The BCT (Brigade Combat Team) network is a layered system of interconnected computers and software, radios, and sensors within the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) designed to increase survivability and strategy on a battlefield where units can communicate internally instead of through a central command. The BCT Network allows for a more efficient use of communication and a possibility to plug

combined-arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armour in an urban environment in which each supports the other. ...

warfare into the network for better communication.

Deployment

The BCT network is essential to enable Unified Battle Command and will be delivered to the Army's Brigade Combat Teams in increasing capability increments. The first increment is currently finishing SDD developmental and operational testing and will be delivered to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams in the form of Network Integration Kits (B-kits) with E-IBCT. The first testing of the BCT network occurred in the

Joint Multinational Readiness Center Hohenfels (literally ''High Cliffs'') is a municipality in the district of Neumarkt in the region of Upper Palatinate () in Bavaria, Germany. The town is host to the United States Army Garrison Hohenfels, which operates the Joint Multinational R ...

(JMRC),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, September 2020. The soldier at every echelon, from Brigade to Squad, will be connected to the proper sensor data and communication relays to ensure proper battle-space

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness, often abbreviated as SA is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. It is also defined as the perception of the elements in the envi ...

The Network Integration Kit

The Network Integration Kit (NIK) is a suite of equipment capable of being installed on many vehicles including HMMWV's and

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

s. It provides the Network connectivity and

battle command Battle command (BC) is the discipline of visualizing, describing, directing, and leading forces in operations against a hostile, thinking, and adaptive enemy. Battle command applies leadership to translate decision into actions, by synchronizing ...

software to integrate and fuse sensor data into the

common operational picture A common operational picture (COP) is a single identical display of relevant (operational) information (e.g. position of own troops and enemy troops, position and status of important infrastructure such as bridges, roads, etc.) shared by more than ...

(COP) displayed on the Force XXI Battle Command Battalion/Brigade and Below (FBCB2). The Network Integration Kit consists of an integrated computer system (ICS) that hosts the Battle Command software and the Systems of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE) software, along with the

JTRS The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) aimed to replace existing radios in the American military with a single set of software-defined radios that could have new frequencies and modes (“waveforms”) added via upload, instead of requiring mult ...

GMR radio to provide the interface to the sensors and unmanned systems, as well as voice and data communications with other vehicles and soldiers. Another benefit of this system allows vehicles with destroyed antennae to communicate through other vehicles' antennae. Soldiers will be able to communicate with the Battalion Tactical Operation Center (TOC), by sending reports on enemy sighting, activity and location utilizing the NIK via the Network allowing for split-time tactical decisions instead of waiting for one commander to approve or deny decisions.

References

Sources

''This article incorporates work from https://web.archive.org/web/20090927002001/http://www.bctmod.army.mil/systems/network/index.html, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

as it is a work of the United States Army.''

Deployment

The Network Integration Kit

References

Sources

See also