Adaptable/ Reusable Hardware/Software Architectures and Components for Future Combat System (FCS) Automated Resupply

The US Army has an immediate need for a standard, mission configurable, cost effective, and modular architecture to facilitate the advanced control, supervision and coordination of numerous platforms for materiel handling, re-supply and logistics automation in Future Combat System (FCS) applications. To support this initiative, this program will demonstrate that the integration of commercial Web services with middleware technologies on an intranet platform, isolated from latency, firewall, security, inefficient and non-redundant routing issues, will create a highly responsive, reusable, adaptable, modular, maintainable, extensible and scalable architecture. This approach enables tightly coupled interoperability across distributed applications and disparate enterprises, value added services such as digital conferencing and instant messaging, security, non-repudiation, dissemination of information, streamline development and standardization of intelligent software systems and components, contractor competitiveness, automatic software maintenance across the network, and legacy code adaptability. The principal objectives of Phase II are the specification, development, demonstration and evaluation of a prototypical Web centric enterprise controller to coordinate automated field materiel handling tasks of multiple platforms via a high level of interoperability over a dedicated network.