If there’s one thing that is uppermost in the minds of most Americans post-9/11, it is military intelligence. Are we able to recognize threats and react appropriately in this changing world environment? Do we have the means to transform the way we gather intelligence and fight wars?

Dr. Roger Roberts, senior vice president of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, and Carl O’Berry, vice president of Boeing Strategic Architecture, agree that the means does exist through the use of architectures that form a sophisticated network of space, airborne, ground, and sea-based assets. The concept, called the integrated battlespace, is a growth market for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

Dr. Roberts, leads the Boeing team that is creating critical elements of the intelligence network and battlefield information system of the future. O’Berry leads the team that is developing an open architecture to enable the Global Information Grid.

“We have the vision, we understand the platforms in use today and we are running in full stride to transform today’s systems into this super network of tomorrow,” Dr. Roberts said. “The result is seamless access to information . . . anytime, anywhere . . . and the ability to rapidly act on that information. It’s a formidable task, but one that this country is up to.”

To illustrate the seamless environment and the effect on decision-making capabilities, O’Berry’s group developed the Boeing Integration Center (BIC). The BIC is an advanced and interactive modeling and simulation tool that demonstrates the possibilities and effectiveness of network-centric operations.

Information management on the battlefield, in the air or on ships at sea, is critical. The integrated battlespace could be in place in 10 years, Dr. Roberts said. Several key programs are in place that will lay the foundation for this networked system. The company is designing and building the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Gapfiller satellites which use on-board digital signal processing to generate highly flexible, reconfigurable communications satellites. Boeing is also developing laser communications technologies that, similar to fiber optics on the ground, will increase space communications bandwidths by factors of 10.

Also, Boeing won several strategic contracts in recent months, including the U.S. Army’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 1, a specialized radio system that, using programmable software, is able to route battlefield communications from one radio to another; the U.S. Air Force’s Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T), which will enable wideband information to be transmitted between satellites and aircraft; and the U.S Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS), a program that marks the first major use of a network for future land combat and will establish network-based architectures for future systems in other areas of the military.

“Simply stated, it’s the systems engineering of this network that will create the integrated battlespace,” Dr. Roberts said. “And, as the world’s leading systems integrator, that is precisely what Boeing brings to this endeavor.”