On the attack online: American infantrymen will be involved into to the Network agenda

Alexander Sychev

Previously, soldiers could assess the real situation on the battlefield only after landing. Now the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) has given them the ability to assess the situation both visually and informatively even while the vehicle is in motion.

Microsoft specialists have been working on the IVAS system for several years, starting prototype testing in 2019. The result of their work was a program that combined special augmented reality glasses with a data transmission system. Now every American infantryman who is part of the Stryker BMP team will be able to receive real-time information about the location of the enemy, a variety of navigation information and see in high resolution everything that happens overboard the BMP both day and night.

Instead of the standard set, consisting of cameras on weapons, as well as front and rear views, a system of cameras was installed on the sides of the Stryker, giving a circular view. The soldiers' glasses are connected to these cameras, and instead of pointlessly looking at the side of the BMP or looking at the boots of a neighbor while driving, they will be able to monitor what is happening around the car and where they are moving.

Moreover, through the BMP equipment, the glasses are connected to the unit’s command center, and soldiers can receive a wide variety of information: see a tactical map on which neighboring units and the enemy are marked, receive a combat mission, reconnaissance information from drones and other groups, and also supply network data from their cameras.

All information is transmitted through a system called Tactical Scalable MANET. Radio communication operating in different bands (the most efficient at present is selected) is carried out using TrellisWare technology. It allows, using even one high-frequency channel, approximately 250 stations to operate simultaneously, transmit voice information, images and other data at a speed of about 16 Mbit per second. The speed depends on the network load.

The tactical network does not depend on the radio transmission infrastructure in the area, and is formed and restored automatically. The turn-on time for each transceiver is less than a second, and subnets formed by soldiers from different units can be combined in five seconds.

The new technology, according to Philip Landan, assistant program manager for IVAS and head of the U.S. Army's ground combat division, significantly improves the combat capabilities of the units. Now, he says, operations that were within the power of, for example, a company, will be able to perform a platoon. This is achieved by increasing the level of awareness and control.