OPINION
Rise of the tactical Internet
17-04-2003
by Bernie Goldbach
US military forces put the 'tactical Internet' to a major test during the war in Iraq. When hostilities cease, the tactical Internet could offer interesting uses for Irish businesses.
As tanks of the US 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) converged on Baghdad to confront the troops and armour of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard in early April, alert viewers recognised some technology that had matured over the past ten years. Some decision-makers were now receiving immediate feedback from digital sensors overhead, and commanders were using robust information networks and sophisticated position checking. This was the tactical Internet and it worked better than expected.
Many pieces of technology in America start off in military research labs before they're put into the field. If they pass the field test, they often become commercial products. That's how the Internet and the Global Positioning System (GPS) developed. From the look of things, bits of American military technology proven in Iraq will trickle down into the civilian world.
America's reliance on information technology achieved some remarkable successes in Iraq, such as the pinpoint destruction of command centres and government buildings. But bombs still went awry and breakdowns of identification sensors caused friendly fire incidents. All the high-tech gear in the world will never guarantee personal safety in a war zone.
The Pentagon's digital tracking on the battlefield has jumped well beyond the Global Decision Support System (GDSS) that was used in underground bunkers during Operation Desert Storm. Back then, supply convoys and airlift assets moved across 30-inch computer screens like icons in an arcade game.
Today, the tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles of the 3ID have network points to link them to a sophisticated tactical Internet on the battlefield. As troops manoeuvred, commanders saw them as blue dots on computer screens. Red dots showed the possible position of Iraqi units. Planes, helicopters and circling Predator drones marked GPS locations of dug-in forces.
As a result, American forces conducted an all-weather precision targeting campaign unseen in modern warfare. In blinding sandstorms, 3ID artillery and tanks fought Republican Guards who were dug into positions around the Euphrates River. Sophisticated targeting networks enabled US troops to see each other and to call in airstrikes during inclement weather.
The result: nobody blew up the key bridges leading into Baghdad because no fighting troops remained after the initial American engagement.
When you take away the military dimension of this tactical Internet, you get a computing grid that could be interlaced with a supply and distribution system. For example, by replacing the red dots of Iraqi tanks with green circles that represent water-testing points, you get a pixel-based display of drinking water potability.
This would be a helpful technology for Irish companies that are in the running for the infrastructure repair of Iraq in the months ahead. ESB has projects in Saudi Arabia and Jordan and could figure in the repair of electricity plants in Iraq. Kentz Engineering in Clonmel has contracts throughout Southwest Asia for mechanical and electrical services. Datac Control International provides services for organisations working in water and wastewater, oil and gas, power and telecommunications. Butler Manufacturing in Longford specialises in waste treatment and could benefit from contracts in that area. It already has a contract with Bechtel worth EUR500,000 over the past 18 months in Algeria and has provided waste water treatment units to Bahrain, Oman and Lebanon
Digitising the military is a work in progress. While it's unrealistic to expect the US Army's tactical Internet to be civilianised for infrastructure support, leveraging the latest technologies will result in more efficient completion of important projects.
In many cases, the military uses the same servers, satellites and fibre-optic networks shared by companies in Ireland. These new technologies enabled fresh military tactics, some of which are visible in tank tread marks seen from overhead satellite images of the Iraqi desert. Instead of single lines of tank movements, the 3ID used GPS signals and satellite phones to spread across the desert in widely dispersed units.
Some of the tracking technology aboard the mechanised units comes from the same manufacturing lines as those used to produce tracking devices on high-value lorry loads that traverse Irish roads. The idea is to keep track of components through a passive network.
Although many of the technologies used by the combat arms in Iraq have been available for years, only now has a critical mass come together in a rugged environment for real-world testing. The tactical Internet, first deployed in Afghanistan, worked well in Iraq. With some modification, this military tool could give rise to some interesting commercial developments.
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