Tactical management in near real-time systems

Modern warfare is focusing on expanding the extent of Network Centric Warfare (NCW) and Networked Control Systems (NCSs). The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) is, among other armies, trying to find a reliable solution for the architectural and technical design of a new operational information network. This paper focuses on discussing the possibilities of creating new Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) to support decision making, Situational Awareness (SA), improved physical and mental real time evaluation and management of the Command and Control cycle. The architecture is based on a defined solution and realizing the challenges which involves in creating a new SOA-system for military use. SOA principles are commonly used in a business environment and therefore it is essential to realize that all principles and methods cannot be used as such in a military environment. The special requirements of an information network in a military environment include the possibility to use various devices, different networks and platforms simultaneously. SOA offers means to orchestrate services in a way that the system is hard to disable by purpose. It also offers the possibility to bypass certain levels of services when necessary. This paper presents a new architectural design called Dynamic Battlefield Hierarchy (DBH) which is created to keep the chain of command intact even in the hardest environment. As an essential component for the system a Battlefield Secure Scheduler (BSS) is presented. The purpose of this component is to create a SOA based process to the system and also to enable offline action capability for subnets and individual devices using DBH. The system and leaders are able to evaluate a warrior´s state using history information saved during training and combat (heart rate, sweat, direction of movement, etc). For representing this value we present the Psycho Physical Factor (PFF).