Towards NNEC - breaking the interaction barrier with collaboration services

The Norwegian armed forces intend to reach NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC) maturity level 4 within 2030. The realization of NNEC is essential in developing the future tactical Command and Control (C2) systems for the Norwegian armed forces. Such C2 systems include collaboration services, such as chat, video conference, and document sharing, which enable seamless information sharing and collaboration both horizontally and vertically in the military organization. State-of-the-art collaboration services available in the civil domain, provide remote users a sense of presence despite the geographical distance between them. Applied in the military domain, they facilitate collaboration between soldiers which are in different physical locations, thus minimizing the risk related to traveling in the theater. In this document, we discuss three main challenges of applying collaboration services in a tactical environment: • Their adaptability to the tactical environment with regard to the challenging network situation found in this environment, the necessity of distribution and the mobility of nodes, and the need for services that are simple to use and administer • Their interoperability, i.e. their ability to interoperate with other systems, in particular the systems applied by NATO allies • Their ability to satisfy security challenges particular to the military domain and the tactical environment We survey state-of-the-art products, both military and civilian, focusing on how they handle the three main challenges named above, to identify emerging trends and research opportunities. The main conclusions from the survey follow below. Some of the products available in the civil domain, like Microsoft Lync and Google products, offer advanced collaboration services, which could provide high operational value in the military tactical domain. Considering adaptability to the tactical environment, these products are to a certain degree able to adapt dynamically to network parameters such as available bandwidth and packet loss. However, as they have been designed to operate over the Internet, where the bandwidth situation is very different from in the tactical network, their behavior in the tactical domain must be tested. Furthermore, civil systems are commonly based on centralized solutions, which introduce single points of failure and bandwidth bottlenecks into the tactical environment. The survey also concluded that the intersection between security mechanisms and interoperability requirements is an area that needs more research, in particular when considering the strict requirements of classified information. Furthermore, we observed that emerging trends from the civil domain introduces new types of collaboration services which should be included in the military domain, and in C2 systems. Finally, we point out the importance of continuing national participation, including FFI’s, in standardization work currently carried out internationally and in various NATO forums.