Saturday, June 03, 2017

A Cyberclusterfuck

You know how upset you get when you lose your Internet connections and can't check Twitter? Imagine the Army being unable to use the Internet.

Good grief, who screwed the pooch on this one?

The Army’s chief of staff told lawmakers Thursday he’s not convinced the service’s troubled Warfighter Information Network-Tactical will survive the rigors of combat.

WIN-T was part of the Army’s Future Combat Systems effort in 2003. After FCS was canceled in 2009, the service tried to salvage the program as part of an effort to create secure battlefield communications for mounted forces on the move — an effort led by General Dynamics Corp. and that has cost about $6 billion.

Thanks General Dynamics!

The whole premise of my article on virtual squads requires a successful, robust, and survivable battlefield Internet.

Indeed, I mentioned WIN-T in the article! And now I find that it is a pile of steaming waste?

At least it has drawn Congressional attention. The Army needs something that works just for what it needs to do now, let alone future projects that could include something like virtual squads.

UPDATE: This writer defends WIN-T. Is this normal development that shouldn't be stopped just to start over on a vitally needed capability?

I lack the knowledge to judge the competing claims.