Traditional tactical communications systems consist of a number of separate subsystems with little interworking between them and with external sensors and weapons systems. Combat net radio (CNR) has provided the high-mobility communications required by combat troops, while trunk communications systems have provided high-capacity communications between headquarters at the expense of mobility. The focus of this book is on new, information-age technologies that promise to offer seamless integration of real-time data sharing, creating a single logical network architecture to facilitate the movement of data throughout the battlespace. Because the structure of this network is constrained by the fundamental trade-off between range, mobility and capacity that applies to all communications systems, this network is unlikely to be based on a single network technology. This book presents an architecture for this network, and shows how its subsystems can be integrated to form a single logical network.

"This report is a research byproduct that documents the front-end analysis for development of the Brigade Battle Staff Training System (BDE-BSTS). BDE-BSTS, a set of functional area training packages for brigade-level staff officers, is a combination of text and computer-based instruction (CBI). Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the BDE-BSTS was developed for use by the U.S. Army National Guard (ARNG). The prototype BSTS comprised 13 courses for training brigade staff officers in individual functional areas and those tasks required to prepare staffs for collective battle staff tasks. The glossary presents the working definitions of terms used in these programs. The BSTS program, sponsored under the DARPA program umbrella of Simulation in Training for Advanced Readiness (SIMITAR), is coordinated with three other programs: Simulation-Based Mounted Brigade Training Program (SIMBART), Simulation-Based Multiechelon Training for Armor Units (SIMUTA), and Combat Service Support (CSS) Training System Development for the National Guard."--DTIC.