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F O C U S 9/2010 FINMECCANICA MAGAZINE FORzA Nec THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATION Lieutenant General Giuseppe Valotto Chief of Staff of the Italian Army THE CHANGE DRIVER FOR THE ENTIRE LAND FORCE, FORZA NEC IS THE ITAL- IAN ARMY’S MOST IMPORTANT PRO- GRAMME AND THE ONE THAT WILL ATTRACT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF FI- NANCIAL INVESTMENT OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS It is now a well-established fact that leading countries have implemented, as part of their strategic military priorities, initiatives geared around netcentric principles and practices that allow for multinational, multidisciplinary interoperability between Armed Forces. Ensuring that the military capabilities of the land force fully meet the above-mentioned criteria is a top priority, given the central role played by the Italian Army in all the major operations recently carried out in conjunction with Allied, European, UN and coalition troops. These operations have also provided clear indications on the level of quality necessary to operate in conditions of safety and efficiency, and in a complex environment of multinational integration, increasingly characterised by the adoption of digital and netcentric technologies. Moreover, we cannot overlook the fact that the introduction of information and communications technology in the civil sector and its spread throughout the world has also brought advanced tools within the reach of countries traditionally less well equipped in terms of military technology and of many non-governmental organisations that have now become key players in the international political and military arena. In implementing Forza NEC, the Army has determinedly embarked on the road of expeditionary, netcentric and effect-based operations for its units, without, however, losing sight of the need to support all those who operate on a daily basis in areas of conflict with the full might of all its resources. This is a complex and multi-faceted transformation. The introduction of netcentric technologies into the land force is no mean feat given the vast size of this force and the need to deploy and organise it across a greater area than other operational units, with the obvious complications this entails for the architecture and for the capabilities of the transmission and C2 systems. This is the reason behind the need to follow a programme based on the gradual digitisation of the units, in order to achieve objectives that combine operational efficiency, financial sustainability, logistics support and flexibility of use. This is a concrete strategy that is entirely consistent with the strategic guidelines for developing network enabled capability (NEC) between forces and countries established by the Italian Defence General Staff and NATO. In practice, this means equipping C2 structures, platforms and personnel with digital C4 systems (command, control, communications, computers) that allow them to monitor and manage developing operations to a level of detail never before achieved, and to empower them to dynamically configure themselves in such a way that they can act as ‘sensors’, decision-makers or ‘actuators’ within a netcentric operating system. Continuity of the whole process will thus become a vital element. If the Army is to transform itself while continuing to operate, it needs to procure releases of upgraded capabilities and gradually deploy them in operations, based on an ‘evolutionary spiral’ approach, which in the Forza NEC’s timescale will take place in three stages. Specifically, the first stage is scheduled to be completed by 2018 and the other two by 2031, leading to the complete digitisation of three ‘medium’ brigades (in order of priority: Pinerolo Brigade, Aosta Brigade and Sassari Brigade), an interforce amphibious landing force (at the Lagunari ‘Serenissima’ and ‘San Marco’ regiments of the Italian Navy) and a strong pool of tactical and logistical support resources equivalent to an additional brigade. The first phase is already taking shape and the Pinerolo Brigade, which embarked on the process of transformation in 2009, has released its first operational output: a ‘medium’ infantry unit of the 82 nd ‘Torino’ infantry regiment fully equipped with new VBM 8x8 Freccia infantry fighting vehicles (the Italian Army’s first completely digitised vehicle), deployed in the Afghan conflict since June 2010. In conclusion, there are many reasons why we can be optimistic about the progress of the Forza NEC programme: the increasing synergies between the fields of technical operations, technical administration and industry, the fact that many projects due to be rolled out during the first stage – including the Soldato Futuro programme, the VBM 8x8 Freccia vehicles and SIAC- CON 2, to name but a few – are well established, and a defence policy aimed at producing complete standardisation and consistent capabilities between the numerous, complex, network-oriented investment programmes. 30 31
P F OR I C M U O S P I A N O 9/2010 FINMECCANICA MAGAZINE FORzA Nec SECURITY IS DIGITAL THE IMPORTANT CONTRACT SIGNED BY SELEX SISTEMI IN- TEGRATI AND THE ITALIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES THE FORZA NEC PROGRAMME, WHICH ALSO INVOLVES MANY OTHER GROUP COMPANIES. THE OBJEC- TIVE OF THE PROGRAMME IS TO DIGITISE THE ARMED FOR- CES ACCORDING TO NETCENTRIC PRINCIPLES Arid desert. Imagine the hardship of hostile environments and unknown terrain, of an impending threat and of darkness that obscures everything and everyone, making visual and any other type of communication difficult. That is when information superiority becomes paramount. And this is where the technological supremacy of SELEX Sistemi Integrati comes into play. Using technology that facilitates the maximum exchange of operational, tactical and logistical information between transport and troops, all individuals, vehicles and platforms deployed in a theatre of operations are able to communicate with each other. This is the most visible and immediate result to be made available to the Italian Armed Forces under the EUR 238 million contract signed by <strong>Finmeccanica</strong> and the Land Armaments General Directorate of the Italian Defence Ministry, which aims to digitise the Armed Forces using netcentric principles via the Forza NEC (Network Enabled Capability) programme. The agreement involves several <strong>Finmeccanica</strong> companies such as SELEX Communications, SELEX Galileo, Elsag Datamat, Oto Melara, AgustaWestland and MBDA Italia, along with Elettronica, Iveco, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, the Iveco-Oto Melara consortium and the Soldato Futuro temporary consortium. The contract covers the manufacture and integration of command posts in shelters and vehicles, communication, command and control devices for soldiers (under the Soldato Futuro programme), unmanned vehicles and aircraft equipped with sensors, and systems offering full interoperability between the Italian Armed Forces and the forces of other countries. The netcentric scenario The globalisation of military scenarios and operations, new types of threat and the huge strides made in technology mean that homeland defence requirements are becoming increasingly complex. As new risks emerge and security and defence policies evolve, the operational capabilities required of the Armed Forces and related deployment concepts 32 33
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