ISSUE 182 : Jul/Aug - 2010 - Australian Defence Force Journal

Limitations of Globalised Network-centricOperations: an argument for a common coalitionsystemCaptain Nathan Mark, Australian ArmyIntroductionIt is inherent that future coalition operations will require the commitment of forces from oneor more of the traditional coalition partners (US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).However, there is a distinct difference in the level of information and intelligence these forcesrely on to conduct operations, whereas it is obviously desirable they acquire and maintain‘situational awareness’ through shared operational material. At present, national systems arenot distributed to or accessible by coalition partners because of security, compartment orcaveat reasons. Coalitions are, therefore, limited in their ability to share and quickly leverageinformation and intelligence to enact faster, more accurate and thorough responses.This enduring reliance on timely liaison and information exchange should be the catalystto develop a globalised coalition information system to meet the needs of the operationalcommander. Currently, national systems provide a basic capability to communicate and sharethrough ‘gateways’. However, because of their limitations, a number of other systems have beenintroduced to improve interoperability. These have enhanced information collaboration butthey are far from ideal and limited by a range of factors. They are also not readily adaptable tomeet the demands of the rapidly evolving network-centric coalition information environment.There is little dispute that ‘current methods for sharing operational and intelligenceinformation with multiple communities of interest are inefficient’. 1 This article provides a briefanalysis of the current architecture and offers a solution for a global coalition informationsystem network, either at the bilateral or multilateral level, which would facilitate the timelyand secure transfer of operational information and intelligence between coalition units.BackgroundThis article does not delve into procedural issues, project specifics or detailed technical analysis.It also acknowledges that the ‘Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System’(CENTRIX) is an evolving network in pursuit of a similar vision. However, its membership,network topology and the inherent lack of network commonality arguably prevent the systemachieving the desired capability. It is also acknowledged that JP2090… seeks to upgrade and augment the core infrastructure and services currently available to theAustralian Defence Organisation, to facilitate classified information exchange with allied coalitionpartners. The project builds on the extant coalition and gateway infrastructure, developed underthe CENTRIX and GRIFFIN initiatives respectively, to improve and expand Australia’s multinationalcollaboration capabilities. 281