the Land
Warrior program. “Extensive training in the future will temper soldier
expectations,” he said. “During this go round, training was reduced
from five weeks (including a capstone field exercise) to 10 days of classroom
instruction, prior to the unit’s deployment, which did not meet the desired
familiarization and skill level requirement.”
Another shortcoming in the CDA technology is the memory, said Col. Arnold Neil
Gordon-Bray, head of the Joint Army Experimentation Directorate. From February
to July 2003, he was in Iraq, commanding the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. His unit pioneered the use of CDA technology, he said in a presentation to
the Soldier Tech conference, hosted by the Institute for Defense and Government
Advancement.
Before deploying to Iraq, the 2nd Brigade, based in Fort Bragg, N.C., became
quite technology-savvy, especially after participating in the 2002 Millennium
Challenge experiment, sponsored by the U.S. Joint Forces Command. The brigade
tested the CDA, as well as other comparable technologies, such as FBCB2 and
the Digital Intelligence Situation Mapboard, or DISM.
As a result of the experience in Iraq, Bray said he views the CDA as a must-have
technology. “As a commander, going down alleyways in a foreign place,
there is no better feeling than knowing where you are,” he said.
During the entire time in OIF, Bray only used conventional maps twice, when
the computer froze, he said.
The primary shortfalls in CDA, in his view, are the limited memory and data
processing capability. The software does not allow for selective downloading,
he said, and the onslaught of information clogs up the computer. “We’d
like to be able to download only what we need.”