Net-centric communities for the tactical environment
Mark Adcock, Mel Crocker, Cindy Morton, Fred Stein · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2008
Tactical net-centric systems must support the exchange of multi-media information among traditional and non-traditional partners in a highly complex and dynamic environment across the full spectrum of operations. These systems also need to support the establishment of both static and dynamic groups of users able to get the right information, to the right person, at the right time, with adequate information assurance - all without compromising the ability of others to use the limited network resources to do the same. We refer to these dynamic groups of users as Communities of Interest (CoIs). CoIs provide a conceptual framework in which these capabilities can be implemented whilst ensuring usability, agility, security and an overall management approach that abstracts away the complexities and challenges of the operational environment. This paper introduces several system technologies in the areas of networking, security and information management and puts them into an evolutionary system context that realizes maximum returns on investments, facilitating the achievement of net-centricity in the tactical environment.