By Ann Roosevelt
This week General Dynamics [GD] begins a dry run ahead of a Limited User Test (LUT) for its Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 on-the-move broadband networking capability.
“Starting on Jan. 5 we delivered equipment most up to Ft. Lewis, [Wash.] the 4th brigade of the 2nd division up there, then the division headquarters elements of the Increment 2 test are out at Ft. Stewart [Ga.],” Bill Weiss, vice president of tactical networks for General Dynamics C4 Systems, told Defense Daily in an interview yesterday.
“We’ve been winding up the training now as we speak in the midst of crew drills leading up to the Limited User Test that will begin on the 18th of March,” he said.
A production decision and contract award could be expected in July, he said. “We could build a set of equipment that would support the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E), which is the next testing stage-gate,” he said.
GD would build equipment for a division headquarters and either one or two brigades worth of Increment 2 equipment that would be fielded to a unit or units, Weiss said. That unit would keep the equipment and conduct the initial IOT&E next year. Following that test, there would be a full-rate production decision.
General Dynamics C4 Systems is the prime systems integrator for WIN-T and is teamed with Lockheed Martin [LMT]. The WIN-T team also includes BAE Systems, Harris Corp. [HRS], L-3 Communications [LLL] and Cisco Systems [CSCO].
WIN-T moved forward to the LUT with a successful September-December 2008 developmental test at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., demonstrating the system can support the networking needs of 4,000 warfighters. The test included building and operating a network comprised of more than 35 network nodes. WIN-T Increment 2 is a critical part of the Army’s LandWarNet, the service segment of the Defense Department’s Global Information Grid.The LUT will allow GD and its partners to find out more about what soldiers’ find good about the program and what might need a tweak.
Modeling and simulation before the developmental test led the team to have a pretty good idea of what to expect, even though it was building for the first time a fairly large mobile network. The test results for the most part validated simulation results and models, Weiss said, and they remain confident it’s going to work and work well,” he said.
During the testing period, various experiments also evaluated the maturity of technologies and components of WIN-T Increment 3, which will provide enhanced capabilities and information security using smaller, lighter, more power-efficient equipment.
Increment 3 had an engineering field test a few months ago, which was intended to be a technology readiness gate to see the maturity of Increment 3 technology.
“The results of that test were favorable,” he said. “We believe that we’ll get favorable assessment for Increment 3, so that program remains on track.” While the program has been looking at ways to accelerate Increment 3 radio development, “we haven’t yet rebaselined around an accelerated schedule.”
The focus for moving systems out quickly remains on Increment 2, which “does introduce an additional mobile networking capability, which is a critical enabler of battle command on the move,” he said.
The Increment 3 program continues to progress, and “actually next year we will be incorporating additional functionality that comes out the Increment 3 development program, so that Increment 2 capability that we deliver in 2010 will have some improvements and upgrades in it over what we’re currently using in the Limited User Test,” Weiss said.
The program leverages as much as it can from the commercial investment in networking technology.
“It really makes sense for an IT program, even one that is focused on the tactical Army where there is a fair amount of custom development…to try and stay on those one and a half to two-year cycles of incremental release of functionality,” Weiss said.
WIN-T has four increments: Increment 1–the former Joint Network Node enhances existing joint networking and stationary satellite communications; more than half of the Army’s forces are equipped with WIN-T Increment 1 and fielding will continue until Increment 2 is ready. Increment 2 will deliver on-the-move broadband networking capability using satellite and radio links; the initial fielding is scheduled during 2009.
Increment 3 continues developing WIN-T components to enable increased network capacity, security and enhanced on-the-move capabilities combined with reductions in system size, weight and power requirements; limited user testing is scheduled for 2011. Increment 4 is the last of the developmental program elements; a contract award is pending.