Global spending on C2/C4ISR systems is expected to remain robust over the forecast period, primarily due to the increased importance of C2/C4ISR systems in modern or fourth-generation warfare. Modern conflicts include a mix of physical combat, mental and tactical elements, where the enemy could be a nation or a faction of society such as a terrorist group. In such situations, C2/C4ISR systems are considered by most nations to be the most important tools for victory. The market consists of land, space, naval and airborne systems.

The development of military communication systems that facilitate truly network centric operations (NCOs) continues to present challenges for researchers and developers and has done so for more than a decade. During this time a great deal of focus has been placed on applying commercial products and internet design methodologies to military systems. While this strategy has met with some success, it does not always translate well to the more challenging environment encountered in military operations.

C4ISR systems have evolved at a rapid pace over the last few decades and countries are now forced to regularly upgrade their products in order to keep abreast of the changes in technology, the cost of which can be significantly high. This is prompting countries to take advantage of improvements nurtured in the civilian marketplace to integrate them into military applications. The US government for example is making use of commercial hardware and software for its C4ISR systems, in order to keep rising costs in check.

The global C2/C4ISR market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.98%. This is primarily because key markets, such as the US, are expected to prioritize spending on C2/C4ISR systems; an element of defense spending that was not given much importance until the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts.

Next generation highly mobile front line communications are shifting away from the high power single line of contact methods, toward a low power mesh system where more operators are linked together through a multi-node mesh system. These systems will be less prone to single points of failure and will be self healing such that the communications packets find the best route to the destination based on traffic levels and available system bandwidth.

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In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:

• Global C2/C4ISR market size and drivers: comprehensive analysis of the global C2/C4ISR market through 2011–2021, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for C2/C4ISR. It also provides an insight on the spending pattern and modernization pattern in different regions around the world.
• Recent development and industry challenges: insights into technological developments in the global C2/C4ISR market, and an extensive analysis of the changing preferences of armed forces around the world. It also provides the current consolidation trends in the industry and the challenges faced by industry participants.
• SWOT analysis of the global C2/C4ISR market: exhaustive analysis of industry characteristics, determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by the C2/C4ISR market.
• Global C2/C4ISR market-country analysis: analysis of the key markets in each region, providing an analysis of the top segments of C2/C4ISR expected to be in demand.
• Major programs: details of the major programs in each segment expected to be executed during the forecast period.
• Competitive landscape and strategic insights: detailed analysis of competitive landscape of the global C2/C4ISR industry. It provides an overview of key C2/C4ISR manufacturers catering to the global C2/C4ISR sector, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives and a brief financial analysis.

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Scope

• Analysis of the global C2/C4ISR market size from 2011 through 2021
• Analysis of defense budget spending pattern by region
• Insights on the region wise defense modernization initiatives
• Sub-sector analysis of the C2/C4ISR market
• Analysis of key global C2/C4ISR market by country
• Key competitor profiling specifically focusing on the global C2/C4ISR market

Reasons to Buy

• Gain insight into the global C2/C4ISR market with current and forecast market values
• Get insight on key drivers and attractiveness parameters of the global C2/C4ISR market
• Provides detailed analysis of the defense spending pattern including forecasts of military spending till 2021 by region
• Gain insight into various defense modernization initiatives around the world
• Gain insight into various factors impacting the growth of the global C2/C4ISR market
• Gain comprehensive sub-sector market analysis including market values and forecasts of the leading defense spending nations of the world
• Provides a thorough analysis of the recent developments in the global C2/C4ISR including technological trends, industry consolidation trend, and key challenges
• Provides detailed information of the leading C2/C4ISR programs of major defense spending countries across of the world
• Detailed profiles of 20 leading global C2/C4ISR and related systems manufacturing companies across the world including products and services, key alliances, contracts, and recent developments pertaining to the global C2/C4ISR segment.

Key Highlights
Global spending on C2/C4ISR systems is expected to remain robust over the forecast period, primarily due to the increased importance of C2/C4ISR systems in modern or fourth-generation warfare. Modern conflicts include a mix of physical combat, mental and tactical elements, where the enemy could be a nation or a faction of society such as a terrorist group. In such situations, C2/C4ISR systems are considered by most nations to be the most important tools for victory. The market which consists of land, space, naval and airborne systems, is expected to increase from US$16.2 billion in 2011, to US$21.8 billion by 2021 increasing at a CAGR of 2.98%. This is primarily because key markets, such as the US, are expected to prioritize spending on C2/C4ISR systems; an element of defense spending that was not given much importance until the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts. Land-based systems are expected to account for the majority of the global C2/C4ISR market, followed by airborne, naval and space systems. Over the forecast period, cumulative global expenditure on C2/C4ISR systems is forecast to value US$209.1 billion.

Keywords
Defense, global C2/C4ISR, land based C2/C4ISR, space based C2/C4ISR, airborne C2/C4ISR, naval C2/C4ISR, Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) Rapid Response – Third Generation (R2-3G) program, Strategic Services Sourcing (S3) program, Laser Infrared Targeting and Navigating (LITENING) Targeting Pod System, Command Hardware Systems-4 ,US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) system,Communication Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management, Global Navigation Satellite System , Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System,Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Vehicle (SV4),Wideband Global SATCOM Program ,Mission Planning Enterprise Contract-II (MPEC-II),Active Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radars, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (Glonass), SISFRON program, SISGAAZ program, The Green Pine, EWTS, EMP bomb,ARTHUR artillery tracing radars, Advanced Countermeasures Electronic Systems Electronic Warfare Systems (ACES), AN/MPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel radars, airborne radios, Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs),Mirage F1 communication systems,Network for Spectrum ,Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems,Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems, Mode S Transponders, Mode 4/5 Identification Friend or Foe Encryption, High Frequency radio replacements, Multifunctional Information Display Systems for Link 16 operations, Have Quick II radios, Satellite Communications and Common Secure Voice encryptions,Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS)

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The runner looks like a five-star football recruit trying out for the NFL, not a wounded warrior showing off his new ankle. But thanks to revolutionary advances in prosthetics, the Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran was declared fit for duty and returned to service.

He's just one of the many success stories shared in videos at the "Revolution in Prosthetics" session Jan. 31, 2012 during the Military Health System Conference held from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at National Harbor, Md. Civilian researchers and Army physicians gathered at the sessions to discuss the progress and future of prosthetics for wounded warriors.

Mike McCoughlin, program manager at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, or APL, described the Modular Prosthetic Limb, developed by the APL and almost 30 other organizations. The arm, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Revolutionizing Prosthetics project, has 26 degrees of freedom and near human-like dexterity. It allows wearers to shovel snow, throw a ball, golf, put on a sock, play the trumpet, carry heavy bags and even cook.

"The ability to turn the wrist 180 degrees really gets their attention," said McCoughlin, as the video showed an amputee deftly dumping a cup of flour into a bowl.

Recent developments with the arm include "neural integration," using small surgically implanted wireless devices --- allowing the user to directly control the arm with his or her thoughts, just like a real arm. The arm is currently moving through the FDA approval process.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's "neurally integrated" Modular Prosthetic Limb will allow amputees to control movements directly with their thoughts --- just like a real arm.

The researchers have also made great strides developing braces for patients with functional limb loss, like a fused ankle --- including better generation of power and shock absorption. The devices turn limpers into runners, joggers into sprinters and even allow some wounded service members to return to active duty.

"Published literature says you can't run with a fused ankle, but these guys prove us wrong," said Col. James Ficke, chairman of Brooke Army Medical Center, or BAMC, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. "It's not the brace, it's the human attached to the brace."

The presenters also emphasized the success of amputation versus limb salvage. Twenty-two percent of amputees return to duty and experience less emotional distress than limb salvage patients. Thanks to a revolution in prosthetics, patients have better outcomes with amputation as opposed to reconstruction.

Ficke also highlighted the camaraderie and competitiveness of amputees, burn victims and other disabled veterans at the Center for the Intrepid, BAMC's premiere research and rehabilitation center for Wounded Warriors.

"The (San Antonio) Spurs come to play wheelchair basketball with the patients and they stay until they win a game," he said.

For every 30 service members returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, one is an amputee. Just since Jan. 1, 1,421 amputees have returned.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's goal is to create a fully functioning, in terms of both motor and sensory abilities, upper limb that responds to direct neural control within the next decade.

In total, 3 contracts were signed: the contract signed with OHB System AG (DE) comprising 8 satellites for an amount in the order of EUR 250 million. A second contract was signed with Arianespace (FR) for a booking option of up to 3 launches using Ariane 5 (booking fee of EUR 30 million). A third contract was signed with Astrium SAS (FR) to enable the current Ariane 5 launcher to carry 4 Galileo programme satellites per launch into orbit, for an amount in the order of EUR 30 million.

Galileo satellites are currently launched in pairs aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket. Thanks to the highly competitive proposal of the contractor and increasing the number of satellites which will be launched in orbit by 2014, the Commission has been able to accelerate the process.

Antonio Tajani, European Commission Vice-President, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship said: "For Galileo, today's signing signifies the concrete roll-out of the programme is on time and within budget. I am proud that we could manage to speed up the delivery of satellites and launchers. This means that Europeans will be able to exploit the opportunities of enhanced satellite navigation provided by Galileo in 2014. I am also proud to see that Europe has a highly competitive space industry capable of realising such an ambitious high tech programme.”

Galileo Navigation system
Galileo will allow users to know their exact position in time and space, just like GPS, but with greater precision and reliability. Under European civilian control, Galileo will be compatible and, for some of its services, interoperable with the American GPS and Glonass (Russia), but independent from them.

Galileo will underpin many sectors of the European economy through its services: electricity grids, fleet management companies, financial transactions, shipping industry, rescue operations, peace-keeping missions will all benefit from the free Galileo services.

The 8 satellites ordered today will join the 18 satellites already contracted, of which 2 are in orbit since October 21st 2011, bringing to 26 the number of satellites by end 2015. A second launch of a further 2 Galileo satellites will take place later this year.

The Galileo programme has been structured in two phases:

• The in-orbit validation (IOV) phase consists of tests and the operation of four satellites and their related ground infrastructure. This phase is ongoing.
• The full operational capability (FOC) phase consists of the deployment of the remaining ground and space infrastructure. It includes an initial operational capability phase of 18 operational satellites. The full system will consist of 30 satellites in orbit, as well as 2 satellites on the ground to replace ones in orbit if necessary, and include control centres located in Europe and a network of sensor stations and uplink stations installed around the globe.

Background on procurement of Galileo components
Today's contracts were signed by the European Space Agency on behalf of the European Commission.

The procurement of services essential for Galileo’s full operational capability is divided into six contracts. In January 2010, three contracts were awarded to ensure system engineering support, satellites and launchers (IP/10/7). A fourth contract was signed in Brussels in October 2010 with SpaceOpal for operating the space and ground infrastructure (IP/10/1382). In June 2011 (IP/11/772) the final two remaining contracts were signed with ThalesAlenia (FR) for the ground mission infrastructure and Astrium (UK) for the ground control infrastructure.

The process kicked off in July 2008 by the European Space Agency, under delegation from the European Commission. Short-listed companies were invited to submit best and final offers following a comprehensive dialogue phase. All contracts are awarded on the basis of “best value for money”.

Satellites
A framework contract signed with both OHB System AG and EADS-Astrium GmBH lasting from 2010 until 2016 covers the supply of up to 32 satellites. A specific contract for a first order of 14 satellites was awarded to OHB in 2010, with the provision of the first satellite in 2012. One satellite is expected every 1.5 month as of then, with the last one scheduled to be delivered in 2014.

Launch services
In 2010, a contract was awarded to Arianespace for the launch of five Soyuz launchers from Kourou, French Guiana, each taking two satellites on board. The contract also contains options for additional Soyuz launches (carrying two satellites) and Ariane 5 launches (carrying four satellites).

Today’s contract with Astrium SAS (FR) procures the technical adaptation of the typical Ariane 5 launcher to the specific needs of the Galileo satellites. The adaptation introduces the possibility of 4 satellites per launch, thereby speeding up the deployment of the constellation.

The funds will support efforts to develop and rapidly transition energy technologies for the combat force to improve military capabilities, reduce energy-related casualties and lower taxpayer costs, officials said.

Congress provided resources for the programs in the 2012 Omnibus Appropriation Act.

"It's essential that we continue to develop innovative energy solutions to advance our military missions and use our precious resources wisely," Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said. "The department is taking the lead on this because saving energy on the battlefield means saving lives and money."

On the battlefield, fuel can be a tactical and operational vulnerability. In Afghanistan, adversaries often target U.S. fuel supply convoys, putting troop lives and missions at risk and diverting combat forces and dollars to force protection.

“A military force that uses energy more strategically is stronger, today and in the future,” said Sharon E. Burke, assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs. “As the department reshapes the force to build a more agile, flexible military capable of responding to the full range of future challenges, the work of the six teams funded under this effort will give our troops better energy options on the battlefield.”

The funds will go to DOD-led teams representing the military services and the Energy Department.

DOD and the Small Business Administration will host an information session in March to link small businesses and entrepreneurs to the teams.

“An important objective of this fund is reaching sources of energy innovation new to the department, which are primarily small businesses,” said Andre Gudger, director of the department's office of small business programs.

“By leveraging small businesses and entrepreneurs to accelerate energy innovation for our warfighters,” he added, “we strengthen our security, modernize our industrial base and promote economic development at the same time.”

Winning teams were chosen from submissions received after call for program proposals in June.

The assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs, a position established in 2009 to strengthen military operations’ energy security, will administer the funds.

The company is a leader in underwater systems, operating a Centre of Excellence in Rydalmere, NSW. The Fibre Laser Senor (FLS) technology is another example of technological success in this field.

The FLS is a rapidly deployable sea-bed surveillance array representing the next generation of underwater surveillance solutions. Lightweight, ultra-thin and cost effective, an FLS array can be dropped from a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) and almost immediately provide an underwater surveillance capability.

“FLS technology is of real significance at a time when terrorist threats are increasing,” said Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia CEO. “This technology could play an important role in border protection, deployed to protect a harbour for example, or in a force protection role, deployed around a ship to warn it about incoming surface or underwater threats.

“The technology also has commercial applications, and could be used as a seismic array to survey seabeds, for example.

“We would like to thank the Department of Defence for supporting this innovation through its investment in the FLS via the Capability and Technology Demonstrator (CTD) program. We also acknowledge the close cooperation of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and the Royal Australian Navy, who have played key roles in this program’s development."

FLS technology uses electro-optic hydrophones (underwater microphones) to convert underwater sounds to light signals. An FLS device is embedded inside the hydrophone’s fibre-optic glass. When the hydrophone picks up the underwater noise made by another ship or submarine, the actual shape of the device changes. This change in dimensions is used to transmit the acoustic information via a light signal back along the cable, where a processor provides information about the signal to the operator.

The information coming from many underwater sensors can then be processed to provide information on the direction the underwater noise is coming from and its strength, giving the operator an indication of where another ship or submarine is, how many propellers and blades it might have, and even what direction it is travelling. The low attenuation of the optical signals potentially enables an FLS array to be several kilometres long.

Over the past 20 years, Thales has made a substantial investment in building an Australian sonar technology and expertise base. The company has supplied sonar systems for the FFG Upgrade, Collins submarine, Huon Class Minehunter and ANZAC frigates. This has created a significant capability advantage for the Royal Australian Navy, as well as important exports for the Australian economy, with over $400 million of exported sonar and related systems from Australia.

Thales is a global technology leader for the Defence & Security and the Aerospace & Transport markets. In 2010, the company generated revenues of EUR 13.1 billion (equivalent of AUD 18.9 billion) with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. Thales Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force and is also present in commercial sectors ranging from air traffic management to security systems and services. Employing around 3,300 people in over 35 sites across the country, Thales Australia recorded revenues of around AUD 900 million in 2010.

The three satellites -- Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 -- were among the most important U.S. photo reconnaissance systems used from the 1960s to the 1980s, and played a critical role in winning the Cold War and maintaining U.S. national security, officials said.

Passing in space high over their targets, these satellites used specially-designed film and cameras to take photos in orbit. The satellites were unmanned and unlikely to be shot down, and therefore minimized risks to military personnel while still obtaining information about areas of the world that the U.S. could not access.

Led by the National Reconnaissance Office, the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, Central Intelligence Agency and industry partners worked together to create these amazingly complex and capable satellites, officials said.

According to retired Air Force Gen. Bruce Carlson, the NRO director, NRO reconnaissance systems -- from planes to satellites such as Gambit and Hexagon -- have been and continue to be the foundation for global situational awareness in protection of our nation.

"Last year the NRO celebrated its 50th anniversary, and we announced the declassification of two NRO systems, Gambit and Hexagon, which were America's eyes in space and the most sophisticated satellites of their time," Carlson said. "These systems were critical for monitoring key targets in the USSR and around the globe and provided much-needed cartographic information to the DOD to produce accurate, large-scale maps."

Gambit 1 satellites were the first American high-resolution space reconnaissance systems. This first generation of Gambit vehicle flew from 1963-1967. Gambit 1 added important new close-up capability to wide-search satellites already in use and were the first satellites to feature stereo high resolution cameras.

Gambit 3 satellites improved upon the Gambit 1 by providing much better image resolution in tracking adversaries' weapons development. Gambit 3 was a long-lived system and completed 54 missions from 1966-1984. The most notable advancement from Gambit 1 to Gambit 3 was the addition of a "roll joint" between the camera module and the Agena control vehicle in the rear. This rolling joint made the satellite extremely stable as a photo platform, conserved film and increased the number of targets photographed. In addition, new super-thin photographic film allowed the vehicle to carry more film.

Hexagon satellites were the largest and last U.S. intelligence satellites to return photographic film to earth. Hexagon provided vital intelligence and mapping photos from space that allowed U.S. planners to counter Cold War threats. Between 1971 and 1984, 19 Hexagon missions imaged 877 million square miles of the earth's surface. Objects smaller than two feet across could be imaged from around 80-100 miles altitude. Analysts could search broad and wide areas for threats with Hexagon and then focus in on suspect areas with surveillance from Gambit satellites.

Both Gambit and Hexagon systems returned exposed film to earth in re-entry vehicles or "buckets" that separated from the satellite, fell through the atmosphere, and descended by parachute. Air Force aircraft were assigned to pluck the buckets from the sky at around 15,000 feet.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Jack Hudson, the director of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, said the three satellites are a great addition for the Air Force's national museum because the Air Force played a key role in space reconnaissance from the beginning.

"Gambit 1, Gambit 3 and Hexagon satellites are significant and rare artifacts, which will enable us to better present the story of Air Force operations in space," Hudson said. "The Air Force has provided launch, tracking, control and range safety services for reconnaissance satellites throughout the entire Cold War, and it continues these activities today."

To commemorate the event, Hudson presented Carlson with a painting of the Hexagon satellite by nationally recognized artist and Dayton, Ohio, resident Dr. Richard Black, which was commissioned by the Air Force Museum Foundation.

Eventually, the satellites will be placed in the museum's planned fourth building, which will house the Space Gallery, Presidential Aircraft Gallery and Global Reach Gallery.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Admission and parking are free.

"Lessons learnt in recent conflicts prove that radio-controlled explosive devices remain one of the major threats in asymmetric scenarios," explained Elmar Compans, head of Sensors and Electronic Warfare at Cassidian. "Progress in digital technology now gives us the means to counter this threat by far more effectively than hitherto possible", he continued.

Cassidian's Vehicle Protection Jammer uses the new, ultra-fast Smart Responsive Jamming Technology to enhance the protection level substantially. It detects and classifies radio signals intended to ignite a roadside bomb. Then, it responds and transmits in real-time jamming signals tailored exactly to the hostile frequency band.

Thereby, it is capitalizing on new digital receiver and signal processing technologies to achieve reaction times of well below a microsecond. This avoids the huge diverging loss of output power inherent in earlier-generation barrage jammers and concentrates the jamming energy on currently active threats only.

The Vehicle Protection Jammer core equipment is platform-independently certified according to German safety regulation including the protection of operators and maintenance personnel. It can easily be built into even small vehicles and therefore is ideally suited to replace vintage equipment.

Cassidian, an EADS company, is a worldwide leader in global security solutions and systems, providing Lead Systems Integration and value-added products and services to civil and military customers around the globe. In 2010, Cassidian – with around 28,000 employees – achieved revenues of EUR 5.9 billion.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2010, the Group – comprising the Divisions Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter – generated revenues of EUR 45.8 billion and employed a workforce of more than 121.000.

Lt. Gen. William T. Lord, the Air Force chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer, presented CyberVision 2020, an initiative to transform the communications and information community, during a town hall meeting here Jan. 11 sponsored by Headquarters Air Education and Training Command A6.

Lord called the transition to cyberspace operations and support a "culture shift" from traditional information assurance to mission assurance. He compared the journey of communications and information service members and civilians to a roller coaster ride.

"I used to say that the roller coaster ride was on the incline," he said. "I think the roller coaster ride you are on, whether you want to be on it or not, is at the top and it's begun to free fall. What we want to do is shape where we're going in cyber so that, one, we get there safely; two, that maybe you can enjoy the ride while we're at it; but three, that the important things we have always done don't get lost on the ride and at the same time we arrive in a new place."

A video that preceded Lord's address and slide show presentation traced the communications and information career field's evolution from its role in the U.S. Army Signal Corps before World War I to cyberspace today. Now effects can be achieved "on the battlefield with nonkinetic tools" through five core competencies: cyberspace operation, knowledge, cyberspace operation support, warfighting integration and cyberspace governance.

Lord said the Air Force is "at that aspect of cyber between World War I and World War II."

"We figured out that we can use it for other things," he said, just as airplanes were later used "for other things than just moving information."

Lord said the technology that is embraced by young people plays an important role in the Air Force's cyber mission.

"Great new capability comes from some of those new devices," he said. "We have to be able to figure out how to deliver that capability. You've got to deliver it fast, and we also have to deliver it securely, and sometimes those are in direct confrontation with one another."

Lord said the tools used in the communications and information career field are already at play in the operational realm -- on the flightline, where fiber optics can be found in maintenance bays, and in the aerial battle ground, where sophisticated devices such as the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node employed on airplanes are important to Army ground combat maneuver units.

"We're going to be at wars that have maybe more capable platforms, but not as many of them," he said. "You all are part of the community that ties that stuff together, that requires you to know some other skills that perhaps we haven't paid as much attention to in the past as we go forward in the future."

Lord said Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's recent remarks on the future of the military in an age of budget cuts and manpower reductions underscored the importance of technology and the need to excel in cyberspace.

Cyberspace operations and support are such a priority, he noted, that the field now has its own four-star advocate, Gen. William L. Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

"How cool is it that for the first time ever, we have a four-star operator who is the champion of this business?" he said.

Lord said the cyber mission faces challenges as the Air Force "gets a little smaller in the future."

"You have an environment where we have to tie innovation together that we never thought about how to do in the past or modernize that which hasn't been modernized for 30 or 40 years," he said.

The initial steps in the transformation are being taken by the air staff and the Air Force Space Command, Lord said.

"There's a couple of hundred action items that are being assigned, and that work is being staffed now to get after how we get from where we were to where we're going," he said.

Lord, who also answered questions from the audience, said communications and information professionals will need the "three C's: courage, competence and creativity." He urged them to innovate, a "wonderful mantra" from Air Education and Training Command.

"You are figuring out the mechanism by which we train all our replacements," he said. "And it's one of the strengths of our Air Force. There are no dumb ideas. The only dumb idea is the one that wasn't expressed."

A tactical digital network, featuring advanced digital radios, hand-held cellular smart phones, a helicopter-mounted “cell tower in the sky” and a boarding party in the Chesapeake Bay recently completed a joint interoperability demonstration.

“This is a big deal because until recently, we’ve not been able to communicate between devices in a tactical networked environment without extensive preplanning and coordination,” said Cmdr. Chris McMahan, Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement demonstration coordinator. “Today’s data links are mostly point-to-point networks where ad hoc connections aren’t possible."

Participating teams displayed ad hoc data sharing on a simulated battlefield in a December exercise by using hand-held cellular smart phones to send and receive real-time video, voice and text sharing between a small-boat team on the Bay and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Surface/Aviation Interoperability Laboratory.

The participating teams included NACRA, SAIL, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and aerospace companies Northrop Grumman and Rockwell Collins.

“It’s the same idea as accessing the Internet from a smart phone or a Wi-Fi-capable notebook to share email or a video with a friend,” explained McMahan. “The Internet doesn’t care what your device is as long as it uses the right protocols. This is the same thing, only we’re doing it encrypted in a tactical environment where we have to bring our own mobile cell tower mounted on the helicopter.”

And while that might seem routine for civilian Internet users, it’s challenging in a secure tactical arena.

“We’re trying to achieve ‘platform agnosticism,’ where you don’t have to preplan participation,” McMahan added. “Much like how we’re able to access the Internet via any number of available devices and modes, we wanted to demo an encrypted tactical network where the data is important and the devices are relatively transparent.”

Specific network capabilities included Quint Networking Technology, 4G/LTE wireless networks, L band, C band and UHF radios, PRC-117G radios, Blue Force Tracker and a 3G/4G LTE transmitter mounted on one of NACRA’s testbed helicopters.

Key to the demo was DARPA’s Tactical Targeted Network Technologies -- an Internet Protocol (IP) based, high-speed, dynamic, ad hoc network hosted by the Rockwell-Collins QNT networking radios. The Naval Air Warfare Center’s SAIL acted as a ship, providing a sea-based node to the network, demonstrating the ability to access an IP-based network from the sea.