Global Cyberspace Integration Center hot bench active

  • Published
  • By Capt. Larry van der Oord
  • Global Cyberspace Integration Center public affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  The Global Cyberspace Integration Center here houses an operations center that serves as a test bed or "hot bench" that assesses various software and information systems to detect potential problems before they are delivered to the field.

A team guides innovation, experimentation and sustainment support of global air, space and cyberspace capabilities from the GCIC hot bench.

In July, activities for operations center officials spanned issues such as time sensitive targeting, coalition building, precision engagement, machine-to-machine interfaces, and net-centricity.

"The hot bench's unmatched capabilities facilitated a variety of test and evaluation events this month to represent the core command and control interests of today's warfighter," said Col. Stephen Moulton, the GCIC modernization and innovation director. "During these events the GCIC hot bench employed its unique environment and teamed with joint and coalition forces to conduct events ranging from risk mitigation efforts to operational testing -- all to deliver better capabilities to the warfighter and find efficiencies in current operations."

During Integral Fire 07, a cross-service/joint event using the Air Force Integrated Collaborative Environment, GCIC hot bench members provided air tasking orders, airspace coordination orders and Air and Space Operation Center level command and control information to enable a virtual test among Air Force, Army and Marine nodes.

Hot bench officials provided a solution designed to answer an urgent request to fix an incompatibility problem between targeting software that will significantly improve our ability to conduct major combat operations. GCIC people also automated the transfer of national intelligence data from the modern improved database to the theater battle management core systems reducing the 72-hour, ATO target planning cycle by 24 hours.

Additionally, engineers upgraded the joint targeting toolbox, which is a tool for maintaining, tracking and updating the commander's objectives and guidance throughout a targeting cycle. The effort was validated, tested and fielded in five months.

GCIC hot bench members also continued development of the warplan warfighter forwarder initiative that allows an AOC to rapidly transmit targeting information directly to strike aircraft and/or net-enabled weapons. This capability will eliminate multiple manual data entries and radio calls, reduce the time to get data from the AOC into an aircraft computer, and greatly reduce the opportunity for operator input error.

Additionally, warplan warfighter forwarder will allow machine-to-machine retargeting of net-enabled weapons even after the weapon has been launched. Final proof of the concept will occur in August during the Integral Fire 07 main exercise.

"The GCIC hot bench team continues to develop and test capabilities to provide innovative solutions to fill warfighter capability gaps," Colonel Moulton said. "We are taking global precision engagement to a new level."

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