Lieutenant-General Johan Kihl (retired), former chief of staff of the Swedish armed forces, says the main difference in military operations today is the time factor. "Decisions that used to take days to travel from the highest level to the lowest must move much faster today, often in real time. This in turn means that all levels should have access to the same information at the same time."
Ericsson's network-oriented defense solutions - C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) - are referred to as Network-Centric Warfare (NCW), Network-Enabled Capability (NEC) and Network-Based Defense (NBD), and all have the same prime objective: to connect decision-makers, commanders, field operatives and information sources to a common network, or rather a network of networks. Using existing commercial networks, functionality based on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) can allow any authorized user, mobile or stationary, to access the required information - as services on the net.
For example, producers, such as mapping specialists, may provide a map of a building or a city which then becomes available as a C4ISR service. Consumers, be they ground units, aircraft or headquarters, can then share the same information at the same time.
"SOA, the architecture, enables the decision-makers to connect to those specific services available on the network - they can access the services they need to solve a particular problem," Kihl says.
Combining the use of different networks can allow for a reduction in capital and operational expenditure. A combined architecture is also more effective than a single-purpose network - new services and capabilities can be added over time. These new capabilities may involve new or improved methods for how to conduct operations, and so may completely change the way in which defense is organized, tactics are implemented and training is carried out.
"Security is most likely higher in the commercial networks: an exclusive military network would be too challenging (to set up) and too easy for an enemy to penetrate," Kihl says.
An additional benefit of NEC solutions is that they can also be used for public safety and security. The services can be made available to other authorized agencies, civil or military, that would benefit from information sharing during, for example, a terrorist attack.
Ericsson recently demonstrated its solutions at the Civil and Military Readiness 2006 (CIMI) exhibition in Enköping, Sweden. The event, based on the theme "Civil and military cooperation for crisis management," gave Ericsson the opportunity to meet customers from both the defense and civil sectors.
Nils-Olov Dahlman, manager of Ericsson Microwave Systems and project leader for Ericsson's participation at CIMI, says: "We have been working with these solutions for six years now, hand-in-hand with the authorities, and have a world-leading position in this area."
