Each time the American M1A2 Abrams tanks let loose with their 120 mm smoothbore guns during a multinational live-fire exercise at Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland, they are supported with intersecting fire from either side by armored vehicles from Italian, Spanish and German armored units. Officers from those countries, observing the exercise from a nearby tower, nod approvingly after each volley.
This is the kind of event that demands precise timing and communication between forces, and it is largely why all these elements gathered. It’s the fourth day of Saber Strike 24 in April, and the demands of a large-scale and high-tempo training exercise only serve to fuel innovation.
Multinational interoperability was the key of Saber Strike 24, part of the Defender 24 series of exercises across Europe, and the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment was at the forefront of pushing technology that elevated and improved those capabilities. Perhaps most importantly, Saber Strike included integration of new communication equipment for both U.S. forces and multinational partners. Through a combination of applications and devices, a cohesive and encompassing Mission Partner Kit (MPK) was created. The MPK is the primary component of a 2nd Cavalry Regiment initiative called “Extending the Network.”
Voice and Chat
The basis of extending the network lies in improving communication capabilities between partner nations, creating quick, safe and secure lines of communication that can be used with both voice and chat functionality while allowing location information-sharing in real time.
The MPK allows these functionalities through three applications in concert with included computers and cellular devices: the end-to-end encryption service Wickr; the voice interoperability application Instant Connect Enterprise; and a Tactical Assault Kit with variations for operating systems from Apple, Android and Windows devices, allowing versatility for whatever end-user device a soldier uses in the field. Also included in the MPK is a Radio Integrated Communications Suite, or RICS kit.
From an interoperability perspective, the concept behind the MPK is to simplify accessibility for tactical forces, be it a U.S. or mission partner force. Rather than create systems requiring extensive training to operate, the kit utilizes applications on smart devices that already will be familiar to users, which streamlines the process through which they are used.
Wickr allows for a more tailored communication experience than the Army has utilized in the past with communication applications such as Signal. Wickr allows secure and simple data-sharing, including images, files and links, between platforms. It even allows forces to coordinate and collaborate with tactical mission-data platforms based out of tactical operations centers in the field.
By coordinating data streams from units in the field, multiple echelons of data processing based out of operations centers, starting at the squad level and working its way up, can create a more cohesive and functional picture of an operational area.
Information also can move in the opposite direction, with company-level operations centers pushing out information to units and even individuals as needed. Wickr also has systems that permit content-expiring messages and rooms, meaning communications for an exercise or operation can be set to delete once the event is complete.
Less Equipment
The RICS kit and the Instant Connect Enterprise application are intended to operate in tandem, though they accomplish separate tasks. The RICS allows program-of-record radios, U.S. or allied, to convert FM wavelength to internet protocol data, creating opportunities to streamline and reduce equipment in the field while also extending the network. In essence, soldiers tasked with manning radio systems would not need to carry heavy radio sets with them. Instead, they can use sanctioned end-user devices that would act as a communication device between devices, as well as any radios connected to the RICS.
The Instant Connect Enterprise mobile kit builds off this innovation by introducing translation capabilities to the communications network. Simply put, a German soldier speaking into the RICS kit and communicating with U.S. forces would result in the message being translated into English and relayed almost instantly into the U.S. RICS.
The intent of the application is seamless integration of communication, creating opportunities for greater interoperability between mission partners and U.S. forces that otherwise might have to surmount a language barrier when coordinating. A long-term goal for the system is expanding its capabilities beyond to-and-from English, providing opportunities for any allied nation to communicate using the system.
European Testing
This system was put to the test during Saber Strike 24, first during the convoy from Germany to Poland, where German forces moved in concert with soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
A commanding officer with the German forces traveling to the exercise described how his soldiers were able to grasp the system within a matter of hours. Later, during the exercise itself, mission partners practiced using the system in simulated calls for fire missions where they could hear the translation capabilities operating in real time.
The final component to the MPK is the Tactical Assault Kit. A vital part of controlling a battlefield is knowing not just where the enemy forces are, but where your own forces and mission partners are at any given moment. The Tactical Assault Kit allows for live location information-sharing. This lets U.S. forces and partner nations see where each other is at any given moment, making creation of a common operating picture more efficient.
The program goes beyond just allowing the gathering of this data. It also allows forces working off the system to collaborate. It permits real-time changes to objectives and updates to the location of enemy forces. The MPK also federates location information with integrated tactical network end-user devices, greatly expanding situational awareness for task force members.
The combination of these disparate elements creates a net-based ecosystem, a network based on applications, that can be modulated based on mission requirements. User devices could be outfitted with whatever applications would be necessary for the mission, meaning the onus of integrating with the network is on the operations side rather than the tactical. Users would only have to be concerned with utilizing specific apps while still operating within the same framework and network.
Integrated Deterrence
The cutting-edge technological innovations in use and on display were a vital component of Saber Strike 24, alongside live-fire exercises and multinational interoperability training, bolstering integrated deterrence as a key factor for U.S. forces. In the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Theater, the ability to communicate efficiently and with precision between U.S. forces and its partners is of vital importance to maintaining collective security in the region.
The next stage of military warfare largely will be dictated by technological development and innovation. As the U.S. shifts its military focus into potential multidomain fights against near-peer adversaries, the applications used in the MPK are just the beginning of a new wave of innovation the U.S. military is using to build upon its strategic advantages.
Doing this enhances interoperability within and without, as well as creates multilateral opportunities with partner and ally nations.
***
Spc. Andrew Clark is a public affairs mass communication specialist with the 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Liberty, North Carolina.