|
Abstract. Effective Command and Control Systems depend upon timely and consistent
information exchange between headquarters and operational units. Information can be
sent and received by a wide range of systems and
in an ideal world everyone would have the same system,
the same database, the same operating system, the same computing
platform, and so on - thus making information exchange much
easier to achieve. However, that is not the case and
it would be only the most optimistic amongst us who
would acknowledge that this could ever be achieved, particularly in
allied and combined operations. This short paper introduces the concept
of interoperability using message text formats (MTF) as defined by
the NATO standard ADatP-3 (Allied Data Publications number 3), Australian
ADFORM (Australian defense Formatted Message) or USMTF (United States Message
Text Formats). In order to do this it is necessary
to explain what is meant by interoperability in terms of
unambiguous information exchange. As an example, from time to time,
use is made of the Systematic COTS product IRIS. IRIS
has been accepted by NATO as a product capable of
preparing and validating ADatP-3 messages and, in the USA, has
been approved for inclusion in the DII-Ce (defense Information Infrastructure
- Common Operating Environment) as well as being approved for
USMTF 97, 98 and 99. By using modern software products
like IRIS, the problem of interoperability can be resolved using
formatted messages.
Related topics:
military messaging, tactical communications systems, command systems
View first page of "Peach: Message Text Formats - A Solution to the Problem of Interoperability"
Papers by Peach
Register for the free
to receive a list of papers for each issue as it is released.
|
|
