Critics Of Army Battlefield Network Are Attacking The Wrong Target (From Forbes)

The Army’s Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) has been taking heat recently for problems that exist elsewhere in the tactical network.  A recent study by the Institute for Defense Analyses has identified serious vulnerabilities and performance shortfalls in the network, but those problems are concentrated mainly in the handheld and manpack radios that comprise the Army’s lower tactical internet used by small units and individual soldiers.  WIN-T, the upper tactical network,  employs a different waveform and largely meets Army requirements for a more agile and survivable battlefield command system. Rather than criticizing the part of the network that actually works, critics need to focus their concerns where the problems lie. Otherwise, America’s soldiers could be saddled with obsolete battlefield links for a long time to come — potentially endangering their survival and success on the battlefield. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.