The

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

will continue the development and fielding of an incremental ground tactical network capability to all Army brigade combat teams. This network is a layered system of interconnected computers and software, radios, and sensors within the Brigade Combat Team (BCT). The BCT network is essential to enable Unified Battle Command and will be delivered to the Army's Brigade Combat Teams in increasing capability increments. The first increment is currently finishing SDD developmental and operational testing and will be delivered to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams in the form of Network Integration Kits (B-kits) with E-IBCT. The soldier at every echelon, from Brigade to Squad, will be connected to the proper sensor data and communication relays to ensure proper battlespace

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...

The Network Integration Kit

The Network Integration Kit (NIK) is a suite of equipment capable of being installed on many vehicles including HMMWV's and

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...

s. It provides the Network connectivity and

battle command Battle command (BC) is the discipline of visualizing, describing, directing, and leading forces in operations against a hostile, thinking, and adaptive enemy. Battle command applies leadership to translate decision into actions, by synchronizing ...

software to integrate and fuse sensor data into the

common operational picture A common operational picture (COP) is a single identical display of relevant (operational) information (e.g. position of own troops and enemy troops, position and status of important infrastructure such as bridges, roads, etc.) shared by more than ...

(COP) displayed on the Force XXI Battle Command Battalion/Brigade and Below (FBCB2). The Network Integration Kit consists of an integrated computer system (ICS) that hosts the Battle Command software and the Systems of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE) software, along with the JTRS GMR radio to provide the interface to the sensors and unmanned systems, as well as voice and data communications with other vehicles and soldiers. Soldiers will be able to communicate with the Battalion Tactical Operation Center (TOC), by sending reports on enemy sighting, activity and location utilizing the NIK via the Network allowing for split-time tactical decisions.

Sources

''This article incorporates work from https://web.archive.org/web/20090927002001/http://www.bctmod.army.mil/systems/network/index.html, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

as it is a work of the United States Army.''

The Network Integration Kit

Sources

See also