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30-639: One of the programs that came out of the $ 32 billion expenditure was the concept of tracking friendly ("blue") forces on the field via a GPS-enabled computer system known as Blue Force Tracking (BFT). The concept of BFT was implemented by the US Army through the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) platform. The FBCB2 system in particular and the BFT system in general have won numerous awards and accolades, including: recognition in 2001 as one of

60-401: A Global Positioning System receiver (to determine its own position), command-and-control software (to send and receive orders, and many other battlefield support functions), and mapping software, usually in the form of a geographic information system (GIS), that plots the BFT device on a map. The system displays the location of the host vehicle on the computer's terrain-map display, along with

90-598: A $ 115 million contract for the design and development of the XM1100 Scorpion and the similarly smart XM-7 Spider landmine system as part of the DoD's Future Combat Systems (FCS) acquisition program. However, decreases in the Army's funding and the high cost of developing the munition system caused the DoD to delete the project from the FCS contract, and the XM1100 Scorpion was established as

120-485: A central location called the Army Tactical Operations Center . There the data are consolidated into a common operational picture, or COP, and sent to numerous destinations, such as the headquarters element, other in-theater forces, or back out to other military units for situational awareness. The system also allows users to input or update operational graphics (i.e. obstacles, engineer reconnaissance on

150-455: A common picture of the location of friendly forces and therefore is referred to as the blue force tracker. When all capitalized, the term refers to a specific defense contractors' system, but the capability is found in many military and civilian mobile apps. Blue force tracking (BFT) systems consist of a computer , used to display location information, a satellite terminal and satellite antenna , used to transmit location and other military data,

180-404: A control station and a dispensing module containing the munitions. Each dispensing module can cover a minimum lethal area of 35 meters in diameter, which can be arranged to overlap the fields of other dispensing modules in order to expand the total range of surveillance. An operator supervising a single XM1100 Scorpion control station can control the activity of its corresponding dispensing module at

210-418: A range of up to 3 kilometers. Unlike traditional landmines, the activity of the XM1100 Scorpion munitions can be remotely turned on or off by the operator, allowing friendly vehicles to pass through the lethal area unharmed if necessary. However, once activated, the XM1100 Scorpion can fire four anti-vehicle smart munitions into the air, releasing a guided warhead on the target. The system is also connected to

240-452: A stand-alone program in January 2007 under the supervision of the Army's Project Manager for Close Combat Systems (PM-CCS). During its development, the XM1100 Scorpion underwent multiple performance tests and design reviews. In 2009, a test series of the system at Fort Benning , Georgia evaluated the XM1100 Scorpion's ability to identify and engage targets in urban environments. Scientists in

270-784: Is found in route planning tools. By inputting grid coordinates, the BFT becomes both the map and compass for mechanized units . With proximity warnings enabled, the vehicle crew is made aware as they approach critical or turn points. Users of BFT systems include the United States Army , the United States Marine Corps , the United States Air Force , the United States Navy ground-based expeditionary forces (e.g., United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) units),

300-499: The 1st Armored Division . In August 2005, the program met 100% of the criteria in its most important milestone, System of Systems Functional Review. On October 5, 2005, Pentagon team recommended "further delaying the Army's Future Combat Systems program" in light of the costs of the Iraq War , Hurricane Katrina , and expected declines in future budgets. The Pentagon announced plans in January 2006 to cut $ 236 million over five years from

330-554: The Fort Irwin National Training Center , and its proven field usage in live combat operations spanning over a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to BFT adoption by many users including the United States Marine Corps , the United States Air Force , the United States Navy ground-based expeditionary forces (e.g., United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) units),

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360-640: The Intelligent Munitions System , was an anti-vehicle, smart ground munition developed by Textron Defense Systems as a safer alternative to traditional landmines. The Scorpion was originally a component of the Future Combat Systems program. It was a remotely controlled, integrated system of lethal and non-lethal munitions, ground sensors, and communication technology that could autonomously detect, track, and destroy light-wheeled to heavy-tracked vehicles. The XM1100 Scorpion consists of

390-631: The United Kingdom , and German Soldier System IdZ-ES+. In 2008, work began on plans to reach the level of nearly 160,000 tracking systems in the US Army within a few years; the system prime contractor is the Northrop Grumman corporation of Los Angeles, California. In November 2010, the US Army and the US Marine Corps reached an agreement to standardize on a shared system, to be called "Joint Battle Command Platform", which will be derived from

420-1049: The United Kingdom , and German Soldier System IdZ-ES+. In April and May 2009, Pentagon and army officials announced that the FCS vehicle-development effort would be canceled. The rest of the FCS effort would be swept into a new, pan-army program called the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program . The early joint DARPA–Army Future Combat Systems program to replace the M1 Abrams main battle tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicles envisioned robotic vehicles weighing under six tons each and controlled remotely by manned command and control vehicles. In February 2001 DARPA awarded $ 5.5 million to eight teams to develop unmanned ground combat vehicles (UGCV). Teams led by General Dynamics Land Systems , Carnegie Mellon University , and Omnitech Robotics were awarded nearly $ 1 million each to develop UGCVs prototypes. Five other teams were to develop UGCVs payloads. In May 2003

450-753: The XM1100 Scorpion was established as a stand-alone program in January 2007. The Class II and Class III UAVs were canceled in May 2007. In June 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized the "close working relationship" between the Army and the lead system integrators. The GAO recommended the Office of the Secretary of Defense reassert its oversight authority and prepare an alternative should FCS be canceled. The Department of Defense agreed with

480-452: The $ 25 billion FCS 2007–2011 budget. The entire program was expected to cost $ 340 billion. As of late December 2006, funding was scaled back for critical elements of the overall FCS battlespace, and the most advanced elements were deferred. Decreases in the Army’s funding and the high cost of developing the intelligent munition system caused the DoD to delete the project from the FCS contract, and

510-507: The Army Battle Command Network, which allows military personnel to monitor enemy and non-combatant activity as well as prevent unwanted or unused munitions from becoming buried and forgotten. Development for the XM1100 Scorpion began as a response to the U.S. landmine policy directive of 2004, which banned the use of persistent landmines. In July 2006, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded Textron Defense Systems with

540-548: The Army's FBCB2 system that was used by the US Army, the US Marine Corps, and the British Army during heavy combat operations in the Iraq War in 2003. An Army-specific Blue Force Tracking technology is Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below , or FBCB2. The system continually transmits locations over the FBCB2 network. It then monitors the location and progress of friendly (and enemy) forces, and sends those specific coordinates to

570-481: The DoD commenced the development and demonstration phase in a $ 14.92 billion contract. As planned, FCS included the network; unattended ground sensors (UGS); unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); unmanned ground vehicles; and the eight manned ground vehicles . The Boeing Company and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) worked together as the lead systems integrators, coordinating more than 550 contractors and subcontractors in 41 states. A spiral model

600-973: The Future Combat Systems program and replaced it with separate programs under the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization umbrella to meet the Army's plans. The following subsystems were swept into the Brigade Combat Team Modernization Program : FCS was networked via an advanced architecture, called System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE) that would enable enhanced joint connectivity and situational awareness (see Network-centric warfare ). SOSCOE targets x86-Linux , VxWorks , and LynxOS . The FCS (BCT) network consists of five layers that when combined would provide seamless delivery of data: The Standards, Transport, Services, Applications, and Sensors and Platforms Layers. The FCS (BCT) network possesses

630-645: The Survivability Lethality Analysis Directorate (SLAD) at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) also conducted a series of live firing demonstrations at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and determined that the XM1100 Scorpion had achieved a “mobility kill,” demonstrating its capabilities in identifying and engaging remote-controlled, mobile targets. In 2010, successful performance testing at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona showed that

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660-650: The adaptability and management functionality required to maintain pertinent services, while the FCS (BCT) fights on a rapidly shifting battlespace giving them the advantage to take initiative. FCS would network existing systems, systems already under development, and systems to be developed. Blue Force Tracking Blue force tracking is a United States military term for a GPS -enabled capability that provides military commanders and forces with location information about friendly (and despite its name, also hostile) military forces. In NATO military symbology , blue typically denotes friendly forces. The capability provides

690-662: The five best-managed software programs in the entire U.S. Government, the 2003 Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's award for most innovative U.S. Government program, the 2003 Federal Computer Week Monticello Award (given in recognition of an information system that has a direct, meaningful impact on human lives), and the Battlespace Information 2005 "Best Program in Support of Coalition Operations". The proof-of-concept success of FBCB2, its extensive testing during Operation Foal Eagle (FE 99, FE 00), its certification at

720-487: The five best-managed software programs in the entire US Government, the 2003 Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's award for most innovative US Government program, the 2003 Federal Computer Week Monticello Award (given in recognition of an information system that has a direct, meaningful impact on human lives), and the Battlespace Information 2005 "Best Program in Support of Coalition Operations". XM1100 Scorpion The XM1100 Scorpion , formerly known as

750-462: The latter suggestion, to which the Army responded by calling the GAO report "rooted in the past, not the present". In 2008, the program had completed about one-third of its development, which was planned to run through 2030. Technical field tests began in 2008. The first combat brigade equipped with FCS had been expected to deploy around 2015, followed by full production to equip up to 15 brigades by 2030, but

780-407: The locations of other platforms (friendly in blue, and enemy in red) in their respective locations. BFT can also be used to send and receive text and imagery messages, and has a mechanism for reporting the locations of enemy forces and other battlefield conditions (for example, the location of minefields, battlefield obstacles, bridges that are damaged, etc.). Additional capability in some BFT devices

810-420: The program had not met the initial plan of field testing an actual FCS-equipped combat unit by 2008. On April 6, 2009, President Barack Obama 's Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates announced plans to cut FCS spending as part of a shift toward spending more on counter-terrorism and less to prepare for conventional warfare against large states like China and Russia. This included, but was not limited to, canceling

840-436: The road, enemy forces). Once uploaded, it can either be sent to higher headquarters or "mailed" to other subscribers of that user's list, or other BFT users within the subscription system. The M1A1 Abrams 's tank AIM refurbishment/upgrade program includes FBCB2 and Blue Force Tracking. The BFT system, and the FBCB2 system of which it is a variant, have won numerous awards and accolades, including: recognition in 2001 as one of

870-441: The series of Manned Ground Vehicles. In May 2009, the proposed DoD budget for fiscal year 2010 had minimal funding for Manned Ground Vehicles research. The Army planned to restart from the beginning on manned ground vehicles. The service was to restructure FCS so more Army units will be supported. Boeing passed a preliminary design review of all 14 subsystems in May 2009. The DoD released a memorandum on 23 June 2009 that canceled

900-812: Was planned for FCS development and upgrades. As of 2004, FCS was in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase, which included four two-year spirals. Spiral 1 was to begin fielding in Fiscal Year 2008 and consist of prototypes for use and evaluation. Following successful evaluation, production and fielding of Spiral 2 would have commenced in 2010. The evaluation was conducted by the Army Evaluation Task Force (AETF), previously known as Evaluation Brigade Combat Team (EBCT), stationed in Fort Bliss . As of December 2007, AETF consisted of 1,000 soldiers from

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