A Foundation for Coalition Interoperability Using NATO’s C3 Technical Architecture

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has recognized that future military information systems will need to interoperate with one another more effectively than ever before1. The number of unforeseen contingencies and international conflicts have elevated the need to provide accurate information to the warfighter upon demand, i.e., wherever and whenever it is needed. However in order to make this a reality, it is obvious that future coalition information system services will need to be fused together, having the ability to retain their own national identities and operational independence, as well as interoperate with one another in a more effective and seamless manner. Unfortunately, achieving and sustaining interoperability among diverse systems is not, nor has it ever been an easily attainable objective. As indicated in [1], historically speaking, interoperability has been one of the most difficult areas with which to deal. Interoperability is a broad and complex area of endeavor that cuts across many functional domain areas and applications. Often deemed elusive due to the level of complexity entailed when integrating diverse system components together, the real challenge lies in the overall scope and extent of the system, as well as the level of interoperability and integration desired [2]. Nevertheless, integrating diverse military system components together cohesively within a coalition environment can add significantly to the level of complexity entailed. For instance, when different parts of a system are built separately by independent developers, the end results often vary greatly. This may be attributed to flaws in the design specification and/or how it has been interpreted during various system development stages. The term used synonymously with design specification today is architectural design. The architectural design is concerned with determining the architectural style of the system as opposed to the detailed design of individual algorithms and data stores. Architectural design also involves the high-level decomposition of the system into components and the relationships and interactions of these components, which usually determines the specific architecture of the system [3]. If misinterpreted or designed poorly, chances are the system(s) once fielded will function improperly, or more than likely, in a limited capacity. When put in the context of a coalition environment, the ratio for failure increases significantly due to the sheer number of diverse factors that must be taken into account and reckoned with accordingly (e.g., language differences, level of training, number of system developers and integrators involved, type of experience, etc.).