The Naval Sea Systems Command's surface-ship technology program office (NavSea 53), sponsor of the nationwide distributed engineering plant (DEP) set up two years ago to measure the interoperability of combat systems of deploying battle groups, is starting a round of "root-cause" testing aimed at zeroing in on system elements identified as likely sources of the most stubborn interoperability shortfalls.
In August 1998, the Chief of Naval Operations directed that every deploying battle group be certified for combat-systems interoperability, not only to give each battle group commander a clear sense of the level of interoperability of the combat and command-and-control systems of his ships, but also to find ways of solving persistent interoperability problems.
Tom Pendergraft, NavSea 53's outgoing executive director, says that although the battle group interoperability testing (BGIT) process has helped identify the causes of systems glitches, the Navy faces the new challenge of how to fix them. He points out that even as interoperability historically has been a top-level theme for systems development, it generally has not been a specific requirement for individual programs.
Shortfalls in combat-systems interoperability long have been a potentially dangerous problem for the operating forces. The fleet's Aegis, ship self-defense, advanced combat direction, and naval tactical data systems were introduced and periodically upgraded for different ship classes at different times, and at widely differing levels of capability. They run dissimilar computer programs for many functions, including the identification and management of airborne tracks. The result, according to NavSea's August 1998 guidance document, is a "net degradation of warfighting capability within the battle forces."
For years, systems operators on board carriers, surface combatants, and amphibious ships have used a mix of simple workarounds, including shouted warnings among personnel monitoring systems consoles.
NavSea 53 now manages a "deployment-minus-30-month" (or D-30) process for battle groups to hone their systems to the highest-achievable levels of interoperability through a series of development and incremental test milestones.
The culmination of the process is the BGIT, which is carried out through the DEP, a network of combat systems test sites managed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Dahlgren division. The DEP sites, which are connected by high-speed telecommunications links, include the Dahlgren division's Dam Neck, Virginia, detachment, the Aegis Training Center (also at Dahlgren), and the Integrated Combat Systems Test Facility and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center at San Diego.
The BGIT testing consists of simulations of the specific combat-systems configuration of the battle group being tested. The John F Kennedy (CV-67) battle group went through testing conducted by a prototype DEP in January 1999, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) battle group went through the first formal BGIT in June 1999. Since then, nine battle groups have undergone the BGIT process.
NavSea 53 officials say the BGITs have identified interoperability problems and pointed at solutions. They include, for example, disconnects among identification friend/foe systems and procedures, tactical datalinks and datalink controllers, and algorithms that support only specific system baselines.
The root-cause testing now planned will concentrate on the algorithms and other system elements flagged repeatedly in the BGITs as sources of interoperability failures. The DEP is capable of simulating exactly the functions of systems free of the effects of atmospheric ducting and fading that distort the results of testing at sea. The narrowly focused root-cause testing is expected to identify precisely all the causes of systems incompatibility.
At that point, Pendergraft says, "the Navy must make some decisions on a process" for addressing them. The original NavSea guidance said that "final processes to fix interoperability problems will be promulgated in a future OpNav instruction."
The BGIT process is critical to the future of fleet operations, experts say. Yet the program was zeroed in the Navy's program objective memorandum for fiscal year 2002. NavSea 53, with support from fleet commanders, submitted a request that restored enough funds to continue at a minimal operational level, which limits the process to focusing solely on antiair warfare systems.
Along with the root-cause testing now planned, NavSea 53 is aiming at "difference" testing that examines only new system elements and system modifications. In 2001, the John C. Stennis (CVN-74), Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), and Carl Vinson (CVN-70) battle groups will undergo the "difference" BGITs that will test only elements that have been upgraded or modified.