ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Next Generation Command and Control, the U.S. Army’s flagship continuous transformation effort relies on a partnership with industry to identify the most promising technologies and make the best investment decisions for rapid capability development and delivery.
The Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center supported that effort through its “Radio Rodeo.”
Held from March through April of this year, the rodeo consisted of a series of simulated battlefield communications challenges using the center’s unique laboratory and testing infrastructure to create the effects of denied, disrupted, intermittent and limited bandwidth caused by an adversary. These challenges were directed against emerging radio capabilities from more than a half-dozen industry partners, designed to assess their communications systems’ ability to keep Soldiers depending on them in the fight.
The goal is to ensure that U.S. forces are the most lethal force in any conflict. Good communications in battle is essential to that. The sooner industry technology developers learn about the vulnerabilities in their radios, the faster the Army is able to field the warfighter with a better radio.
Historically, formal operational or developmental test cycles could take years and were often not aligned to industry’s research and development timelines or the Army’s unit equipping schedule. The Radio Rodeo, and potential follow-on events, rapidly accelerate this process down to months, if not weeks. According to George Palafox, the senior engineer for the effort, “This is testing performed at the speed of need for industry technology developers.”
According to C5ISR Center Director Beth Ferry, “The Radio Rodeo is unlocking the best of both industry technology development and the Army’s science and technology workforce. Working together, we are establishing the Army’s best path forward for investing in these capabilities.”
The rodeo subjected industry radios to simulated degrading effects in the center’s cutting-edge Combined Joint Systems Integration Laboratory, followed by systematic field testing. C5ISR Center engineers then analyzed the data they collected to assess the resilience of each radio, culminating in one-on-one engagements with each industry team to give them a detailed report on their radio system’s performance.
During this sequence, the center’s industry partners get real-time feedback and have the opportunity to make fixes on the fly in collaboration with Army technical experts during the field testing phase.
Through these rodeos, the C5ISR Center team members learn alongside industry partners and in turn, the Army learns. Industry partners get the benefit of timely performance evaluations and a heads up on any imminent changes in Army requirements. This helps them make the most of their internal research and development budgets.
Another benefit of these rodeos is the value of collaborative technology development between government and industry. The Army gets the best available technology in the hands of Soldiers much faster. Other divisions at the C5ISR Center are developing the same methodology — in-depth vendor product testing followed by technical exchanges to advance other areas of defense technology such as 5G communications, wireless power and antennas.
By Brian Feeney, DEVCOM C5ISR Center Public Affairs
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