By Jen DiMascio

The next iteration of the Army’s battlefield network communications recently demonstrated an on-the-move capability, as the program’s design faces another review.

Increment two of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, provides commanders with an on-the-move upgrade to its existing battlefield communications network.

General Dynamics C4 Systems [GD], the prime contractor on the program, announced this week that it successfully passed its initial engineering field test and preliminary design review, both of which began last fall.

Initial reports from the Army about those reviews were positive, said Bill Weiss, vice president of tactical networks for GDC4 Systems.

In the past, WIN-T has struggled with cost overruns and technical difficulties, but the program underwent a massive reorganization last year and was broken into a number of increments.

The initial increment had been a program unto itself called the Joint Network Node, which began as a quick-start initiative funded with emergency supplemental dollars in response to battlefield needs. The second is the on-the-move capability currently under review. The third increment would reside on Future Combat System vehicles and support additional maneuver brigade combat teams in the Army’s force.

The fourth increment is a developmental program planned to come online in concert with the Transformational Satellite system (TSAT), but that iteration has not currently been funded.

When the program was reorganized, the Office of the Secretary of Defense asked for an assessment of technical maturity, Weiss said. Recent test reports provide the evidence that will be used to support technical readiness levels that will be reexamined because of OSD’s request, he said.

The field test last fall, which took place at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., focused on critical technologies for the on-the-move capability including the broadband network satellite, the broadband network radio communications and the network automation software, Weiss said.

“One of the things that I think that the test and demonstration revealed or reinforced is the importance of network automation that keeps a mobile network glued together,” Weiss said.

The network automation system ensures that commanders maintain a constant communications link by sensing when either a line of sight or satellite link is about to break and then switching to one that will work. That means the brigade commander doesn’t need to do anything–like keep a satellite dish turned on or point a line-of-sight antenna at the proper point, he said.

Next up for the program is a critical design review, which is set to start at the end of the month. That’s a key review for the program, which was reorganized last year. It will lay down a product baseline, update a risk assessment for system development and demonstration and update the cost analysis requirements description, according to written responses from the project manager’s office for WIN-T.

The review is supposed to ensure that the program can meet its budget and schedule goals, the statement said.

That lays the groundwork for a limited user test in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009, which positions the WIN-T increment two for milestone C and low-rate initial production decisions. Finding a unit to test the equipment, however, remains an open question.

According to the project manager’s office, the Test Schedule and Review Committee is aggressively working to assign a unit; the committee is expected to meet this month.

The president’s budget request, which is expected to be rolled out today, provides full funding for the first three increments. That funding plan was laid down by a June 5, 2007 acquisition decision memorandum for the program.

According to the project manager’s office, the requirements are finalized and agreements are on schedule for the first two increments, but those efforts are still underway for the third increment, and changes will be made if they are needed.