The present multi-domain warfare and impending theaterisation demand coordination and integration across all domains. Communication enables this coordination with real time interaction and transmission of data amongst the fighting forces in all domains. All this is facilitated now with digitisation of the communication in all dimensions.

The aim of Digitisation and Network Centric Operations (NCO) in the Armed Forces webinar & virtual expo was to provide a forum for the stakeholders in the Services and Industry to enable information exchange on latest technologies particularly relating to the digitisation in the Army, effective network-centric operations, C4ISR, communication systems, decision support information systems for exchange of data and big Data including its challenges and vulnerabilities, the space domain and impact of new technologies (5G, IoT, AI, VR/AR) on warfare.

The event brought together stakeholders from the armed forces, DRDO, public sector, industry and academia and provided them a platform to present their views and discuss pathways.

Inaugural Session

Welcome Address. Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, Director, Centre for Joint Warfare Studies put the theme of the Webinar in context and highlighted the present multidomain warfighting environment. He emphasized that digitization and net-centric operations were the core of battlefield dominance. All actors were leveraging digitization and NCO by weaponising information technology. He said that we must embrace digital jointness to unlock the digital battle space. Seamless sharing of warfighting information will generate shared operational awareness, effects and tempo which we could use to our advantage to paralise the adversaries OODA cycle. There is a need to seamlessly share info, link sensors & shooters and decision makers, even in a degraded environment, aggregating the combat capabilities of Services while remaining physically disaggregated. C2 Agility brings Force Agility which enhances Force Effectiveness.

Special Address. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Chief of Integrated Staff to Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) spoke of the contextual relevance of the webinar with the urgent operational need of Services to move forward towards joint networking and digitisation especially as our adversaries and particularly the Northern neighbour was already exploiting it, leaving no choice but to move forward at a faster pace in this direction. He opined that in modern warfighting the one who dominates in the information domain will stand to win. Space and cyber domains while being independent also influence operations in other domains. In his address, he brought out the relevance of satellite surveillance and satellite communication and several new technologies such as 5G, Artificial intelligence etc., all of which enhance the warfighting capability.

Keynote Address. Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Information Systems & Communications), Army HQ gave the Keynote Address and an outline of new initiatives and consolidation of the earlier efforts undertaken by the Indian Army in its journey towards induction of modern technology for conduct of military affairs at all levels involving operational, logistics and human resources. He talked of new generation technologies like Artificial intelligence, 5G, Quantum technology, Robotics, drones and so on. In this journey, the Army is also coordinating with several agencies under the Ministry of information technology, DRDO and academic institutions like IITs and has ordered studies and conducting seminars to remain in step with the new technologies for conduct of military affairs both in peace and war. He was critical of the long process of our defence procurement since by the time products are inducted, these are at the verge of obsolescence. To infuse efficiency in the process, he suggested to pin point accountability for the delays in the procurement process and also suggested a layered GSQR concept which would give time to the concerned staff to introduce workable amendment in the GSQRs so as to stay abreast with the technology. As regards communication, he informed that, as dug in cable communication remains vulnerable, the focus now is on wireless and digitised communication and net centricity between services. He mentioned that an integrated operational and intelligence system will facilitate Theaterisation.

Technology Perspective. Dr Ranjana N, Director, Directorate of Systems and Technology Analysis (DSTA), DRDO HQ, pointed out that digitisation was inevitable. She said that data was a strategic asset. Improved knowledge at all levels could naturally lead to integration in all layers of operations which may even call for changes in the tactics and doctrines. Data must be protected and managed to attain immediate and long-term strategic advantage to the military. Designing of systems is a challenge since it not only has to be robust in hardware and software but, their modularity and scalability is also essential. Cyber hardening of storage, NW and Sensors is equally important. Obsolescence of equipment and their upgradation is big challenge. We are constrained to run old systems with systems of new technologies. Thus, along with old systems, we should able to operate/integrate new sensors and technologies such as 5/6G, AI, big data etc. She cautioned that conceptualisation is the big challenge since the product may not exactly be as visualised. Further, layered architecture and modularity are the key to the modern comn equipment and will have to be developed indigenously. She highlighted that DRDO is working on GIS, Adhoc NW, MANETS, SDR, EW, AI, XL-UUVs, change detection and mine hunting.

Industry Perspective. Col KV Kuber, Director Defence & Aerospace, Ernst & Young gave the industry perspective. He asserted that COVID-19 pandemic had forced digitisation in the country including in the Services. He felt that digitisation in the Services was lagging behind the civil side. Therefore, the pace of digitisation in the Services needed to be hastened particularly in procurement, which could be faster with digitisation. He said that since legacy systems could not be changed in one go, digitisation should be able to integrate the old legacy systems as well. Compatibility, interoperability and backward integration were important. He highlighted the AKANKSHA model of DRDO. He recommended adoption of the waterfall/Agile approach and exhorted that procurement should not be an imprisoned by procedures.

Session 2 was earmarked for Digitisation issues related to the Army. The session was chaired by Lt Gen Dr RS Panwar, former Commandant of Military Collete of Telecom Engineering. Brig Ulhas Kirpekar, Brig Information Systems, Army HQ spoke on “The Digital Army and Initiatives.” Maj Gen K Shankar, Additional Director General Telecom in the Directorate of Signals, Army HQ spoke on the “Role of Army Cloud Centre and Digi Locker.” Brig SS Soin, Brig Telecom, Signals Directorate, Army HQ gave a presentation on “Future of ASCON and AREN Networks.”

The theme of Session 3 was Network Centric Operations and was chaired by Vice Adm Shekhar Sinha, former FOC-in-C Western Naval Command. Capt JS Sachdeva, Captain NCO, Naval HQ spoke on “Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap requirements of the Navy for NCO.” Col Vineet Jaiswal, from Directorate of Information Systems gave the “Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap requirements of the Army for NCO.” Air Cmde KN Santosh, Principal Director, Operational Networks, Air HQ spoke on “IAF Technology Perspective & Capability Roadmap requirements.” Gp Capt Parijat Saurabh, Air HQ spoke on “Meeting Electronic Warfare Threats.”

Session 4 was on C4ISR, Command & Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence. The session chairman was Lt Gen PJS Pannu, former Dy Chief IDS (Operations). Dr K Rajalakshmi Menon, Program Director (ISTAR), Centre for Airborne Studies, DRDO gave a talk on “ISTARS for Indian Armed Forces.” Col Abhijit Singh, Colonel Artillery-9, in the Directorate of Artillery, spoke on “Aerostats for surveillance and C2.”  Gp Capt P Batra, Gp Capt (Airborne Sensors & Networking), Air HQ gave a talk on “Airborne Early Warning Aircraft as Force Multipliers.”

Session 5 was devoted to Communication Systems. Lt Gen Rajeev Sabherwal, former SOC-in-C and Commandant MCTE chaired the session. Col Gurmeet Singh, HQ IDS, gave a talk on “Tri-Services Strategic / Operational Communications.” Brig Rajiv Singh, Brig Tactical Communication Systems, from Signals Directorate spoke on “Battlefield Tri-Services Tactical Communications.” Himansu Kumar Swamy, Scientist E, Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, DRDO spoke on “Maritime Data analysis & visualization.”

Session 6 was on Information, Data and Big Data – Challenges and Vulnerabilities. The session was chaired by Maj Gen Pritam Bishnoi, former Additional DG Tactical Communications, Signals Directorate, Army HQ. Brig Inder Sethi, Brig CICP, Ordnance Services Directorate spoke on “Data Sovereignty and Big Data Analytics.” Devsena Mishra, Promoter Advanced Technologies gave a talk on “How Big Data and Big Tech undermine national security.” Maj Gen Manjit Singh, Joint Secretary (Cyber) NSC Secretariat gave a talk on “Emerging cyber security threats.”

Session 7 dealt with Space Domination and Satellites under the chairmanship of Lt Gen Satish Dua, former CISC. Air Cmde Prem Kumar, from the Defence Space Agency spoke on “Requirement of robust space situational awareness.” Gp Capt Amarendra Samal, Gp Capt Operations (Space), Air HQ gave a talk on “Steering India towards military space domination.” Capt Manish Kumar, Capt NSO-SA, Naval HQ gave a presentation on “Security of satellite-based Communication networks.”

Session 8 covered New Technologies – 5G, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality/ Augmented Reality and was chaired by Lt Gen MU Nair, Commandant MCTE. Dr Santu Sardar, Director DRDO Young Scientists Lab gave a talk on “Relevance of Quantum Communications Technology for Armed Forces.” Brig Navjot Singh Bedi, Commander Defence Communications Agency. Spoke on “Relevance of 5G for the armed forces.”  Maj Gen Harsh Chibber, Maj Gen ASC HQ Western Command spoke on “Transforming and Reducing Costs of Military Logistics Through IoT.”

The Closing Remarks were given by Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, Director CENJOWS while the Vote of Thanks was delivered by Maj Gen Ravi Arora, Chief Editor, Indian Military Review.

Key Points Needing Attention

The key points which emerged in the eight sessions of the webinar are tabulated below:-

• Theaterisation would need tri-service digital infrastructure to support seamless op, decision support structure and battlefield management & C2 constructs.            

•  One of the challenges in integration is to have an attitudinal change towards automation and adopting agile processes. This also involves breaking away from silos.                                                                                                                 

•  The architecture of NCO system will require individual Service data centres and secure linkages with the joint regional data centre with a robust and secure cloud storage. The cloud storage will reduce the burden of forward fighting formations, which could retrieve relevant information, as required.

• The ongoing transformation in the strategic and tactical communication network i.e., Army Static Switched Communication Network (ASCON) to Network for Spectrum (NFS) and Army Radio Engineered Network (AREN) to Tactical Communication System (TCS) with overarching presence of satellite communication must continue to achieve the transformational targets. In that, the fibre optics based NFS is the back bone and integrator of three services. This is planned to be supplemented with satellites and microwave communication to extend it till the forward edge of the battle through TCS.

•   Besides three Services, the data and information also emanate from several other sources and also from other domains such as space, cyber etc in different formats which need standardisation.

•  To pick up relevant intelligence, about the adversary’s capabilities / limitations, information sharing will not only be between Services but, could even be from other national/ international sources. This requires synergy with various national and international organisations. With introduction of core strategic network NFS, the Army, Naval and Air force Strategic networks should handshake with it for integration of their data, video and voice communication.                

•  It is important to invest in infrastructure for safe, secure and seamless joint operations with holistic evolution in organisations, doctrine, strategy and tactics.

•   Legal Aspects of Warfighting. We also need to invest in legal aspects of war fighting which are often ignored or do not get due attention.                                                                                                                                  

•   IACCS. Indigenous IACCS of Indian Air Force in its 10 years of operations and in quite robust. Phase 5 would be implemented now. Trigun and Akash Teer projects of Sister services when linked to this system will enhance NCW capability of the Services hence, must be pursued actively.

•   Slow Modernisation. One major challenge is to use the legacy system along with modern equipment. The industry, academia and services have to find an answer to this challenge.

•   Upgradable Systems. Technology upgrades faster than we acquire systems. Therefore, we need to draw a line up what we can absorb and implement and periodically upgrade, say in 5 or 10 years, to reap the benefit of the changing technology.

•   An incremental and evolutionary approach is required in NCW where end state cannot be defined since it is always evolving but, our efforts must be measurable to stay on course towards our goal.

• Role of EW. Dominance in frequency spectrum would aid in gaining advantage over the adversary in the land, sea and air and space domains.

•  ISTAR Development. Integrated Surveillance Targeting and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) under development by DRDO, with close interaction with IAF, utilises several high technologies for offensive and defensive roles in one platform. All three Services must be involved in the project at this stage of evolution, especially since the system identifies surface targets.

•  Possible Naval Role for ISTAR. Inclusion of additional sensors like anomaly detector, pollution detector and AIS in ISTAR will broaden its employment potential in naval role.

•   Broader Exploitation of ISTAR. ISTAR should have seamless integration with other national intelligence networks for gauging the intent and moves of the adversary. The potential of ISTAR for broader exploitation should be examined.

•   Use of Aerostats. Aerostats have been used by the IAF for surveillance. Other Services can examine their employment with due consideration of disadvantages like vulnerability, blind zone, limited employment in mountains, shorter life and endurance.

•  AWACS. It provides immense force multiplier capability. However, it remains a lucrative target using LR SAMs and LR Anti radiation missiles. The number of AWACS required would depend on the expanse of op area needing coverage.

•  C4I2 Requirement for the TBA. To implement the C4I2, we need robust, secure, high bandwidth wireless communication for formations particularly in the TBA due to requirements of mobility. Apart from the common standards, formats and protocols, joint encryption, mission specific applications, the bandwidth requirement of the communication is vital and must be ensured. Systems with self healing capability are required for the TBA.

•  GIS, AI and Robotics. Common Geographic information for the three Services is vital and should be prioritised.

•   Wargaming and Simulation. The robustness and the reliability of the communication systems can be tested in realistic wargaming and simulation exercises.

•   Situational Awareness Model for the Indian Navy. DRDO has developed Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) for the Indian Navy, followed by Indian Navy Situational Awareness System (INSAS) and finally by 2027, Navy aims to develop Indian Navy Common Operating Picture (INCOP) with many more analytic features using new technologies and communication systems. With these developments DRDO and Indian Navy have shown the way for indigenisation for the other Services to emulate.

•   In TBA, three services besides their inherent conceptual variances use varied types of legacy and IP based modern communications. The communications are static, deployable and mobile. It is recommended to check the efficacy and status of integration in operations and test bed to identify variances and then find solutions to integration challenges.

•   Info, Data and Big Data Challenges. The big tech companies while serving our communication needs, also pose challenge to our security since the data collected by them is stored beyond the national boundaries, thus, beyond the purview and jurisdiction of national law. This opens possibilities of its misuse which is inimical to our sovereignty, national and security interests. Hence, the data sourced with in the country must be stored with in the country so that these remain under the purview of our law enforcement agencies.

•   Security. With increase in digitisation in defence, the threats too proportionally have increased in this domain. Therefore, communication products and contents must be sourced from the trusted sources only.

•   Space Domination. Space situational awareness is vital for collision avoidance as well as to keep an eye on developing threats in the space domain. While collision avoidance would be ensured by ISRO, the threatening satellite or anti-satellite activity is the domain of the defence. Optimum solution for generating required warning / data is vital for both. The first step towards this is building of robust SSA.              .

•   Space Observation/Surveillance. To enhance security, we need to enhance our observation in the area of interest with dedicated capabilities at LEO.

•   Vulnerability of Satcom. Satellite communication is vulnerable to external interference at various levels i.e., at satellite level, in command-and-control link as well as its ground infralstructure. Such attacks/ interferences are difficult to attribute to an adversary. Hence, the diversity and robustness of satellites and its infrastructure is vital.

•   Quantum Comn. Unlike other forms of comn, which remain vulnerable, the quantum communication will ensure secure military communication. Several countries are engaged in the research in the field, eg, China and US have achieved considerable success. Indian defence forces, too, should not lag behind. DRDO (young scientist laboratory) is following a road map and is moving ahead with research in this new area comprising several applications.

•   Relevance of 5 GTechnology in the Armed

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Forces. 5G will enable monitoring, collation and present relevant data of all activities for better coordination and informed decision taking of high order. Thus, it acts as a force multiplier. It will facilitate transition from old archaic procedures to new processes, increasing efficiency of the defence systems. Armed forces require low to high frequency bands from below 3GHZ band to above 6GHZ band to cover all operations. Dedicated specialist teams should be established to interact with the industry and monitor progress of rolling of 5 G in the armed forces for various facets of its use.              

•   Reducing Cost of Military logistics through IOT. The use of the emerging technology will overcome challenges and bring in transparency, reliability efficiency and decision making with use of less man-hours. Following actions will help to implement use of technology in logistics:-

(i)            Institute inhouse system studies to explore potential use of IOT and Blockchain.

(ii)           Standardize protocols for data sharing.

(iii)          Nominate lead agencies as per domain expertise.

(iv)         Earmark test beds and evaluate.

(v)          Expand scope throughout the organisation.

The post EVENT REVIEW: Digitisation & Netcentric Ops in the Armed Forces appeared first on IMR.

Based on the Introductory Remarks made at Digitisation & Networking in the Armed Forces 2020 Webinar, 21 Nov 2020.

The Indian Air Force has been part of the AFNET network for quite some time. Both the Air Force and Navy have been implementing network-centric operations for some time and we have gained a lot of experience in such operations. Two things generally come to our mind. Network Centric Warfare (NCW) is totally a different ball game.

It is actually a totally new domain in terms of transformation. Is it just technology or is it a problem solver?  I think we need to understand that better. It is not a new military technology but a new way of thinking, organizing and fighting wars.

ALSO READ: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – Transformation For Future War

NCW is an all-encompassing technology, doctrine and organization to radically change the style of warfare. What it gives us is speed of command, self-synchronization and the concept of shooters replacing much of existing lexicon. In the age of military transformation, the NCW concept has established a framework to facilitate an evolutionary cultural change, process and doctrine for warfare. It takes a holistic approach for warfighting, based on tenets of warfare, and capitalizes on the technical advances with distributed computing and networks. NCW makes a fundamental shift from the independent entities or platforms to systems approach where the actions of one component effect the whole system. NCW does not remove the fog or friction of war, but reduces them integrating all the moving parts into a more robust and effective fighting team. Weapon platforms will be an integral part of the whole because some or all platforms will produce a greater effect than the independent platforms. According to Metcalf’s Law, the value of a network increases exponentially as a number of users increase while networking.

Shift in Warfare

The information technologies available today brings the multiplying factor of Metcalf’s Law applied to war fighting to the NCW concept. A number of shits are taking place in warfare, namely:

”              From platform-centric to network-centric.

”              From independent sensors to integrated sensors.

•             From need-based information to common information grid.

•             From centralized operations to distributed operations.

Network-centric Operations

To illustrate what we understand by net NCW and how we implement it – we have a ground network which is well established; there are various communications and radar sensors hooked up together in a network; we have satellites, which link up giving us communication redundancy and now we have aircraft flying which talk to each other. If we have two packages flying, they talk to each other. Then we have the AWACS in the air, which talks to aircrafts, to the packages and to the ground network. Over that we have the ability of any aircraft in the mission talking to any other aircraft in other missions. This gives you an overall advantage of talking to each other.

ALSO READ: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION – Imperatives For Network-centric Operations

This provides improved situational awareness and it helps in carrying out silent intercept when I do not have to transcript from my own radar. I can transmit from the radar of a different aircraft or from a radar on the ground. It helps build a real time electronic orbat. Navigation gets better, in that, the aircraft can find new routes through safe corridors. We can transmit and transfer images in real time and seek instructions to engage the target. In a dense aircraft environment, with a small operational space, the data network provides collision warnings. We are able to carry out dynamic target allocation in the air and on the ground, thus enhancing operational capability. We are able to coordinate the air effort to ensure attacks are well coordinated and effective.

In effect NCW has provided us accelerated information flow, enhanced battlefield transparency and seamless communication with voice and data.  Finally, what it leads to is reduced time from sensor to shooter.

All this impacts organisational change. In the legacy systems we had voice and data systems in different silos. NCW has transformed the environment to an enterprise network with an integrated command and control structure with a satcom network included. All of this can be scaled up to provide better data-link connectivity and communications.

Network Management

For the IAF considerable transformation has occurred. We have an Information Highway which has the network. To manage the network there is a data centre management unit. The networks are vulnerable; they need to have network security management which is provided by the SOC. To be able to communicate with remote areas where fibre optic network does not reach, a mobile network has been deployed which itself is managed by a mobile network management centre (MNMC). Satellite communication are in turn managed by a static Satellite Network Management Centre (SNMC).

The major change that has happened in the organisation is that we are able to connect with entities at various locations with redundancies, which the legacy systems did not provide. Therefore, the old traditional centralised hierarchical structures that were suitable for relatively stable and predictable conditions has been replaced by more flexible and flatter structures that will facilitate devolution of command.

The work force requirements basically entail recruitment policies, which need to be developed to draw expertise from a range of people, proficiencies and skills need to be created at various levels, For the special skills and the competencies required, special training centres are set up to be able to understand networks and managing them. The entire organization has got revamped. Is it static, No. As we keep evolving this network and the organization management keeps evolving side by side. Just as management of the organization is updated in terms of network management, we also have to look at the operational organizations.

The traditional legacy organization has three operational levels – tactical, operational; and strategic – the last being the highest. There are no overlaps. Command and control flows from top to bottom and feedback goes from bottom to top. Today, functional requirements dictate increased situational awareness, optimization of information flow, decentralization of planning, control and execution functions. In the new organization structure, we have overlaps in the tactical, operational and strategic levels. The information from the grid is available to all simultaneously – at the higher direction level to the execution level. Planning and control is decentralized. Many functions happen at the same time. Execution is much faster.

NCO facilitates flattening of the command & control structure; we need to adapt to this structure. The availability of information and data facilitates flexibility in the execution of tasks. Commanders can exercise seamless and dynamic control in rapidly changing situations. These changes allow us to seize emerging opportunities in operations due to the availability of networks.

In the end, I would say that NCW concept capitalizes on the advances of information technology; it will continue to evolve. One of the greatest challenges of NCW is the cultural change required to implement the new organizational processes and exploit the advantages provided by the concept. Speed of command and self-synchronization with the new concepts must be accepted and implemented on a larger scale within our organizations. NCW is a constructive facilitator. It requires change in the organizations and mindset of individuals within the organizations. Essentially, NCW remains a command and control concept. In addition, it directly contributes towards increasing combat effectiveness, providing efficient interfaces among sensors, shooters and the decision makers. It also opens up feasibility of implementing flattened organization structures and peer-to-peer command and control protocols, which would make military organizations more effective in the battlefield as well as more agile in dealing with the complexities of hybrid warfare in the 21st Century battlespace. 

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