BlueSpace

Increasing coalition cooperation has led to more and more networks being deployed in theater, often each with a Common Operating Picture. These separate pictures can be merged into a Unified Operating Picture with BlueSpace’s MLS technologies – a single geospatial view of operations that spans multiple security domains.

The Challenge

In a recent briefing, CENTCOM indicated that the number of coalition allies had grown from around 35 in the first Gulf War to around 80 in the current set of ongoing operations. This growth in the number of coalition partners has been reflected in the growth of coalition networks – CENTCOM also commented that there are now over 70 CENTRIX networks. Why are there so many?

The answer is levels of trust. There are close allies, e.g. the Four Eyes community, and then more recent allies, such as the US with the Afghan National Security Forces. As the levels of trust vary, so does the level so sanitization of data available on those networks – the Mission Secret COP is typically the most sanitized, where as national Secret COPs from the US and UK have the greatest details. A C2 operator can be required to go back and forth between different systems to build a complete picture of what’s happening in theater.

The problem became apparent for the AWACS office at Hanscom, as the increasing requirements for interoperability and interchangeability for missions was leading to operators being forced to deal with multiple COPs at different national network levels. In a real air conflict, having to look at multiple screens to figure out whether a contact is friend or foe is not practical and prone to mistakes.

The requirement is for a Unified Operating Picture that can span multiple security domains at the same time – a “God’s eye view” of the battle field.

The Solution

BlueSpace is a software company in the multi-level security (MLS) arena, creating applications that can span multiple security domains at the same time. BlueSpace engaged with the AWACS Netcentricity Office at Hanscom to create an MLS view of air traffic inside Google Earth. All the aircraft are visible (as 3D models or 2525 icons) together with their paths at a dominant domain inside Google Earth. When a user clicks to open a message from the dashboard interface, or to start a chat session with the operator in charge of a given aircraft, the application launches a window at the appropriate security domain to interact with that unit.

From an infrastructure perspective, the solution uses a Google Earth Enterprise server running at a dominant network level, and then has a BlueSpace GeoSpace Application Appliance connected to each of the different networks. The GeoSpace end user application runs on a trusted workstation such as the AFRL SABER Workstation, with the Google Earth plug-in running in a dashboard interface in a web browser.

The GeoSpace Application Appliance gathers C2 data from Link 16 via Cursor on Target (CoT) from each network domain, and elevates it to the high-side network for viewing in a fused view inside Google Earth. The GeoSpace client sends messages to the GeoSpace Application Appliance to allow cross domain transfer of system requests to spawn windows at lower security domains to interact with content and other applications.

BlueSpace first demonstrated this MLS C2 solution as part of the CWID 2010 exercise – at Hanscom, JFCOM, Dahlgren, San Diego and Canada. The demonstration was successful, being picked up on by various news media outlets (e.g. an MSNBC affiliate that did a TV report on the trial). DISA and BlueSpace issued a joint press release about the engagement, with comments from Hanscom and Google. BlueSpace built connectivity to the Adobe Connect chat room application to enable MLS chat to unit operators.

The solution was also demonstrated at Empire Challenge 2010 in Fort Huachuca, sponsored by DIA / USD(I).

An MLS C2 capability can provide transformational value to mission offices. In an interview with MSNBC, LtCol Davis (an operator of BlueSpace’s CWID trial at JFCOM) commented about the system that “what we are testing here, it’s going to eventually save lives.”