Integrated Battle Command Program: Decision Support Tools for Planning and Conducting Unified Action Campaigns in Complex Contingencies

Abstract : The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the U.S. Joint Forces Command are developing transformational technologies to enhance the capability of military commanders and their civilian counterparts to plan and conduct effects-based campaigns. It is expected that, in future conflicts, Commanders and non-military leaders will need to simultaneously apply all means of National power, both military and nonmilitary, to achieve a coherent set of military and non-military effects against the adversary. The commander and leaders will need to act in multiple domains concurrently and conduct integrated and interdependent actions. The campaign plan may cover several years of effort and will consist of the objectives and actions necessary along multiple lines of effort; it will be characterized by extensive, complex interdependencies. This program is developing a tool to help construct and manage such plans and manage the large array of interdependencies. Commanders and leaders must also understand the adversary's various political, military (air, land and sea; regular or irregular), economic, social, information distribution, infrastructure, etc. systems and the complex interactions amongst these systems. The program is developing an analytical tool to help evaluate the benefits and consequences of alternative actions. Collectively, the tools will aid commanders in collaboratively visualizing the complex interdependencies in plans and the connectivity between alternative actions and effects. Two contractor teams led by BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin have developed the first version of these tools and have conducted experiments to verify and quantify the contribution of the tools when employed by command center personnel (military and civilian) in realistic (albeit simulated) environments.