The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Command, Control, Computers and Communication (C4) thrust seeks to improve C4 capabilities for naval warfighters with an emphasis on small units, asymmetric and irregular warfare, information analysis and communication, and distributed operations. Its technology investment areas include network-centric warfare and interoperability, over-the-horizon communications gateways, and small-unit technologies.
In the area of network-centric warfare and interoperability, ONR seeks nearly ubiquitous communications and availability of information for naval warfighters, particularly in austere environments. This technology area of investment includes:
- Mobility Management: Creating networks that offer high reliability and secure access to the network by authorized mobile users
- Information Assurance/Application Tolerance: Providing access to needed information regardless of the source
In the area of over-the-horizon communications, ONR seeks to provide long-reach communications enabling technologies that allow lower-echelon warfighters to exploit the global network. This would include beyond-line-of-sight (BLoS) communications, which provide reach-back to higher echelons by all users, and networked RF distribution systems, which would provide access to the Global Information Grid services by appropriate echelons.
In the area of small-unit technologies, ONR seeks to close technology gaps to allow small-unit warfighters to gain timely, accurate and nearly complete situational awareness. This technology investment area includes:
- Restricted Environment Communications: Enabling intra-unit and inter-echelon communications under all conditions
- Advanced Communications Enablers: Providing user-centric provision of needed information
- Blue Force Tracking/Personnel Location Indicators: Creating ready sharing of position location and intelligence
C4 Science and Technology Challenges
Net-Centric Warfare/Interoperability
- Architectures suitable for authentication of users and platforms in a MANET environment over current and emerging tactical communications networks and across security domains
- Transport mechanisms for a secure, light-weight service oriented architecture with discovery, access and mediation, in order to extend those capabilities to lower echelon warfighters in a tactical wireless environment
Small Unit Technologies
- Novel low-loss, high-selectivity, high-power tunable filter technology
- Light-weight decision aids using content management and innovative presentation methods to effectively provide situational awareness and C2 capabilities to distributed warfighters
- Compact, affordable, robust and reliable position, navigation, and timing (PNT) solution, that can determine precise and absolute position with few external references in restricted environments, as either a supplement or surrogate to GPS
The Expeditionary Maneuver and Combating Terrorism Department welcomes innovative ideas and white papers in response to the ONR long-range broad agency announcement.
Download the C4 Thrust area's Willful Intent slides.
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