New CMOSS, metadata prototypes sought for US Army combat network

US Army Major Shawn McNicol monitors one of the Mounted Computing Environment systems deployed during technology experiments at Fort Bliss, Texas. (US Army)

US Army programme officials working on research and development of the service's newest iteration of the Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) are seeking prototypes of Common Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) as part of an ongoing network modernisation effort.

Officials from US Army Futures Command's Network Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT) and Program Executive Office for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) issued three draft White Paper solicitations in April, requesting information on advanced information technology (IT) hardware and software in support of ITN initiatives tied to Capability Set 25 (CS25).

The service is rolling out ITN iterations in two-year intervals with Capability Set 21 (CS21) in 2021, Capability Set 23 (CS23) in 2023, and CS25 in 2025.

CS21 was driven by an effort to get the existing communications and networking capabilities for infantry brigade combat teams (IBCTs) that were being fielded, at the tactical level, by near-peer countries such as Russia and China. CS21 technologies have been fielded to four IBCTs and continue to undergo technical assessments with units from 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2/CR) in Vilseck, Germany.

Meanwhile, CS23 is designed to build upon the successes of CS21 and roll out that capability to Stryker formations, which will enable soldiers to transition between mounted and dismounted operations. The biggest change in CS23 development versus CS21 is the service's decision to take technologies in the pipeline for CS21 and apply them to different formations as part of the CS23 effort.