The Army said Monday it has started working on new software for automated fires targeting, with plans to eventually bring on multiple vendors to help further develop the capability.
The new Joint Targeting Integrated Command and Coordination Suite (JTIC2S) software is intended to give “commanders rapid data, situational awareness, and visualization to successfully deliver fires,” the Army said, noting it will replace the Joint Automated Deep Operations Coordination System (JADOCS).
“Entering this phase of development is an exceptional achievement and a critical step to consolidating safety-critical fires software onto a single baseline,” Col. Matthew Paul, Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications – Tactical’s (PEO C3T) project manager for mission command, said in a statement. “While JADOCS has served the Army well for more than 30 years, moving to JTIC2S will allow us to keep pace with the speed of technology, evolving Army priorities, and help us deliver a product that is effective for the warfighter.”
JTIC2S is currently in the engineering and manufacturing development phase with an aim to build an initial iteration as a “minimum viable product” that will go into the field for testing and to gather feedback before bringing in industry to “further develop the software’s capabilities.”
The Army said it plans to use a multi-vendor approach to help develop JTIC2S, with plans to begin the process of seeking industry partners later this fiscal year.
The new software will eventually run on the Army’s Tactical Assault Kit, which is a situational awareness application to provide users with a common operational picture and will be designed to “process varying data formats and leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to aid commanders and forces in the decision-making process.”
“As a software-only program, JTIC2S will link sensors to shooters without the need for specific hardware. It will provide rapid target engagement, near real-time access to friendly and enemy unit data, and be fully interoperable with Army, joint, intelligence community and coalition forces systems. Military service branches across echelons will utilize the functions within JTIC2S to support combined joint all-domain command and control and joint all-domain operations against a near-peer adversary,” the Army said. “Data, once tracked through Excel and PowerPoint files, will now be automated and displayed through 4D visualization to help commanders see themselves in time and space.”
JTIC2S along with the current Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System artillery execution suite and additional capability development efforts will form the Army’s “Fires Safety Critical Baseline,” the service said, with an aim to leverage a common backend architecture and open application programming interface.
“Developing JTIC2S as a software only program will help us integrate into any network, and as technology enhances, we can make changes without a lot of time and money,” Lt. Col. Timothy Godwin, product manager for PEO C3T Fire Support Command and Control, said in a statement.