Sweden Upgrades Friendly Force Tracking Capabilities

28 Apr 2011 By GERARD O'DWYER DefenseNews

HELSINKI - Sweden's Armed Forces (SAF), in collaboration with the state defense materials procurement organization FMV, has begun installing new Friendly Force Tracking Command and Control Systems (FFT-CCS) for Swedish forces in Afghanistan that incorporate a single network linking all SAF units attached to the Afghan operation. The FFT-CCS includes a shortwave radio and IP-based telecommunications systems that improve situational awareness and give the CCS a complete picture of the location and movement of not just Swedish forces, but other troops attached to the U.N. contingent and also hostile forces. The FFT-CCS' operating platform comprises a computer to display location information, a satellite terminal and satellite antenna to transmit location and other military data, a GPS receiver, command-and-control software, and mapping software. The FFT-CCS also supports the dissemination of information and secure voice communications over long distances. "It is also possible to access and share information in real time between the different units in Afghanistan. It becomes a shared network rather than a network where each unit was an island, which was the case previously," said FMV's project leader, Jonas Gräf. The initial installations are being deployed with the SAF's mechanized battalion based in Mazar-e-Sharif, the SAF's Forward Operating Base in Camp Shibirghan and the Army Helicopter Unit stationed at the German base in Marmal outside Mazar-e-Sharif. Sweden launched a battle labs cooperation the NATO C3 Agency (NC3A) in March 2010, which included a task order from FMV under the NATO-Sweden C4I memorandum of understanding that centered on improved integration of FMV's battle laboratory into NATO's federated battle laboratories framework. The first phase of the cooperation involved NATO's Battle Laboratory Services Team instructing FMV about the Distributed Networked Battle Labs framework and the potential to develop options to support friendly force tracking and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance testing in cooperation with the NC3A.