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The US Marine Corps is testing a tightly integrated
information network designed to provide warfighters at every level
with collaborative, real-time information and imagery. During the
"Agile Lion" demonstration, the Corps will test Northrop Grumman's
Advanced Information Architecture (AIA) providing commanders on the
ground an access to real-time aerial imagery taken by
Litening targeting pods.
The digital imagery files will be filed and stored into a dynamic
catalog of tactical information including targeting video.
AIA will be integrated into a variety of Marine Corps tactical
platforms, including an AV-8B and an F/A-18D aircraft equipped with
a Litening pod, a Cobra attack helicopter, a C-130J air refueling
tanker, ground vehicles and even individual Marines, which will
allow them all to share tactical information in real time. "The
tanker will be equipped with an AIA suite enabling it to expand its
role of aerial refueling to 'digital refueling,'" said Dale Burton,
sector vice president and chief technology officer for Northrop
Grumman's Integrated Systems sector. "In Northrop Grumman's
Brilliant Constellation concept, digital refueling means delivery
and sharing of information and situational awareness products
between warfighters, in the cockpit or on the ground, via its
real-time network."
A Command Operations Center (COC) at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma
has also been equipped with a ground-based AIA command node to
provide data access, chat and e-mail capability so that ground
forces can exchange information with the COC without using voice
communications. Marine Corps ground units will use personal-data
assistants and laptop computers to access data provided through the
AIA network.
"Our goal in Agile Lion is to show the value of tactical,
ad-hoc networks
that enable both air- and ground-based warfighters to collaborate in
real time, especially while on the move," said Burton, "Today, most
of the raw data collected by tactical assets is available only in
cockpits and command centers. The demonstration of AIA in Agile Lion
will highlight how forces in convoys and dismounted Marines can
'pull' or 'push' data-imagery, signals, intelligence, chat, e-mail
or other information-to and from a network of airborne and
ground-based servers, allowing real-time collaboration among users."
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