Command and Control

Our engineering assessments look beyond individual platforms or projects to identify systemic technical issues and affordable cross-cutting solutions.

Overview

MITRE has a long history of supporting the development and evolution of command and control (C2) systems. For more than three decades, MITRE has collaborated with Department of Defense (DoD) sponsors to develop C2 functions that help sponsors plan, direct, and control operations to accomplish their mission.

The corporation's range of DoD sponsors, from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are served by MITRE's Command and Control Center (C2C), which places special emphasis on creating a joint command, control, and communications system. The center works closely with MITRE's Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems (CIIS), Center for Enterprise Management (CEM), and Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) to share and exchange knowledge.

MITRE has deep expertise in advancing the C2 concept. For example, the corporation has been involved in the development and upgrade of the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) since the system debuted more than 30 years ago. We serve as part of the AWACS Joint Test Force, which is overseen by the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) at Hanscom Air Force Base. Similarly, MITRE has contributed its engineering proficiency to the Air Force's airborne Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) program, performing much of the systems engineering work on the platform's technology.

Current Work Programs

Successful development of the C2 function demands a variety of in-depth engineering competencies. MITRE often applies architecture-based engineering principles to integrate systems into an effective C2 enterprise. Our engineering assessments look beyond individual platforms or projects to identify systemic technical issues and affordable cross-cutting solutions. Our staff has expertise in systems engineering, information technology, software development, communications and networking, signal processing, electronics, open decision architecture, and cognitive science.

Some of the challenges that MITRE helps sponsors address include: enabling network-centric operations; applying the practice of enterprise systems engineering to the integration of legacy and new technology; building effective joint and multi-national C2; achieving system integration and interoperability; developing a multi-sensor command and control constellation; ensuring systems interoperability among services; and providing planning, management, execution, and sustainment of Air and Space Operations Centers (AOCs).

Specific work underway includes:

• Cursor on Target (CoT), a machine-to-machine automation that makes time-sensitive targeting quicker and significantly more accurate.
• The Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS), a large-scale, software-intensive system that enables an air component commander to plan, direct, and control all theater air operations and to coordinate operations with land, maritime, and special operations elements.
• The Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI), an interoperable combat information system that aggregates, integrates, fuses, and intelligently disseminates decision-quality information to all echelons of a Joint Task Force.
• GPS signal processing work, which military and civilian systems rely upon for precise navigation and positioning.
• Enhanced C2 capabilities for many organizations, including an upgraded technological and business infrastructure that allows integration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies.

Related Information

Articles and News

• REACT Fine-Tunes Air Force Capabilities Before Live-Flying
• When Robots Go to War
• The Dynamics of Decisions: Modeling Sudden Changes in Group Behavior
• Information Sharing Challenges on a Multinational Scale
• RCAT: Testbed for NextGen
• AWACS: You've Got Mail
• Keystoning Improves Radar Resolution for Tracking Targets
• Building Dynamic Web-Based Tools for Tomorrow's Battlefields
• MITRE Executive Director Awarded 2006 AFCEA Meritorious Award for Engineering
• Kaleidoscope Keeps Pace with Battle Events

Technical Papers and Presentations

• Tactical Edge Characterization Framework—Volume 1: Common Vocabulary for Tactical
• Tactical Edge Characterization Framework—Volume 2: Design Patterns for Tactical
• Agent-Directed Simulation for Systems Engineering
• Establishing Mission Resiliency through Availability
• Detecting and Geo-Locating Moving Ground Targets in Airborne QuickSAR Via Keystoning and Multiple Phase Center Interferometry
• A "Thin-Slicing" Approach to Understanding Cognitive Challenges in Complex Command and Control
• Findings of Case Studies in Enterprise Systems Engineering
• User Defined Operational Pictures for Tailored Situation Awareness
• Target Height Estimation Using Multipath Over Land

Websites

• MITRE's Command and Control Center (C2C)
• MITRE's DoD Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) FFRDC
• MITRE Systems Engineering

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