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capability to enhance commanders’ situational understandingand enable efficient use of ISR assets at the edge. Theserequired capabilities are:1. Advanced collection methods at the edge.2. Robust and secure network transport.3. Processing and dissemination at the edge.4. Edge applications.5. M/M/HH devices at the edge.Capability Area 1. Advanced Collection at the Edge. In responseto the first gap, the RITE strategy will focus capabilitydevelopment efforts to improve the disadvantaged user’sability to employ and control advanced collection methodsat the edge. The object of this capability area is to improvesituational understanding for commanders by increasingthe timeliness, efficiency and effectiveness of informationcollection. The future force needs developments such asnetworked sensors and data relays, sensor control from thetactical edge, and improvements in both passive and activetactical collection capabilities to enable the Soldier as a sensor.Advanced collection at the edge will also enable futureforce structures, such as the multifunctional team, whichare designed to support highly dynamic, mission-focused,and time-sensitive targeting and site exploitation efforts.Capability Area 2. Robust and Secure Network Transport.The objective of the second capability area is to improvetwo-way connectivity between joint forces and disadvantagedusers at the tactical edge, sensor-to-sensor cueing,and processing of collected data in order to answer informationrequirements when and where the information isneeded. This area includes capability developments thatextend the range and reliability of future wireless networktransmission systems, create mobile cellular systems andencourage improvements in man-packable solutions toprovide sufficient connectivity with multiple levels of securityto disadvantaged users who are beyond line of sight:at the halt, at the quick halt, on the move, and on the objective.Potential solutions must network transport systemsdesigned for fixed, mounted, dismounted, aerial, and aerostatplatforms.Capability Area 3. Processing and Dissemination at theEdge. Limited frequency space, lack of capacity, lack oflightweight power supplies, the cost-prohibitive nature ofspace-based capacity, and the sheer distances anticipatedin the future operating environment require innovative solutionsto increase edge processing. The third RITE capabilityfocuses on solutions to improve sensor processing at thepoint of collection through implementation of micro-processingdevices at the edge and establishment of more efficientdissemination paths through smart routing. Capabilitydevelopments in this area also seek to leverage distributedarchitectures to move metadata and only push the precise“real” data when requested. As a means of mitigating thecapacity gap, this capability area proposes a new understandingof the earliest point of consumption and seeks toachieve an order of magnitude improvement in informationprocessing and dissemination.Capability Area 4. Edge Applications. To improve data andinformation exchange capabilities and to decrease the totaltime from asset selection/tasking to dissemination of finalproduct to the commander, this capability area explores thepotential of a mobile application services framework utilizingcustom prebuilt widgets and applications along withmetadata tagging to display and share relevant tactical information.Powerful yet simple applications and widgets forroutine correlation of data within a cloud computing environmentcan improve information sharing and situationalunderstanding. The long term objective of this capabilityarea is to collapse the many transit case equipment setsand stove-piped solutions for disadvantaged users into acommon set of software-defined applications and widgetsthat Soldiers can choose from to populate their M/M/HHdevice, decreasing their physical burden and increasingtheir effectiveness.Capability Area 5. Mounted/Mobile/Handheld Devices atthe Edge. The technological advancement of small computingdevices such as smart phones, tablets, and microcomputersembedded in everyday devices continues at anamazing pace. The final capability area of RITE focuses onrealizing the full potential of M/M/HH devices (supportingapplications from the fourth capability area) to bring processingpower and dissemination capabilities to the disadvantageduser at the edge in the smallest, most powerfulform factor required for the mission. Through the mountedcomputing environment (CE) and mobile/handheld CEworking groups and in coordination with the program managersfor Joint Battle Command-Platform and Nett WarriorEnd User Device, the RITE strategy promotes the improvementof future increments of existing capabilities to addressthe fifth gap.ConclusionThe ultimate objective of RITE is to unify, integrate, andsynchronize ISR at the edge, and to align Army capabilitydevelopment initiatives across each of the six warfightingfunctions (mission command, movement and maneuver,intelligence, fires, sustainment, and protection). Thecombined capabilities of RITE not only address the aforementionedgaps and improve edge capabilities, they alsoneutralize the adversary’s ability to acquire newer, better26 Military Intelligence