NCW: Joint Command Support Environment – JP2030 Phase 8 Update | ADM November 2012

Joint Project JP2030 has for several years refined, enhanced and upgraded the Australian Defence Forces Command and Control System Support capability. Despite the cancellation of one increment due to budget pressures, the current phase will continue this evolution through until at least 2016.

The project has been evolving since 1993 to provide a strategic Command & Control system to ADF command centres and the initial phases (Phase 1 to Phase 7) culminated in the completion of the work by ADI (now Thales Australia) in 2005.

Phases 1 through 6 delivered the ‘core’ command support system to support the planning for, and the conduct of, future joint operations. It was installed in the various ADF headquarters both at the tactical and strategic levels and within selected ADF units. Phases 7 and 7B further enhanced the Joint and Air Command Support Systems.

The current iteration, Phase 8, is currently progressing towards an Initial Operating Capability between now and the 2015/16 financial year.

Phase 8 Project Brief

Phase 8 began with a clean-sheet approach to the capability, though drawing on the original systems to some degree, with the brief of enhancing ADF Command and Control System Support via the integration of enterprise components and developing a Joint Command Support Environment to enhance the planning and the conduct of operations.

Specifically, Phase 8 is designed to support the establishment of Headquarters, Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) at Bungendore, outside Canberra.

“The project is using a strategy of multiple Second Pass Approvals, in order to define and deliver discrete capability elements. At each subsequent Second Pass, capability elements already delivered also may be further validated and enhanced,” explained a Defence spokesperson to ADM.

“Each Evolution of Phase 8 will have its own Initial Materiel Release (IMR) and Initial Operating Capability (IOC), focussed upon the initial delivery and employment of the respective capability element. The Life of Type will be defined later in the development process.”

Altogether the cost of Phase 8 is estimated to be somewhere around $150 million.

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) Australia was chosen as the prime systems integrator for the project in 2006 and Lockheed Martin holds the JCSE Development Organisation contract.

A further two contacts, together worth $60 million, were awarded to the two companies in March this year to further develop the C2 system.

The JCSE is a cohesive and integrated series of tools which will co-ordinate major operations in the land, sea and air domains.

“JP 2030 Phase 8 is an evolutionary acquisition project that will implement the upgraded JCSE in two ‘Evolutions’, noting the third Evolution previously foreshadowed will not be progressed as a result of decisions taken in the context of the 2012- 13 budget,” Defence said. “Each Evolution consists of multiple releases: an initial release of the capability and at least one upgraded release of the capability. The two remaining Evolutions in Phase 8 will deliver five specific capabilities.”

Evolution 1

Approved in June 2009, Evolution 1 has now completed software deliveries for HQ JOC, with the final patch release being rolled out in July this year.

The evolution delivered two specific capabilities, the Joint Operations Portal (JOP) and the Joint Planning Suite (JPS). Together, the JOP & JPS form the foundation upon which operational functionality is being built.

“The Joint Operations Portal provides the foundation to JCSE, including documentation and business process management. The other JCSE capabilities will be accessed through the portal to allow collaborative operational planning with appropriate security controls,” explained Defence. “The Joint Planning Suite provides operations planning and support tools for commanders and operations.”

Evolution 2

Evolution 2 was approved in September 2011 and today all four major contracts have been let. CSC is the systems integrator and Lockheed Martin Australia holds two contracts for the development and support organisation. Thales is providing the Combat Net Radio interface.

“Release 1 is currently planned for November 2012, with further releases planned roughly six months after the previous release,” Defence said. “It will include a number of activities including refresh of hardware, part of which will take the JCSE system from a physical design to a fully virtualised design, realising cost savings over life. Release 1 will also contain a significant upgrade to the software, including an upgrade from SharePoint 2007 to 2010.”

Three specific new capabilities will be delivered by Evolution 2 and two existing capabilities delivered by Evolution 1 (JOP/ JPS) enhanced.

A Preparedness Management Information System (PMIS) will provide timely access to preparedness data and facilitate analysis of the data for integration into operational planning.

A Situational Awareness Common Operating Picture (SA-COP) will enhance the existing Common Operation Picture by integrating critical information from multiple sources to enhance and support situational awareness which is crucial to timely decision making and reporting.

A Special Operations Command Support System (SOCSS) will add capability to the existing SOCSS network to provide enhanced communications between commanders and Special Forces units out in the field. These improvements are aimed at providing accurate and critical information in a concise manner to support both the decision making and reporting processes.

The upgrades and enhancements to JP and JPS will be further extended to incorporate additional functionality.

Evolution 3

Evolution 3 had been planned to deliver three further capabilities, but the reductions in Defence spending in the recent federal budget has deleted these.

“The third Evolution previously foreshadowed will not be progressed as a result of decisions taken in the context of the 2012-13 budget,” a Defence Spokesperson told ADM.

The capabilities foreshadowed by Evolution 3 included an enhanced Air Command Support System (ACSS), Geospatial Tools (to be acquired in conjunction with JP2064, the Geospatial Information Infrastructure and Services project); and Intelligence Tools, which were to be acquired in conjunction with DEF 7013 (Joint Intelligence Support System).

JP2030 Phase 9

The latest iteration of JP2030 is Phase 9, which first appeared in the 2011 version of the Defence Capability Plan.

“Phase 9 will further establish the framework for the Joint Command Support Environment that will continue to consolidate existing Command Support Systems into a single environment linking all elements of the ADF,” Defence said. “It is proposed to extend the JCSE to include Battlefield and Maritime command support requirements.”

With the introduction of the two Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships in the coming years, Phase 9 will to integrate their existing, and formidable, C2 capabilities with the JCSE.

According to the 2012 DCP, First Pass Approval will occur in the 2014-2016 timeframe, with a Year Of Decision to follow two years later. Initial Operating Capability has been planned for around 2020, by which time the two LHDs will have been in service for a couple of years.

Defence says that, whilst many of the products will be Commercial or Military Off The Shelf items, Australian industry will be invited to supply Information Management Systems architecture and software development.

“A key aspect of this project will be the integration of products into the Defence Information Environment,” says Defence. “The acquisition strategy may be evolutionary, in which successive upgrades will add to functionality.”