GeoIntelligence March April 2015

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RNI NO. UPENG/2011/37063 ` 100 US$ 10ISSN 2277 – 3126

Architecture for Internal

Security Decision SupportSystem

| P.21

Aircraft Recognition

Training Using 3D TerrainModels | P. 35



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GIS Adoption: An IndianPerspectiveSpatial data is of crucial importanceto the Military Commander in thebattle and for decision-maker planningoperational contingencies

Brig Arun Sahgal (Retd)

Pg 32

Aircraft Recognition TrainingUsing 3D Terrain ModelsAircraft recognition training is essentialfor every soldier in air defenceBrig SC Sharma (Retd)

Pg 35

Interview

Chairman MP Narayanan

Publisher Sanjay Kumar

Managing Editor Lt Gen (Dr) AKS Chandele (Retd)

Executive Editor Bhanu Rekha

Product Manager Kushagra Agrawal

Sub Editor Sanskriti Shukla

Senior Designer Debjyoti Mukherjee

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Circulation Executive Vijay Kumar Singh

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REGULAR SECTIONS

Editorial........................................05

News..............................................06

Events............................................42

Guest Articles

India’s National Security Voidsin Geospatial AppsGeospatial information is a crucialcomponent for efficient threat analysis,response to and recovery from naturaldisasters and promoting rapid sharing ofcritical information

Lt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant (Retd)

Pg 18

Architecture for InternalSecurity Decision SupportSystemOpening up of automated informationservices on internal security matterscould be the harbinger of the proposedinternal security mechanism that woulddefeat a threat gaining ground acrossthe country

Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee (Retd)

Pg 21

Defining Learning Patternsin Geographical InformationSystemsConcept Definition Fomula (CDF), InputProcessing Output (IPO), Model ViewController (MVC) and Data InformationKnowedge Decision (DIKD) are someof the fundamental learning patternsexhibited by Geographic InformationSystems (GIS). And the effectiveness ofthese learning patterns are exhibitedand exercised by GIS in different forms

Narayan Panigrahi

Pg 26

C o v e r i m a g e : S wi s s F e d e r a l o f fi c e o f t o p o g r a ph y

David Belton, General Manager,Geospatial Services, MacDonald, Dettwilerand Associates Ltd (MDA)

Pg 39

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Despite the phenomenal progress made in Information Technology and

Military Engineering in the past few decades, the adoption of geospatial

technologies by armed forces globally has been rather slow due to the

numerous challenges faced.

One of the major challenges faced is the cost and complexity of geospatial

solutions. In an era of diminishing defence budgets, this transformation is usually

given lesser importance. The complexity of such systems adds to the resistance to

change. Then, there is a difcult choice of whether to upgrade legacy systems or

to procure new ones, obviously at a much higher cost. Whatever the choice, there

will be the need to ensure interoperability between the new and the legacy systems.

This interoperability must be across all functional levels as also between differentservices, i.e., Army, Navy, Air Force and Para Military and Central Armed Police

Forces, and also joint standards, to enable successful joint operations. Apart from

the high cost of the systems themselves is the issue of availability and access and

the high cost of remote sensing data. Then there is the issue of storage of a huge

amount of data and ensuring its reliability and security. The industry is more

than ready with latest dedicated geospatial solutions, but there is a problem of

holding the attention of decision makers. And, to add to their woes is the ever so

complicated procurement process. Therefore, the time taken between the choice of

a geospatial product to its nal implementation is usually a long one.

The current global spectrum of conict encompasses sub conventional

operations, low intensity conicts, counter terrorism operations,aerospace, maritime and amphibious operations and recently anti

satellite (ASAT) operations. In such a scenario, the need for being

network-enabled is not a choice, but a dire necessity. In such a

distributed operational environment, both in time and space with

multiple stakeholders, the need for network centricity was never as

pressing as it is now. Geographical systems are the facilitators which

ensure the networking and net-centricity would not be feasible without

GIS support.

Analysts and political, military and industry leaders of most developing

nations understand the need for transformation and the challenges in the

adoption of geospatial technologies. The roadmap and timelines mayvary, but a lot will depend on the leadership’s resolve and commitment

in preparing and sticking to a comprehensive plan for transformation.

For any developing nation to pursue its goal towards this transformation,

the government must be an active and constructive partner and come

out with adequate budgets and supporting policies that help to shorten

procurement cycles and adopt capabilities based acquisition. It may take

a decade or two before the geospatial concepts are fully realised, but

certainly it is in the nature of any transformation that the process will

never be complete.`

E d

i t o r i

a l Adoption of Geospatial Technologies

Will Enhance Combat Potential

Lt Gen (Dr) AKS Chandele PVSM, AVSM (Retd)

Managing Editor

[email protected]

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Sikorsky Wins Contract for ALIAS ProgrammeDefense Advanced Research Projects

Agency (DARPA) has awarded

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. a USD 8 million

contract for Phase 1 of the Aircrew

Labor In-Cockpit Automation System

(ALIAS) programme.

Te objective of DARPA’s ALIAS

programme is to develop and insert

new automation into existing aircraft

to enable operation with reduced on-board crew. Te programme seeks to

leverage the considerable advances

that have been made in aircraft auto-

mation systems, including progress

made in remotely piloted aircraft, to

help reduce pilot workload, augment

mission performance, and improve

aircraft safety. Sikorsky’s approach to

ALIAS is based on its Matrix echnol-

ogy to develop, test and field systems

and software that improve significant-

ly the capability, reliability and safetyof flight for autonomous, optionally pi-

loted, and piloted vertical take-off and

landing (VOL) aircraft. Matrix aims

to give rotary and fixed-wing aircraft

the high level of system intelligence

needed to complete complex missions

with minimal human oversight.

According to the company’s press

release, Sikorsky Innovations, along

with its teammates – the United ech-nologies Research Center, the Nation-

al Robotics Engineering Center, and

Veloxiti, Inc. – plan to demonstrate

the value of applying autonomous

technology across different aircraft

consistent with the ALIAS vision,

including the Black Hawk helicopter

and other aircraft in the Department

of Defense fleet.

Stryker Brigades Receive

GD-built WIN-T Increment 2Te US Army is fielding the General

Dynamics-built Warfighter Informa-

tion Network – actical (WIN-) In-

crement 2 to the 2nd Stryker Brigade

Combat eam, 2nd Infantry Division

(2/2 SBC). Te WIN- Increment

2 secure communications network

backbone is also fielded to 12 infan-

try Brigade Combat eams (BC) and

four division headquarters.

According to Chris Marzilli,

President of General DynamicsMission Systems, fielding WIN-

Increment 2 to Army Stryker Brigades

closes the communications gap be-

tween fast moving SBCs and ‘boots

on the ground’ soldiers. Te highly

mobile and operationally simplified

Increment 2 allows soldiers to quick-

ly and simultaneously address mul-

tiple missions in any environment,

across the mission field or between

continents. WIN- is supposedly the

Army’s top-tier, mobile command and

control system that connects and pro-

tects voice and data communications

to support the full spectrum of Army

operations worldwide.

Milestones in Satellite

Terminal Upgrades AchievedRaytheon Company has completed a

number of design and development

milestones for a nuclear-hardened

command and control system, one

year after receiving a USD 134 million

US Air Force contract to provide se-

cure communications between the

president, senior military leaders and

the bomber fleet.

Te programme to upgrade the

satellite terminals for the protected

communications network has passedsystem requirements and preliminary

design reviews. Te upgrade will mark

the first time that the bomber fleet air

bases have access to the Advanced

Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)

satellites, which will provide secure,

protected communications.

Cubic Wins USD 65 MillionCTCs Contract From US Army Cubic Corporation has won a contract

valued at more than USD 65 millionfor two Combat raining Centers

(CCs) from an undisclosed Middle

East Army customer to include US

Army versions of I-MILES actical

Vehicle System (I-MILES VS),

Instrumented-Multiple Integrated

Laser Engagement System Individual

Weapon Systems (I-MILES IWS) and

the VS adapter kit to enable simula-

tion of combat vehicles. Te solutions

will enhance the training capability by

providing state-of-the art actical En-

VTOL Aircraft.

Courtesy: Science museum



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LM to Support US Navy’s Intelligence Sharing SolutionLockheed Martin is planning

to support the Navy systemthat allows secure sharing of

sensitive data between un-

classified and classified se-

curity domains. Te US Navy

recently awarded Lockheed

Martin two contracts with a

total ceiling value of USD 90

million to support the Radiant Mercury cross domain solution for five years.

While guarding classified data from unauthorised access, the system simul-

taneously allows those with the appropriate security classification to retrieve

sensitive and critical information. Radiant Mercury supports simultaneous

data flows to hundreds of channels, interfaces with most major C4ISR sys-tems, and supports most transport, network and data link protocols.

Used by both US and allied partners at more than 400 sites worldwide, Ra-

diant Mercury has streamlined the process of sharing critical operational and

intelligence information with coalition forces. Radiant Mercury is believed to

be compliant with the Intelligence Community Directive 503 policy, which

protects sensitive compartmented information within information systems.

It is also approved for both top secret and secret interoperability by the Uni-

fied Cross Domain Services Management Office, which lists systems verified

to transfer Department of Defence and intelligence community informa-

tion between multiple security domains with limited risk. Radiant Mercury

is available on the US General Services Administration schedule of products

and services.

NEWSgagement Simulation (ES) systems,

an advanced data collection system

for video, voice and other training

data that is not currently available in

the region.

According to a spokesperson from

Cubic, CC solutions enable com-

manders and soldiers to rehearsecombat skills and tactics, and learn

safely in a live battlefield setting. Tese

devices are used during live force-on-

force training, and provide the critical

real-time digital, audio and video data

feedback for forces to achieve and sus-

tain mission readiness. Cubic’s MILES

solutions enable small and large group

training from a custom squadron to a

battalion. Te systems are also believed

to be compatible with legacy equip-

ment, ensuring previous investmentsare preserved and long term cost of

ownership is lowered. I-MILES IWS

uses laser emitters that attach to mili-

tary weapons and on-body sensors to

replicate combat and records data for

a review. I-MILES VS, the vehicular

adaptation of Cubic’s man-worn Indi-

vidual Weapons System, equip tactical

vehicles with lasers, sensors and elec-

tronics. Te I-MILES VS solution will

also include Cubic’s ‘Shooter’ CVS kit

to enable superior weapon simulation

and casualty assessment accuracy for

vehicles and fixed structure.

USC Receives GEOINT AccreditationTe United States Geospatial Intelli-

gence Foundation (USGIF) has recentlyannounced the online graduate certifi-

cate in geospatial intelligence from the

Spatial Sciences Institute (SSI) at the

University of Southern California (USC)

as the 12th collegiate programme to re-

ceive USGIF accreditation.

SSI, launched in 2010, now offers

students a variety of undergraduate

and graduate programs in geodesign,

geospatial intelligence, geospatial

leadership, geohealth, spatial studies,

and geographic information science

and technology. Students completing

the SSI’s online graduate certificatein geospatial intelligence are also el-

igible to receive a USGIF GEOIN

certificate. Students who graduate

from USGIF-accredited programmes

receive—along with their accompa-

nying college degree or certificate—

USGIF’s GEOIN certificate, which

I-MILES Tactical Vehicle System. Courtesy:

Peostri army

Intelligence sharing solution.

Courtesy: Global military



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Raytheon Unveils Extended Range AMRAAMRaytheon Company has

recently started developing

an extended range variant of

the combat-proven Advanced

Medium Range Air to Air

Missile (AMRAAM). Designed

specifically for ground-based

air defense, AMRAAM-ER will

enable intercepts at longerrange and higher altitudes.

Te new missile will be even faster and more maneuverable than the current

AMRAAM. By leveraging many existing AMRAAM components, Raytheon can

deliver AMRAAM-ER quickly and affordably with very low risk, claims Mike

Jarrett, Raytheon Vice President of Air Warfare Systems. Raytheon will integrate

AMRAAM-ER into the NASAMS launcher.

According to a spokesperson from the company, NASAMS is the latest

and most modern Medium Range Air Defense system. In partnership with

KONGSBERG, Raytheon has delivered more than 70 fire units to seven coun-

tries. It is the most commonly used Short and Medium Range Air Defense Sys-

tem in NAO.

helps ensure the GEOIN Community

has a robust workforce. o date, more

than 470 students have graduated

with USGIF GEOIN certificates from

accredited schools across the United

States, and several more universityprogrammes are in the pipeline.

According to Dr. Maxwell Baber,

USGIF’s Director of academic pro-

grammes, the new online geospatial

intelligence programme, provides an

option for current and aspiring GEO-

IN analysts working to advance their

professional capabilities.

Maritime Test Bed Help C4ICapability Gaps

Lockheed Martin has recentlydemonstrated how Maritime est Bed

can help the US Navy accelerate the

fielding of various sensor intelligence

capabilities in the maritime and joint

warfighting environments. According

to the company’s press release, the

goal of the demonstration was to

show how the test bed can bring sig-

nificant improvements in advanced

sensing, data integration, decision

support, electromagnetic support op-

erations, enhanced targeting and firecontrol and non-kinetic fires. Tese

areas were defined as capability gaps

in the Acquisition Gaps for Science &

echnology memorandum, which was

released by the Navy’s Programme

Executive Office for Command,

Control, Communications, Comput-ers and Intelligence (PEO C4I).

Using data fusion, workflow

automation, and electromagnetic

visualisation tools, the test bed ingest-

ed various types of simulated radar,

communications and signals intel-

ligence then depicted the emerging

tactical situation. Mimicking sea and

ashore naval environments, the test

bed expedited the entire intelligence

cycle from the initial intercept of the

signals through the sharing of a fusedtactical picture across multiple naval

platforms to combat identification

which can be used directly by combat

systems to determine an appropriate

kinetic or non-kinetic response.

Former Director of NGA Joinsthe UrtheCast BoardUrtheCast Corp. has appointed Letitia

Long, former director of the US

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agen-

cy (NGA), to its Board of Directors. It isbelieved that Ms. Long brings exten-

sive experience in the intelligence and

technology industries, most recently

serving as the fifth Director of the Na-

tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

(NGA) from 2010 to 2014. During hertenure at NGA, she led efforts to estab-

lish the agency’s first ‘Map of the World’,

for intelligence users. Under her guid-

ance, NGA became the first US agency

to adopt open-source software devel-

opment to deliver its software to first

responders for collaboration, during

and after natural disasters. Prior to her

appointment to NGA, Ms. Long served

as the Deputy Director of the Defense

Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 2006

until 2010. Among other professional

achievements, Ms. Long has been

the recipient of the Department of

Defense Medal for Distinguished

Civilian Service, the Presidential Rank

Award of Distinguished Executive, the

Navy Distinguished Civilian Service

Award, the Presidential Rank Award of

Meritorious Executive (two awards) and

the National Intelligence Distinguished

Service Medal (three awards). In 2011,

she received the Charlie Allen Award forDistinguished Intelligence Service from

the Armed Forces Communications and

Electronics Association, was decorated

with the Medal of Merit by the King of

Norway, and was appointed to the rank

of Chevalier in the National Order of

the Legion of Honor of France. She was

also named one of the Most Powerful

Women in the D.C. Metro area by Wash-

ingtonian magazine in 2013 and was

honored with a 2014 Federal 100 Award

by FCW magazine.

Former NGA Director Letitia Long.

Courtesy: NGA

Raytheon’s AMRAAM.

Courtesy: Raytheon



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Esri Cloud DeploymentEnables Information SharingLockheed Martin and Esri have

deployed commercial software to the

Amazon Web Services Commercial

Cloud Services (C2S) environment withan intelligence community customer,

the National Geospatial-Intelligence

Agency (NGA), in a move that enables

government agencies to better share

geospatial intelligence.

A detailed press release by

Lockheed Martin reveals that the

deployment of the portal for Esri’s

ArcGIS provides a single environment

for analysts to securely organise and

share data throughout the intelligence

community and Department of De-

fense. It’s also the foundational stepin consolidating multiple geospatial

intelligence portals into the single

NGA-provided portal, resulting in

technology and license cost savings. It

is believed that ArcGIS connects users

to maps and geographic information.

Users can create and view maps, com-

pile geographic data, analyse mapped

information and share geographic in-

formation in a range of applications.

BAE to Provide CriticalReadiness Support to USTe US Army Space and Missile

Defense Command has awarded BAE

Systems a two-year contract to pro-

vide hardware, software, and systems

integration support for the Battlespace

Command and Control Center. Under

the contract, BAE Systems will perform

upgrades to mobile training suites and

provide systems and network admin-

istration support to the Non-Organic

Radar Access programme. Te work

will minimise downtime for critical

systems and enhance the ability of

warfighters to analyse and manage

the increasing amounts of data, while

shortening the processing time for

critical decision making.

Lockheed Martin BagsContract for M-TADS/PNVSLockheed Martin received a USD 82

million Performance Based Logistics

(PBL) contract from the US Army for

AH-64 Apache helicopter Modernised

arget Acquisition Designation Sight/

Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-ADS/

PNVS) system sustainment. Te con-

tract is the foundation for a compre-

hensive sustainment solution thatenables M-ADS/PNVS mission read-

iness, reduces operation and support

costs, and drives reliability and main-

tainability improvements.

During its peak operational tem-

po of more than 200,000 flying hours,

the M-ADS/PNVS PBL programme

averaged a worldwide supply avail-

ability rate of 98 percent, increasing

mission readiness for the aircrew, says

Rob Breter, Apache PBL Senior Pro-

gramme Manager at Lockheed MartinMissiles and Fire Control. M-ADS/

PNVS provides Apache helicopter pi-

lots long-range, precision engagement

and pilotage capabilities for mission

success and flight safety day or night,

or in adverse weather conditions.

Forward-looking infrared sensors

provide enhanced image resolution

that enables Apache aircrews to pros-

ecute targets and provide situational

awareness in support of ground troops

outside detection ranges. Lockheed

Martin has delivered more than 1,300

M-ADS/PNVS systems to the US

Army and international customers.

Leidos Awarded USD 46Million Contract by US Army Leidos has won a task order by the

US Army to provide mission support

services to the Communications-Elec-

tronics Research, Development and

Engineering Center (CERDEC) Proto-

typing Integration and esting (PI&)

Directorate. Te task order was award-

ed under the Rapid Prototyping and

echnology Insertion (RPI) Support

Contract. According to the company’s press

release, CERDEC advances soldier

capabilities that enable situational

awareness and understanding, estab-

lish and secure communications, and

protect Soldiers from surprise attack.

CP&I provides engineering design,

consultation and expert support ser-

vices for Command, Control, Com-

munications, Computers, Intelligence,

Surveillance and Reconnaissance

(C4ISR) platform systems integrationincluding design, fabrication, installa-

tion, integration, environmental test-

ing and fielding support. Under the

task order, Leidos will provide support

services including research, develop-

ment, engineering, design, purchas-

ing, fabrication, integration, testing,

logistics support, and shipping related

to the integration of mission equip-

ment into a Metrology System, and

related project efforts to support the

USMC MDE test, repair, and calibra-tion mission. Te tactical Metrology

Systems provide test, repair and cali-

bration of est, Measurement and Di-

agnostics Equipment (MDE) to sup-

port safety and mission effectiveness.

Boeing Readies Marine Pilotsfor High-Profile MissionTe V-22 team of Bell Helicopter and

Boeing recently delivered two MV-22

Osprey flight training simulators to

the HMX-1 Presidential Airlift Squad-

M-TADS/PNVS system.

Courtesy: Lockheed Martin



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DRS Technologies to Upgrade EW E/A-18 MissionDRS echnologies has won access to an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quan-

tity contract for the production and delivery of up to 180 Joint actical

erminal-Receivers (J-R) for US Navy and Australian EA-18G aircraft.

Te contract is valued up to USD 12 million and will include J-R

production engineering, test set racks, fixtures and tooling. Te J-R is an

ultra-high-frequency receiver that provides near real-time, over the horizon

threat data for situational awareness and assessment, threat avoidance,

targeting, mission planning and communications.Te contract combines purchases for the US Navy and the government of

Australia, under the Foreign Military

Sales programme. Te Naval Surface

Warfare Center, Crane Division, in In-

diana is the contracting agency. Te

US Navy’s EA-18G ‘Growler’ is a variant

of the combat-proven F/A-18F Super

Hornet Block II that conducts Airborne

Electronic Attack (AEA) missions.

ron, enabling Marine aviators to more

efficiently train for their critical and

highly-visible transport mission. With

the simulators aircrews can rehearse

missions without having to fly their

tiltrotor aircraft. Tat reduces fuel use

and wear and tear on the V-22s.

According to a spokesperson fromBoeing, Bell Boeing is also upgrading

the Marine Corps’ V-22 maintenance

training devices to mirror the latest

configuration of the actual aircraft.

Specific training aids involve the

V-22’s electronics, power plant and

emergency egress systems.

BANC3 Receives R&DContracts from US Army BANC3 has been awarded a series of

contracts to support the US Army Re-search, Development and Engineering

Command’s (RDECOM) Communica-

tions-Electronics Center (CERDEC) in

multiple research and development

projects.

Valued at USD 35 million, the con-

tracts require the company to providetechnical research, development and

engineering services related to next

generation mission-based solutions,

including the low profile displays and

light weight sensors component tech-

nology programme in the visible/near

infrared portions of the electro-mag-

netic spectrum. BANC3 will develop

small, lightweight direct/indirect view

imaging sensors, micro-display tech-

nology, advanced optics, digital image

processors, and corresponding soft-

ware and advanced laser technology,

including the small tactical optical

ranging module (SORM), the grena-

dier laser range finder II, the SORM

pre-planned product improvement

and the handheld optical augmenta-tion programme. In addition, the com-

pany will support command, control,

communications, computers, intelli-

gence, surveillance, and reconnais-

sance systems and systems integration

programmes to develop and maintain

the infrastructure that is critical to

the implementation of best-of-breed

war-fighting capabilities.

Comtech to Supply Wave

Tube AmplifiersComtech elecommunications’ sub-

sidiary, Comtech Xicom echnology

has won a USD 3.8 million follow-on

order from a US based system integra-

tor for raveling Wave ube Amplifiers

(WAs). Te WAs are for a major

US Army Satellite Communications

programme for transportable satellite

communications (SACOM) systems

providing voice, data, video confer-

encing, Internet and high resolution

video connectivity for deployed mili-tary forces.

Te WAs ordered for the Army

application are part of Comtech Xicom

echnology’s industry-leading high ef-

ficiency WA product line and repre-

sent the best technology industry has

to offer. Te units are small and light-

weight enough to be mounted directly

at the feed of medium-sized antennas

and are designed to operate over -40°C

to +60°C. Tey also incorporate up-

conversion from L-band for 1-2 GHzinput operation and SNMP-based Eth-

ernet monitor and control interfaces.

Northrop Wins US Navy’s ALMDS ContractNorthrop Grumman Corporation has

received a contract from the US Navy

for the continued production of the

AN/AES-1 Airborne Laser Mine De-

tection System (ALMDS). Te con-

tract includes the production of five

ALMDS pod subsystems, support

Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. Courtesy:

Battlefield Wikia

US Army Satellite Communication.Courtesy: Army mil

Joint Tactical Terminal-Receivers.

Courtesy: Army technology



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ULA Launches the USNavy’s MUOS-3

A United Launch Alliance (ULA)

Atlas V rocket carrying the third

Mobile User Objective System

(MUOS-3) satellite for the United

States Navy launched from Space

Launch Complex. Te MUOS-3

spacecraft will ensure continued

mission capability of the existingUltra High Frequency Satellite

Communications system that will

provide improved and assured

mobile communications to the

warfighter.

Jim Sponnick, Vice President,

Atlas and Delta Programmes, ULA,

has revealed that the MUOS-3

spacecraft is the heaviest payload

to launch atop an Atlas V launch

vehicle. Te mission was launched

aboard an Atlas V EvolvedExpendable Launch Vehicle (EELV)

551 configuration vehicle, which

includes a 5 m diameter payload

fairing along with five Aerojet

Rocketdyne solid rocket motors at-

tached to the Atlas booster. MUOS

is a next-generation narrowband

tactical satellite communications

system designed to significant-

ly improve ground communica-

tions to US forces on the move and

around the globe.

equipment, spares, and technical sup-

port. Te ALMDS is mounted on an

MH-60S helicopter. Flying over sea

lanes, it finds and geolocates mine-

like objects with its pulsed laser light

and streak tube receivers by imaging,in 3-D, day or night, the near-surface

of the ocean.

According to Doug Shaffer, Direc-

tor, electronic attack/maritime systems

integration, Northrop Grumman Aero-

space Systems, the airborne sensor has

the capability to keep sailors out of the

minefield and Northrop is producing it

while reducing the per-pod price over

previous buys that helps enable the

Navy to meet their cost targets.

SFS Wins US Navy C4ISRSystems Task OrdersSalient Federal Solutions (SFS) has re-

ceived awards for three task orders, from

the Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR)

Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific)

raining Development Support Center

(DSC). Te task orders were awarded

under the SPAWAR C4ISR raining Sup-

port Contract. Te contract supports the

US Navy Command, Control, Commu-

nications, Computers, Intelligence, Sur- veillance, and Reconnaissance (C4IS-

R)’s networks and systems.

Te SPAWAR Pacific, raining De-

velopment Support Center, is the Na-

vy’s Acquisition Commands raining

Support Activity specialists. With this

contract, Salient broadens its training

delivery footprint for US Navy custom-

ers that are looking to improve efficien-

cy and readiness of their programmes

of record. Under these task orders,

Salient will provide training analyses,curriculum development, conducting

an Analysis of Alternatives and Design

Analysis for the Virtual raining Envi-

ronment Project, and creating a rain-

ing Situation Analysis Report for a ma-

jor Navy shipboard network.

Thales to Support UH-60LCockpit UpgradeTales has been awarded a contract

to support Northrop Grumman in the

US Army’s UH-60L Black Hawk cock-

pit upgrade programme. Te company

will supply its i-FMS200 flight man-

agement system software to Northrop

for integration into the avionics mis-

sion equipment package being de-

veloped for the modernisation of theUH-60L cockpit. Te upgraded version

of the Black Hawk helicopter will be

designated as UH-60V.

In addition to i-FMS200, Tales will

also supply the civilian-certified OP

Star 200 GPS system, which is expect-

ed to upgrade more than 750 helicop-

ters under the UH-60V programme.

Designed to replicate the newer UH-

60M pilot-vehicle interface, Northrop’s

next-generation digital cockpit solution

features a centralised processor with

a partitioned, modular operationalflight programme with an integrated

architecture that offers new capabilities

through software-only solutions rather

than hardware additions.

Raytheon AcquiresTucson-based SensintelRaytheon Company has acquired pri-

vately-held Sensintel, provider of un-

manned aircraft systems (UAS) solu-

tions to the intelligence and special

operations markets. Located in ucson,Sensintel will become part of Raytheon

Company’s Missile Systems business.

Dr aylor W Lawrence, President, Ray-

theon Missile Systems, believes that

Sensintel’s expertise in unmanned air-

craft systems solutions makes it a natu-

ral fit with Raytheon’s Advanced Missile

Systems product line. Te acquisition

of Sensintel enhances the growth pros-

pects of Raytheon’s UAS business and

the advanced capabilities that they can

offer to their customers. According to

Black Hawk aircraft. Courtesy:

War2hobby

MUOS satellite. Courtesy: ULA



1 2 |


5

a spokesperson from Raytheon, Sen-

sintel brings additional strong talent,

technology, and relationships with the

Special Operations Command (SO-

COM), Office of Naval Research and US

Air Force Research Laboratory to Ray-

theon and its customers. Te compa-ny claims to be a leader in expendable

remote sensing and UAS engineering,

serving both government and com-

mercial customers by optimising and

integrating mission-specific sensors

and sub-systems into manned and

unmanned platforms. It also provides

training, technical and operational

support to military, scientific and com-

mercial sectors.

Northrop Performs CyberReadiness InspectionNorthrop Grumman Corporation pro-

vided invaluable assistance for the US

Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Excel-

lent rating from the Command Cyber

Readiness Inspection (CCRI) conduct-

ed on the Missile Defense Integration

and Operations Center (MDIOC) net-

works at Schriever Air Force Base. Te

CCRI evaluates a site’s compliance with

information assurance and network de-

raining and Education Command

(ECOM)

Dave Barile, Project Manager,

Battelle National Security, believes

that Battelle and GISi provide a unique

combination of geographic informa-

tion systems expertise, systems andsoftware engineering, and a thorough

understanding of aircraft and weap-

on characteristics, that combine with

military training experience. RMK is

a suite of tools and a software appli-

cation designed to help military per-

sonnel conduct rigorous and frequent

training exercises. Currently used by

military training managers, RMK is

a suite of tools and a software appli-

cation designed to help military per-

sonnel conduct rigorous and frequenttraining exercises. It enables operators

to train for the employment of direct

and indirect-fire weapons systems

such as machine guns, field artillery

and mortars, in addition to dropping

bombs or shooting guns, rockets and

missiles from aircraft and helicopters.

MUOS-3 Satellite Respondsto CommandsTe third Mobile User Objective System

(MUOS-3) satellite built by LockheedMartin for the US Navy is now respond-

ing to commands after being launched.

An initialisation team, led by the com-

pany, is operating the MUOS-3 satel-

lite from the Naval Satellite Operations

Center located at the Naval Base Ventu-

ra County, Point Mugu, California.

A company press release reveals

that the satellite constellation operates

like a smart phone network in the sky,

vastly improving current secure mobile

satellite communications for warfight-ers on the move. Unlike previous sys-

tems, MUOS provides users an on-de-

mand, beyond-line-of-sight capability

to transmit and receive high-quality,

prioritised voice and mission data, on

a high-speed Internet Protocol-based

system. MUOS is the Navy’s next

generation secure mobile satellite com-

munications system which will eventu-

ally replace the legacy Ultra High Fre-

quency (UHF) Follow-On system.

fense policies and configuration stand-

ards for technologies as dictated by the

Department of Defense (DOD) security

technical implementation guide.

Te CCRI is a five-day comprehen-

sive, graded inspection involving all

cybersecurity areas including physicalsecurity, administration, training, net-

work configuration, network operations,

organisational culture and leadership

management. Te MDIOC is the US

DOD’s premier missile defense center

for integration, deployment and op-

eration of the nation’s ballistic missile

defense system (BMDS). As the MDA’s

prime contractor at the center, Northrop

Grumman leads a world-class team to

conduct BMDS-level modelling and

simulation, ground and flight tests, wargames, exercises, mission-critical oper-

ations and related analysis.

GISi Provide Military TrainersRange Managers Tool KitBattelle and Geographic Information

Systems (GISi) have been awarded a

contract for the development and sus-

tainment of the US military’s range

managers tool kit (RMK). Te con-

tract awarded by the US Marine Corps

Saab Produces Sub-Systems for Marine Corps Radar Saab Defense and Security has

been awarded a contract from

Northrop Grumman Corpo-

ration for components and

subsystems of the US Marine

Corps AN/PS-80 Ground/

Air ask Oriented Radar (G/

AOR) system. Te order value

of the contract is USD 32 mil-

lion. G/AOR will provide theUS Marine Corps with a single

radar type that performs air

surveillance, air defence, ground weapon locating and air traffic control mis-

sions. It is the first ground-based multi-mission active electronically scanned

array (AESA) radar to be developed by the US Department of Defense.

Te contract awarded by Northrop Grumman Corporation, prime contractor

to the US Marine Corps for the G/AOR programme, covers the delivery of

major subsystems and assemblies, as well as software, for the first four Low

Rate Initial Production (LRIP) units. Te Saab developed and built assemblies

will be integrated by Northrop Grumman into the Lot 1 G/AOR systems

which will be delivered to the US Marine Corps in 2016-2017.

AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Orient-

ed Radar (G/ATOR) system. Courtesy:

Defense daily.



1 3 |


Indian GovernmentIncreases Defence Budgetfor 2015-2016Indian Government has increased

the defence budget to Rs 2.46

trillion (approx. USD 40 billion) forthe next fiscal year as compared

to the revised estimates of Rs 2.22

trillion for 2014-15, in an attempt

to push ‘Make in India’ initiative

to curtail overdependence on im-

ports. Finance Minister of India,

has revealed their plans to pursue ’Make in India’ policy to achieve greater

self-sufficiency in the area of defense equipment.

It is believed that India has become the world’s biggest arms importer

in recent years as it attempts to build up its military to deal with tensions

with Pakistan and the growing military strength of China. India plans to cut

its outlay toward new aircraft and engines for the Indian Air Force to Rs 189billion for the coming fiscal year. FM has allocated around Rs 160 billion for

the navy to upgrade its fleet. Te Defence Ministry has also approved the

acquisition of 12 mine sweeping vessels for the Indian Navy estimated at Rs

32,000 crore along with a slew of other purchases.

Two Consortiums Selectedfor BMS Pilot ProjectIndian Ministry of Defence

(MoD) has selected BEL-Rolta

Consortium as a Development Agen-

cy for the Battlefield Management

System (BMS) project worth over

Rs 50,000 crore.

According to a spokesperson from

Rolta, BMS is a situational awareness

and visualisation system that aims tooptimise the operational effectiveness

of tactical units. BEL has established

the test bed of BMS for continuous

evaluation and implementation of

user requirements. As a part of the

consortium, Rolta will execute its role

and responsibility in areas of BMS ap-

plication software development and

applicable licensing, GIS software and

GIS data services. Rolta will also joint-

ly work with BEL for manufacturing

subsystems for the soldier system, theoverall system design, integration, in-

stallation, commissioning and main-

tenance of the BMS solution.

Meanwhile, ata Power has an-

nounced that its strategic engineering

division (SED), in consortium with

Larsen & oubro, has been selected

as one of the down-selected develop-

ment agencies for MoD’s ‘Make’ pro-

gramme. According to a spokesperson

from AA Power, the down-selection

of ata Power SED-L& consorti-um will enable it to participate in the

prototype development phase of the

‘Make’ programme followed by a pro-

duction order, which will be decided

by the MoD after successful comple-

tion of the prototype.

Raytheon to Supply TALONRockets in UAERaytheon Company and NIMR

Automotive, part of the Emirates De-

fence Industries Company (EDIC), are

collaborating to equip NIMR armored

vehicles with ALON Laser Guided

Rockets. Using the Raytheon remote

weapons station, each vehicle will

carry 16 ALON LGRs.

Te RWS enables ALON to be

fired from both stationary and mov-ing vehicles, while an elevated sensor/

designator enables the ALON to be

fired from concealed positions ensur-

ing lethality and survivability for the

ground vehicle. Te NIMR 6x6 tactical

platform is believed to provide a range

of modular system integration to sup-

port a full range of missions including

armed reconnaissance, infrastructure

defence, defensive fire suppression

and border security. It can also sup-

port rapidly advancing infantry. Te

mobile and fixed firing modes en-

hance the vehicle’s effectiveness and

provide a significant advantage over

existing heavy artillery.

BEL Gets Permission for UsingDiesel Gensets in 3D RadarsTe Environment Ministry of India has

exempted state-run Bharat Electronics

Ltd (BEL) from complying with emis-

sion norms for diesel gensets of 113.2

kw to be procured for manufacturing

‘3D actical Control Radar System’ for

the Indian Army. Currently, emission

limits are set for new diesel engine up

to 800 kw for generator set application

under the Environment (Protection)

rules 1986. In a recent notification, theministry revealed that BEL has been

exempted from complying with emis-

sion norms for only 20 diesel gensets

of 113.2 kw to be used in 3D actical

Control Radars System.

Te notification also reveals that

the special dispensation for the emis-

sion norms shall be only for diesel gen-

sets, not exceeding twenty in number,

to be used in 3D actical Control Ra-

dars System, with the present design or

configuration which shall be procured

ASIA PACIFIC

Battlefield Management System.

Courtesy: ASD reports

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.

Courtesy: Times of india



1 4 |


5

DSTO and Airbus Group FormStrategic AllianceTe Defence Science and echnology

Organisation (DSO) has formed a new

strategic alliance with Airbus Group Australia Pacific Ltd (AGAP). Te

agreement was signed in an inaugural

alliance management committee

meeting during the Australian

International Air Show at Avalon. Te alliance will see the two organisations

work closely together on a range of research and development projects

related to aerospace defence technologies. It will facilitate collaboration

between DSO and the Airbus Group in defence aircraft systems (including

helicopters) and communications. Initially it will focus on maximising the

capability of ADF aerospace fleets throughout their service life, and on

improving communications capability

and used on or before June 30, 2015.

Te 3D actical Control Radar (CR)

is an all-weather 3D surveillance radar

used in Indian Army for detection and

identification of aerial targets.

BrahMos-A Cruise MissileIntegrated on Su-30MKIIntegration of the air-based ver-

sion of the BrahMos-A supersonic

cruise missile with a fighter jet of the

Su-MKI family has been successfullycompleted in India, according to an

official at Hindustan Aeronautics

Limited (HAL) state aircraft manufac-

turing corporation.

Several key structural changes have

been introduced in the missile and the

jet over the past six to seven months,

including re-distribution of loads on

the lifting elements of the aircraft after

the bench running. First trial tests that

will make it possible to assess the re-

sults of more than two years of joint work of Russian and Indian designers

will be held in March.

HAL to Manufacture SagemProduct in IndiaHindustan Aeronautics (HAL) will

manufacture and maintain high-per-

formance navigation systems in India

under a technology transfer agree-

ment with Sagem of France.

Te Sagem’s Sigma 95N is an au-

tonomous, hybrid laser gyro iner-

tial/GPS-Glonass navigation system

that can provide navigation even in

areas without GPS signal availabili-

ty. It is deployed on Indian Air Force

and Navy combat aircraft, including

the Hawk, Jaguar, ejas, MiG-29 and

-27 and Su-30 platforms. Currently,

Sagem’s laser gyro navigation systems

are produced in the company’s Mont-

luçon plant in the Auvergne region of

south-central France. Tey are used

on the latest military aircraft in France

and worldwide, including the Das-

sault Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters,

Airbus A400M Atlas transport, and the

Airbus Helicopters NH90 and EC725

Caracal helicopters, transport and

special forces versions.

Executives from LockheedMartin Visit TLMAL Facility

A team of senior executives of global

security and aerospace Lockheed

Martin visited the ata-Lockheed

Martin Aerostructures (LMAL)

facility, Hyderabad. Led by Patrick

Dewar, Executive Vice President,

Lockheed Martin International, the

team visited the facility to inspect themilitary transport aircraft C130-Js and

tour the LMAL site.

Set up in 2012, LMAL manufac-

tures airframe components for the

global supply chain of C-130J Super

Hercules. ata Advanced Systems holds

74% stake in the JV, with Lockheed

Martin holding the remaining 26%

stake, the company said in a statement

today. “Tis is our first JV in India and it

has strengthened our relationship withthe Indian Defence customers as well

as reinforced our commitment and

partnership with Indian industry. We

are extremely pleased with the role ata

has played in ensuring that the manu-

facturing output at this facility is of top

quality and look forward to exploring

expanded opportunities for greater col-

laboration,” said Dewar.

India Clears Plan for Building

6N-submarines 7 frigatesIndian government has cleared the in-

digenous construction of seven stealth

frigates and six nuclear-powered

submarines to bolster naval power.

Defence sources have revealed that

the decision was taken recently by the

Cabinet Committee on Security.

Te decision to build the six new

submarines is part of the 30-year sub-

marine building programme cleared in

1999. Te plan is to have 24 submarines

in 30 years. Te first project was the

D S T O a n d A i r b u s f o r m S

t r a t e g i c A l l i a n c e .

C o u r t e s y : A i r b u s

Sagem’s Sigma 95N. Courtesy: Sagem

Lockheed’s C-130H Hercules.

Courtesy: Russiava



1 5 |


P75, under which six Scorpene subma-

rines are being built in India. According

to defence sources, the government has

tweaked the project under which the

CCS has taken a decision that the next

six submarines would be nuclear-pow-ered, unlike the conventional ones that

were envisaged.

AAP Government to UseGeo-Tagging For WomenTe AAP government is looking at

solutions in technology to help wom-

en caught in distress situations real

time. In the near future, women in

distress will be able to summon help

from nearby PCR van or police station

and inform family by merely opening a

smart phone-based mobile application

or pressing a set of letters on the keypad

of a simple phone.

AAP’s inhouse elecom expert

and Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri said

that the administration will use ‘geo

tagging’ technology to implement

these ideas.

Canister-based Trial of Agni-V ConductedTe Indian Defence Research and De-

velopment Organisation (DRDO), has

conducted the first canister-based trial

of the Agni-V intercontinental ballis-

tic missile (ICBM) on Wheeler Island

off the Odisha coast. Launched from

a canister mounted on a road-mobile

launcher from the integrated test range’s

launch complex-IV, the nuclear-capable

missile climbed to a height of more than

600km in its parabolic trajectory and ac-

curately hit the designated target point

in the Indian Ocean after 20 minutes.

Te missile’s parameters were

monitored by radars and electro-op-

tical systems, while the ships locatedin mid-range and at the target point

tracked the vehicle and witnessed

the final event. Te road-mobile

canister-version will enable Agni-V

to be fired from stop-to-launch with-

in a few minutes and ensure higher

reliability, longer shelf-life and re-

duced maintenance.

DRS Wins CommunicationsSystems Contract from NZ

DRS echnologies is planning toprovide tactical integrated communi-

cations systems to the New Zealand

Ministry of Defense for the Royal New

Zealand Navy’s ANZAC-class frigates.

Te subcontract includes the provi-

sion of all internal tactical and secure

voice switching systems and termi-

nals. DRS will provide its Shipboard

Integrated Communications System

(SHINCOM 3100) central switching

unit, helicopter audio distribution

system, public address server, record-er storage units, console dual screen

terminals, outdoor terminals, jackbox-

es and ancillaries, as well as the Avaya

G450 PABX phone system.

According to Steve Zuber, Vice

President and General Manager, DRS

echnologies, the programme will

allow Navies to share key interoper-

ability, technology and applications,

ensuring that SHINCOM 3100 remains

the premier internal communications

Northrop Grumman WinsUK’s Cyber Security ContractNorthrop Grumman Corporation is

among the companies that have been

awarded a contract by the governmentof the United Kingdom to provide a

range of cyber security solutions. Un-

der the contract, Northrop Grumman

will provide engineering and develop-

ment services in support of data secu-

rity and information assurance.

Northrop Grumman continues to in-

vest in UK-based cyber security capa-

bilities with new facilities in England,

where it has set up an Advanced Cyber

echnology Centre of Excellence, a

global collaboration initiative to advance high-end solutions to our cus-

tomers’ most challenging cyber prob-

lems. Te company is also investing in

the development of the next genera-

tion of cyber specialists. Te company

entered into a partnership with Cyber

Security Challenge UK under which it

has launched the youth-based cyber

defence competition CyberCenturion

in the UK aimed at building tomorrow’s

cyber workforce. Northrop Grumman

is also mentoring a diverse set of smalland medium enterprise partners and

investing in research and development

with select UK university partners.

MBDA Completes SecondTest Launch of MMP MissileMBDA has completed the second round

of testing of the medium-range missile

(MMP) at the French Defence Procure-

ment Agency’s (DGA) echniques er-

restres site in Bourges, France. Jointly

conducted by DGA, the French Army

Agni missile. Courtesy: DRDO

system for years to come. SHINCOM

3100 is supposedly the latest gener-

ation in shipboard communications

switch technology which provides re-

liable, red/black secure tactical com-

munications for Navy operators.

ANZAC-class frigates.

Courtesy: Progressive media group



1 6 |


5

and MBDA France earlier this month,

the first flight of the missile successful-

ly confirmed its enhanced accuracy in

locking onto a target hidden from view

at launch at a distance of more than

4,000 m. Conducted against a steel tar-

get positioned at an intermediate range,

the trial ensured optimal execution ofall aspects of the test, including launch,

flight trajectory and target impact, with

full conformation of the simulations.

esting was carried out in lock-on-be-

fore-launch mode (fire-and-forget),

using the missile seeker’s colour V

channel, and completes another stage

in the analysis of MMP’s deployment

envelope. Te MMP is a lightweight,

next-generation surface-attack missile

designed for destruction of both station-

ary and moving ground targets, includ-ing tanks, armoured and non-armoured

vehicles and infrastructures with mini-

mum collateral damage.

French DGA Orders Thales’s VENUS SATCOM TerminalsTales has secured a contract to

supply additional véhicules de com-

mandement nomades communiquant

par satellite (VENUS) SACOM

on-the-move terminals, as part of the

French military’s satellite-based radio

communication system (Syracuse) III

programme.

Awarded by the French Defence

Procurement Agency (DGA), the

agreement includes a further 20

ground terminals that will be in-stalled on the French Army’s VAB light

armoured vehicles, enabling com-

manders to stay in contact while on

the move in the theatre. Te SACOM

OM technology enables vehicles fit-

ted with satellite antennas to establish

and maintain a satellite link whether

they are moving or stationary. Featur-

ing standard interfaces to connect oth-

er tactical communication equipment

for higher data rates and overall avail-

ability, the terminals provide a per-

manent command communication

capability in the theatre of operations

to help address ground force require-

ments of on-the-move for information

exchange and force protection.

GE to Supply Computing

Subsystems for UK Army Awarded by General Dynamics (GD)

UK, the EURO 64 million contracts

cover the supply of a range of embed-

ded computing subsystems, including

Ethernet switches, gateway processors

and data and video servers, which is

believed to form the backbone of the

SV electronics architecture. Te Eth-

ernet switch is expected to connect

networked elements of the vehicle,

while the gateway processor provides

the GD software with the processing

capability needed to run the platform.

Data and video servers will enable the

vehicle to store and distribute vehicleand scenario data and video around

the platform and into the wider con-

nected battlefield. Te scalable, open

architecture subsystems delivered

under the contract will facilitate easy

upgrade of Scout SV vehicles during

their lifetime. Developed on a highly

adaptable and capable common base

platform, Scout SV is expected to offer

enhanced intelligence, surveillance,

protection, target acquisition and re-

connaissance capabilities, as well as ahighly effective 40mm cannon.

Airbus Defence and SpaceProvides Satellite AirtimeTe UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has

selected Airbus Defence and Space

to provide satellite airtime for air and

ground tracking of ground assets and

helicopters on a worldwide basis. Te

contract is for the provision of Iridium

Short Burst Data and Iridium Rudics

Data Minutes for the MOD’s established Asset racking System (AS), Helicopter

AS (HeAS) and Ground AS (GrAS).

Te UK AS supposedly meets Opera-

tional Command situational awareness

requirements by providing the location

of tracked ground and air assets in near

real-time. Te strategic importance of

the AS requires reliability across all of

its components including the satellite

airtime provided by Airbus Defence and

Space to transmit GPS data from assets

in the field.

SCOUT SV.

Courtesy: General Dynamics

SATCOM terminal.

Courtesy: www.tfk racoms.com

MMP missile. Courtesy: MBDA



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1 8 |

G E O I N T E L L I G E N C E

M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

NATIONAL SECURITY

National security implies

protecting a nation’s

population, economy,

critical infrastructure,

borders and prosperity in general.

In order to implement national se-

curity, there is a need to coordinate

action and exchange information

between various agencies such as

National Intelligence, Defence, Law

enforcement, Disaster Management,

First Responders and selected private

sector enterprises. In order to share

this critical information, there is a

requirement to create an enterprise

wide Geographical Information

System (GIS) with the necessary

tools. While the Forest Survey of

India has recently made a welcome

announcement on the implementationof a GIS-based Decision Support

System, this important facility has

to be extended across many other

agencies at the earliest.

Moreover, the recent tragic floods

in J&K and Assam have once again

proved the might of nature. However,

while man cannot stop the initiation

and the fury of nature, he can certainly

use technology to prevent and reduce

the loss to life and property. Just

look at how important the weatherbroadcasts have become around the

world, and how successfully people

are being evacuated time and again

from impending natural disasters

such as Hudhud and Phailin in India.

In fact the most important technology

for this purpose again revolves around

geospatial technology and GIS. If we

had a system to continuously monitor

the rise in water levels (cm accuracy

as of today) and predict the flooding

pattern (which is a standard feature of

In Geospatial Apps

India’s NationalSecurity Voids

Geospatial information is a crucial component for efficient threat

analysis, response to and recovery from natural disasters andpromoting rapid sharing of critical information

An illustration of WebGIS components.Courtesy: Esri



1 9 |


all GIS), then a large number of lives in

J&K and Assam could have been saved,

as also the relief effort prioritised

based on the time criticality of the

threat. Te lack of a suitably digitised

data base of maps for this purpose

adds to our problems. Alas, while werightfully dream of a digital India, our

efforts at the national and subordinate

levels related to efficient utilisation of

GIS for National Security, including

disaster management, are somewhat

lacking in their implementation.

WebGIS WebGIS plays a crucial role in

distributing geospatial services to

all the stakeholders implementing

the National Security mission. Teavailable data with the collecting and

analysing agencies is now shared and

converted into actionable intelligence,

which is further utilised for planning

and conduct of operations. Such

applications have been robustly

developed by various GIS firms like

Esri and BAE Systems, and are being

effectively used by many countries.

India had made a good start by

creating the National Spatial Data

Infrastructure and the National GIS,but the process seems to have been

mired in procedural tangles and got

unduly delayed. A need to coordinate

the development across various

ministries is therefore, the need of the

hour and any delay in this direction

may be costly to human lives.

Big Data Analytics A large number of smart device users

in the internationally networked

scenario have led to the so calledinformation overload. Tis data, which

largely comprises of unstructured

data of dynamic nature, is often a

warehouse of intelligence information.

Big data analytics refers to firstly

finding the dots and then connecting

them to create a multisource fusion

of intelligence. Te data is sourced

from various enterprises, social

media, sensor networks and human

geography inputs. Te threat vector is

now examined based on geospatial,temporal, behavioural and pattern

recognition techniques. Te analytics

now can be shared amongst users to

create a shared situational awareness

for undertaking preventive action.

Human Geography Human Geography is the creation of

the human footprint through the fusion

of map locations and human related

data, and differs from Physical Geog-

raphy it takes into account a dozen

themes related to people and maps the

same. Tis data is structured based on

the core themes of Human Geography

which include Demographics, Econo-

my, ransportation, Communication,

Education, Religion, Ethnicity, Health,Political Groupings, Language, Land

and Water. Tis new subject has

recently grown into prominence in

view of the large amounts of data

available from social media and

other surveys and the need to provide

actionable intelligence from the same.

An example of Human Geography

can be taken from a recent case study

of Algeria country subject to regular

terrorist attacks and extremist activity.

Locations of neighbourhoods andsentiments of populations where

violence and extremism can occur are

critical knowledge for searching and

finding radicalisation before it starts.

Tis is where foundational geospatial

data like Human Geography

Information Surveys (HGIS) assists

in gathering critical data which later

helps to identify causal factors. Teapproach adopted by them to tackle

this issue was to use a macro to micro

approach and, thereby identifying

regions where radicalised sentiments

were occurring. Tis was done by

conducting geospatial analysis models

to determine where future radical

sentiments would occur.

A similar approach was also

followed in narrowing down the

search area for the missing Malaysian

Airlines flight MH370. Te use ofPredictive Analytical tools, thus

help analysts to anticipate risk and

identify opportunities for leaders

and decision makers to focus their

limited resources.

Imagery AnalysisIn view of technological advances

in electro-optical devices, there has

been a paradigm shift in imagery

from aerial platforms such as satellites

and UAVs. Te latest imagery satellitenamed WorldView-3, which was

launched in August 2014, provides a

resolution of 31 cm. Tis comes at a

time when the US has also agreed to

WebGIS plays a crucial role in

distributing geospatial services to all

the stakeholders implementing the

National Security mission

Satellite imagesof Jammu and

Kashmir — the

region before

and after the

deluge. Courtesy:

Google’s

Crisis Map



2 0 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

NATIONAL SECURITY

The use of

Predictive

Analytical tools

helps analyststo anticipate

risk and identify

opportunities

for leaders and

decision makers

to focus their

limited resourcesLt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant, PVSM,

AVSM,VSM (Retd)[email protected]

Latest WorldView-3 satellite. Courtesy: NBC news

provide imagery upto 25 cm resolution

to other countries. Tus, imagery cap-

ture and analysis quickly fills up the

voids in digitised map data. While

the earlier generations of satellites fo-

cussed on spatial resolution, accuracy

and speed of data transfer, the new

generation of satellites are catering

for analytics wherein damage assess-

ment, sub-surface mapping and threat

responses are also being factored in

image analysis.

Need of the Hour Te way forward is to follow a two

pronged approach comprising ofinternal and external measures. Te

internal measures would be aimed at

creating the desired work culture by

adopting new automated processes

based on geospatial tools. Tis would

also involve the procurement of

hardware and software by the different

departments of the government.

External measures would be aimed

at establishing the data networks

between the different stakeholders of

National Security. Te need to lay down various policies of standardisation by

a central coordinating agency such as

the NGIS is imperative at this stage.

We all admire the use of google

maps and online services which

assist us in our daily lives. However,

while the tools are readily available,

government processes in our country

are still not taking advantage of this

extremely potent technology which

provides immense benefits for

eGovernance and National Security.

In order to establish the ‘who-where- what-when of intelligence’, the use of

GIS is inescapable. Te time for the

government to act is now!



2 1 |


Opening up of automated informationservices on internal security matters

could be the harbinger of the proposedinternal security mechanism that woulddefeat a threat gaining ground acrossthe country

O ver the recent decades,

preservation of peace and

internal stability has as-

sumed larger dimensions

on account of rise of societal conflicts

that is sustained by the rise ofindividual aspirations and coalescence

of interest groups and empowerment

of such groups with the wherewithal

for resort to force in seeking fulfilment

of their designs, many of the methods

adopted being outside the norms of

constitutionally sanctioned behaviour.

Societal conflicts, economic dis-

parities, political aspirations and ideo-

logical urges are at the roots of internal

instability. Tat is but a normal trend

in today’s world. But when uncon-stitutional intransigence that sprout

from such roots are allowed to go un-

restrained due to weaknesses in leg-

islative, law enforcement and judicial

mechanisms, that licence brings profit

to mass agitation, mob lawlessness

and group revolt – a situation which

is rather common in our everyday ex-

periences. Unless nipped in the bud,

such situations are liable to morph

into armed insurgency, which inflicts

unfathomable damage to the cause of

nationhood. Te problem is further

exacerbated by the adoption of a new

form of waging war by our external

adversaries by way of overt and covert

instigation of internal intransigence

among the anti-national forces of various motivations. It is, therefore,

imperative for the Indian state to up-

lift its internal security mechanism by

all means — physical, administrative,

fiscal and technological — and defeat

a threat, which seems to be gaining

ground all across the country.

Science of Internal Security Te state’s responsibility to control,

rationalise, and if necessary, restrain

by force, the threats to internal peaceand stability is better served when de-

mographic, dynamics, ethnic diversi-

ties, vocational interests, habitation

issues, political, religious and linguis-

tic radicalism and infrastructural con-

ditions are minutely monitored by its

internal security apparatus. Given the

cap over the nation’s resources against

rising needs of an exploding spread

of population, this is a responsibility

of extreme sensitivity and complexi-

ty. Ironically however, while anti-na-

tional intransigency is aided by open

access to technology driven facilities,

the Indian state remains languid in

harnessing scientific tools to the pur-

pose of reconciliation and control of

its incessant societal churnings, thusleaving scope for it to frequently burst

out into destabilising turmoil.

Effective grip over a diverse, heavily

populated and vast Indian hinterland

is a challenge of immense propor-

tions; it cannot be met by law, order or

intelligence mechanism that has seen

little modernisation since its inception

a century-and-a-half back.

Utilising Automation

Technology Even if we have a fairly elaborate

national information system – those

maintained by National Information

and Informatics Centres, National

Investigation Agency, State police,

Enforcement Directorate, etc. for

example — which provides extensive

inputs covering wide fields of

activities at the national, institutional

and departmental levels, the system

will remain, but will be generalist in

its composition. We also have many

INTERNAL SECURITY



2 2 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

INTERNAL SECURITY

informational data-banks which are

custom-devised by various secu-

rity agencies, but these are neither

comprehensive nor authenticated or

seamlessly integrated at the all-India

level to home on to specific inter-nal security challenges. Creating an

effective architecture for management

and articulation of a dedicated inter-

nal security information system is,

therefore, imperative for the hierarchy

of internal security of India.

Let us see how such a system may

have been conceptualised. Suppos-

edly, that system is identified as an

Internal Security Decision Support

System (ISDSS). Te role of this sys-

tem may tentatively be specified as theone which would enable the custodi-

ans of the nation’s internal security in:

• Marshalling the full range of

near-current, grass-roots information

of interest;

• Permit automated configuration

of information to respond to

intelligence queries in terms of

required range, depth and format;

• Facilitate real-time dissemination

of the output intelligence at two

distinct levels, viz, functional anddecision-making levels.

For sure the custodians as well as

main users of the ISDSS would be the

intelligence agencies, police and civil

administration, both at the Centre

as well as State levels and the static

military headquarters which are af-

filiated to various states or regions

within the country. May be at one

stage, the system might find utility in

controlling the latent threats to the

nation’s internal security — terror-ism linked contraband trade, human

trafficking and illegal money exchange

for example.

Internal Security DecisionSupport System (ISDSS)In its nascent form, the ISDSS would

constitute of three distinct information

bases, viz, the ‘Demographic

Information Base’ (DIB), ‘Geographical

Information Base’ (GIB) and the

‘Infrastructure Information Base’ (IIB).

Keeping India’s vast diversities

in mind, the information databases

would have to be created, stored and

maintained according to the principle

of ‘whole to part’, as it is followed in

case of geographical mapping. Tat isto say that the country would be sub-

divided into regions, states, districts,

sub-divisions, blocks, towns, villages,

and forested and barren areas before

drawing out a smallest standard grid-

ded module to which the information

would be tagged. For ease of recording

and retrieval of inputs, the nation’s

existing administrative divisions and

the gridding pattern followed by the

Survey of India would be a good bet

to follow. However, boundaries andscales of the ‘areas of intelligence in-

terest’ would have to be dictated not

just by administrative convenience

and geographical space respectively,

but by the criteria of sensitivity and

volume of information in the context

of internal security. In other words,

the extent of areas of interest to which

information would be decided accord-

ing to the range and density of sensi-

tive information rather than the ad-

ministrative boundaries. Similarly, thespread of these areas of intelligence

interest might consist of a fraction,

or one, or many topographical grid

squares; for best results in manipula-

tion of digitised data, the information

tagging modules may even follow dif-

ferent scales. Tus, a reconciliation of

boundaries and scales for the infor-

mation bases would be needed to se-

cure the best systemic advantage.

Once the basic gridded informa-

tion modules have been drawn, thedigitised information base may be

created, tagged and retrieved as

necessary and manipulated accord-

ing to the situation, just as it is done

while referring to digitised topograph-

ical maps. o this purpose, ‘Internal

Security Information Control Centres’(ISICC) would have to be planted at

the successive hubs of the above men-

tioned hierarchy of modules. In form,

these centres already exist; just a bit

of orientation, equipping, technical

staffing and codifying the business

rules may be needed to formalise

these into the ISDSS.

A robust communication net-

work for information recording,

advisory dissemination and retriev-

al of specifically formatted queries would have to be a part of that system.

Tis network could be similar to the

dedicated networks created by some

of the government departments as

well as private players for their purpos-

es and carried over common or joint

communication highways, though the

hierarchies and security classifications

would have to be unique. Te existing

countrywide data network system may

be built upon for this purpose.

Build Up of ISDSSMuch of the pattern discussed

above is already in place with vari-

ous public departments that operate

topographical, geological, mineral,

population census, public distribu-

tion and engineering schemes. But in-

puts obtainable from these sources

are neither comprehensive in char-

acteristics nor conducive to efficient

strategic or tactical decision mak-

ing. Te entire system will, therefore,have to be designed ab initio, with its

A robust communication network

for information recording, advisory

dissemination and retrieval of

specifically formatted queries would

have to be a part of the system



2 3 |


custom-made hierarchies, structural

trees, activity flow diagrams, principal

and subsidiary technology themes,

algorithms, formats and above all,

operating formulae and derivations

(fashionably referred to as ‘software’)

— even the system configurations

(fashionably referred to as ‘hardware’

and the now unpopular term ‘skin-

ware’ respectively) - to conform to the

roles listed above. Of course, to saveon time and effort on build up of basic

information, the existing data, in dig-

itised form, as available with various

departments and agencies would need

to be ported. However, given the de-

ficiencies in the quality as well as the

coverage of such data, these inputs

would at best be raw. Terefore, these

inputs would have to be put through

the following processes to meet the

standards needed in ISDSS:

• Corroboration and vetting to ensure

authenticity and integrity of the

information;

• Algorithmic conversion for the sakeof standardisation of all aspects of

the system;

• Reconfiguration and reformatting of

information to conform to the sys-

tem design;

• Fixation of the cycles of verification

and updating, and designation of re-

sponsibilities. Frequencies of these

cycles would vary from one class of

information to another depending

on the dynamics of changes.

Porting of available informationand processing, restructuring and

reconciliation of these to customise

according to the role and process-

es of ISDSS being an inter depart-

mental process, this task should be

simple to achieve provided the urge to

poodle-fake is curbed. However, this

effort would still be of only basic utility

because as past experiences reveal, any

new venture like the ISDSS would have

to mainly upon dedicated in-house

exercise to build up its exclusive infor-

mation base that would answer to its

needs. In fact in many instances, the

processes of reconfiguration and port-

ing may turn out to be more tedious

than starting from the scratch – more

or less.

Tus, setting the stage for further

examination of the proposition,

we may turn to consider the three

categories of ‘information bases’ as

mentioned above.

Demographic InformationBase (DIB)Demographic Information Base (DIB)

facilitates expeditious and quality

decision making in relation to human

factors of internal security. Tis would

contain:

• Population figures, distribution over

areas, movement patterns, individual

records, migrations in and out, and

density variations over time.• Societal construct, influential

groups, traditional habits, food hab-

its, behavioural as well as vocational

leanings and vulnerable sections of

the society.

• Matrices of religion, language,

cast and tribe - festivals, rivalries,

tensions and contentious issues.

• Local and household economy,

employment and poverty figures,

production of necessities as well

as tradable goods and pattern of

INTERNAL SECURITY DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (ISDSS)

DEMOGRAPHICINFORMATION BASE DIB)

(People, Society, Economy,Public Good)

GEOGRAPHICALINFORMATION BASE (GIB)

(Terrain, Natural Resources,Land Use, Environment)

INFRASTRUCTUREINFORMATION BASE (IIB)

(Transportation, Power, Industry,Development)

A nascent architecture of Internal Security Decision Support System

The purpose

of having a

Geographical

Information Basewould be to offer

easy access to

geographical

information that

needs to be

incorporated into

the ISDSS



INTERNAL SECURITY

2 4 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

demand and actual consumption.

• States of education, health, public

discipline, law and order, and crime

trends.

Tis kind of information is readily

available at National Information Centreand National Informatics Centre, census

data, Public Distribution System, Elec-

toral Rolls, revenue records, banking,

the Unique Identification Scheme, the

National Investigation Agency, various

non-government samplings and social

surveys. However, these need to be cus-

tomised and the voids filled up. Notably,

neither the attributes, nor the fields and

properties within each attribute could

be exhaustive to begin with. Te volu-

metric and qualitative improvements would thus be a continuous process.

Geographical InformationBase (GIB)Te purpose of having a Geographical

Information Base (GIB) would be

to offer easy access to geographical

information that needs to be incorpo-

rated into the ISDSS. A large portion

of this information is obtainable from

topographical and geological maps, a

field in which India has excelled. But

the fact that these maps have not been

designed for the purpose of internal

security related information banking,

leaves most of the internal intelligence

queries unattended. Terefore, as stat-

ed earlier, build up of GIB needs to be afresh exercise. However, even if the in-

formation base has to be reconfigured

from what is available, it would make

sense for all the three information

bases to subscribe to common bound-

aries and adopt standard scales for the

information tagging modules that can

customise the role of ISDSS. Following

are some of the main attributes of GIB:

• errain information covering the

current spread and densities of veg-

etation, contours and gradients,road and rail communications,

habitations and so on;

• Data regarding water drainage, flood

and draught, natural produce like

minerals, forestry and cultivation;

• Land distribution and use;

• Environmental records and issues in

contention;

• Areas that lend to lawless activities,

covert transit, attacks etc.

In many ways, the GIB will be similar

to the GIS facility, but with built-in

intangibilities of human and natural di-

versities which shape the internal secu-

rity issues.

Infrastructure Information

Base (IIB)Te purpose of IIB would be to pro-

vide readily accessible information

about various categories of infra-

structure, public and private, availa-

ble as well as those in the process of

coming up, which may be of use in

planning and implementation of in-

ternal security measures. Te class of

information to be covered under this

information base would be as follows:

• ransportation infrastructure

to include road, rail, air and waterway networks, availability of

transport fleet and warehousing,

load handling, transit and station

facilities;

• Power, water, telecommunication

network including mobile phone

and internet, and food supply

infrastructure;

• Construction agencies and earth

moving plants as available in location

with public and private sector

undertakings;



2 5 |


• Local industry and its links with the

larger economy;

• Development projects, current as

well as impending;

• Public goods like Public Distribution

System, banking network, educational

institutions primary upwards, hospi-

tals and public health centres, pattern

of diseases, etc.;

• Law enforcement capabilities likemoney transfer records, police pres-

ence, maintenance of law and order,

juducial mechanism, rates of con-

viction and rehabilitation measures.

Inadequate and outdated knowledge

of infrastructural conditions and the

equation of industrial activities with the

societies and economy at the local level

has been a bug in our internal security

schemes. Tus, many times while solu-

tions — in terms of facilities, services,

tools and equipment - have lain ignoredin the backyard, frantic efforts are made

to find these from elsewhere. A compe-

tent and regularly updated IIB would be

an answer to that flaw.

Quick Tagging OptionsIt is natural for an elaborate system

like the ISDSS to grow its own tools for

more efficient and timely response. Tat

indeed would happen as the System

matures. It is, therefore, wise to visual-

ise the scope for future developments

at the starting stage itself – such

inquisitions lead to smooth transition

as well as saving in costs. Accordingly,

we may visualise coalescence over a

time of certain quick tagging options,

which would offer quick and focused

information thus making the systemincreasingly user-friendly and trust

worthy.

agging options are semi or fully pro-

cessed information duly tagged to loca-

tion — that is, the corresponding module

of information base — and the time of

its generation or update. As the pattern

of users’ approach to the information

base, kinds of queries and precedence’s

of decision making crystallises and the

‘ags’ earn credibility, these options

provide for readily formatted and an-notated intelligence, even if mostly in

primary form. Tat indeed is a great help

in management of internal security,

particularly under emergent situations.

At this stage, however, it would suffice

to mention just a few examples of quick

tagging, as follows:

• Counter-Insurgency Force Tag:

Tis tag is related to deployment,

disposition, strength, operational

wherewithal and movement of

security forces engaged in counter-in-surgency operations. Further, it may

offer the situational picture, rebel

strongholds, the leadership, their tac-

tical habits, capabilities and areas of

influence.

• Monetary Information Tag:

Information regarding monetary

flow, transactions, and trends may be

covered under this tag.

• Anti-National Elements Tag:

Tis ag may be dedicated to

identification and study of anti-na-tional individuals as well as the

groups. Notably, anti-nationals and

criminals are but two different class-

es of outlaws and therefore cannot

be dealt with by the same data base

or control methods. Terefore, a

dedicated information base is need-

ed to deal with the former category.

Even then, there are numerous in-

stances of build up of nexus between

the two. Many times the nexus turns

into coalition for ideological profit

in some cases and monetary profit

in the others. Nevertheless, tagged

information about these elements

go a long way in estimating their

ability to infuse poison into the so-

ciety.

In short, tagging options evolveover a period of time with experience

gained and offer information which

is readily retrievable in the required

format for collation, analysis, dissem-

ination and guidance in controlling

potentially harmful internal security

situations. With time, proliferation of

various information tags are expected

to be encouraged – with due regard to

accuracy. Needless to say, the Internal

Security Information Control Centres

(ISICC) would be the heart ISDSS andits effectiveness would determine the

success of the scheme.

Recent Awakening Automated information systems have

been in business for a long time. But

besides offering nonplussed lip service,

the pre-information age, non-science

stream of policy-makers have been

lukewarm to its possibilities and profits.

But as the recent developments unfold,

an understanding is observable at thelevel of national leadership. Indeed, the

latest initiative by the Union Ministry

of Home Affairs in opening up auto-

mated information services on internal

security matters could be the harbin-

ger of the proposed mechanism that

would be at ready call of the managers

of internal security. Reserved respons-

es from the States’ and low scientific

temper to accept technology as a tool of

empowerment are hurdles that we need

to overcome. Te proposition of ISDSS will efficiently manage India’s growing

complexities of internal churnings.

Reserved

responses from

the states and

low scientifictemper to accept

technology

as a tool of

empowerment

are hurdles

that we need to

overcome

Lt Gen Gautam Banerjee(Retd)

[email protected]



LEARNING PATTERNS

2 6 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

Geographical Information

System (GIS) is a popular

information system pro-

cessing spatiotemporal

data. It is being used as a collab-

orative platform for visualisation,analysis and computation involving

spatiotemporal data and information.

GIS is a more specific name for a ge-

neric information domain, which can

process spatial, a-spatial or non-spa-

tial and spatiotemporal data per-

taining to the objects occurring in

topography, bathymetry and space.

Terefore, GIS is a more specific in-

stance of spatiotemporal information

system, which is being used for many

decision support systems and anal-

ysis using multiple criteria. Tis has

emerged as one of the important sys-

tem for collaborative planning, mon-

itoring, and execution of operations

using multi criteria decision analysis

involving land, sea and air. Te opera-tions can be from different application

domains.

An informal definition of ‘Patterns’

can be a repetitive occurrence of

sequence of events, or phenome-

na which can be expressed through

a finite set of steps or mathematical

transformations. Patterns are abstract

form of observations taken over a

finite interval of time. A learning pat-

tern is a sequence of learning process

which helps the instructor to maxim-

ising the transfer of knowledge in an

organised manner from the teacher

to the student and at the same time

maximise the knowledge acquisition

by the student or the trainee. GIS

exhibits many learning and teach-

ing patterns in different sphere of

science and technology. Some of the

important learning patterns exhibited

by GIS are:

• IPO (Input-Processing-Output) is a

systemic perspective of GIS.

GeographicalInformation

System

Defning Learning Patterns in

Concept Definition Fomula (CDF),Input Processing Output (IPO),Model View Controller (MVC)and Data Information KnowedgeDecision (DIKD) are some ofthe fundamental learningpatterns exhibited by GeographicInformation Systems (GIS).

And the effectiveness of theselearning patterns are exhibitedand exercised by GIS indifferent forms



2 7 |


• CDF (Concept-Definition-Formula)

which is a pattern in learning

Geographical Information Science.

• MVC (Model-View-Controller) an

engineering pattern or modelling

pattern in GIS.

• DIKD (Data-Information-Knowl-

edge-Decision) is a usage pattern or

application pattern in GIS.

• Tese patterns find applicability

practically in most of the functions of

GIS involving spatiotemporal analy-

sis, visualisation and measurement.

In other words, any work flow or

functionality of GIS can be mapped

to one or more than one of these

patterns. Tese patterns are further

explored through suitable examples

in GIS to find their applicability indifferent fields of science, engineer-

ing, technology and applications.

Te pervasive nature of GIS func-

tions in the form of spatiotemporal

analysis, visualisation, measure-

ments and simulation has estab-

lished GIS as a collaborative plat-

form for multi-disciplinary research

in science and technology.

Learning Patterns in GIS

Te IPO (Input-Processing-Output) isa global pattern, often useful in under-

standing the overall functioning of a

sub-system or systems. Using this pat-

tern the following types of analysis can

be performed:

→ Analysis of the input domain of the

system i.e. enumerating all the input

types the system can process. Te car-

dinality of the input domain is a metric

measure of the capability of any infor-

mation system in general and GIS in

particular. Te formats in which the

data is being stored, the input data

types, the metadata contents in theinput data types and various sources,

sensors and agencies providing the

data are analysed. Also, a preliminary

assessment regarding the quantity,

quality and reliability of the spatial data

can be analysed from the metadata.

→ Te processing capability of the

system is enumerated in terms of the

algorithms that perform the process-

ing. Te set of computing components

in a GIS is the measure of its process-

ing capability. Further, the aspectssuch as the time and space complex-

ity of the computing algorithms are

studied extensively to understand

“how optimised these algorithms

are?”. Algorithms are the mappings

or the functions which transform the

spatial inputs from the input domain

Learning Patterns Examples

IPO

DTED Data is used to compute and generation

of Sun Shaded Relief Maps

MVC

Digitisation (Modeling) of Vector data to

Point (Location), Line(Communication) and

Polygon (Area) entities from raster images for

visualization of digital vector maps through

various digital control mechanisms such as

thematic composition of maps or application

specific map composition, zoom, scroll, scale

and space visualisation etc.

CDF

Projection of maps and images uses

Mercator’s map projection formulae. If the

coordinates are computed in Latitude and

Longitude, spherical coordinate transformation

is used. Differential geometry and geometric

formulae for computing slope, aspect,

curvature of terrain at particular location from

gridded and raster data.

DIKD

Identification of spatial hotspots like

concentration of chemical leakage, crime

events, high precipitation zone etc. can be

leveraged along with the spatial data to

identify the approach path to the hotspot for

disaster mitigation or planning of emergency

aids etc.

ABLE I EXAMPLES OF HE GIS LEARNING PAERNS



LEARNING PATTERNS

2 8 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

to possible outputs in the range of out-

puts of the GIS.

→ Te resultant output range pro-

duced by the GIS system is analysed

and enumerated. Output range is the

external interface of the GIS to the

user community. Te cardinality ofthe output range of the GIS is the met-

ric measure which decides its usability

across different applications.

Te mapping of the input-analy-

sis-output is often known as the par-

titioning of the input-output space of

the GIS. Analysing various perspec-

tives of spatial input domain forms a

good material for education. Te ba-

sic inputs of GIS have the capability to

correlate with different ways the spa-

tial data is collected, collated, organ-ised and modelled. Various sensors

and agencies producing the spatial

data — its periodicity and accuracy —

extend and other related information

pertaining to the spatial data is stud-

ied under the subject ‘metadata or-

ganisation’ and forms the basis of

many searching algorithms. Another

dimension of the spatial data is the

techniques of its indexing, searching,

sorting and merging. Tey are distinct

and evolving set of techniques in con-

trast to the normal alphanumeric data.

Te study of the spatial input domain,

its metadata has led to many areas of

research such as “Multi Sensor Data

Fusion (MSDF)”, spatial data integra-

tion, spatial data mining etc.

Te study of the analytical capabilityof GIS has led to design, development

and optimisation of many algorithms.

Tis field of research shares many ide-

as of computing and computational

science. Te robust computational

geometric algorithms, graph algo-

rithms and spatial statistical algo-

rithms, spatial interpolation algorithms

and spatial analysis algorithms are few

sets of examples of computing meth-

ods in GIS. Tey are courses of studies

in themselves pursued in the grad-uate and post graduate engineering

curriculum of computer science and

spatial information science.

Unlike IPO, which is an overall sys-

tem learning pattern, the Concept-Defi-

nition-Formula is a scientific pattern for

understanding, learning and educating

the scientific basis of spatiotemporal

phenomena in GIS. GIS brings in the

contemporary fields of geometry, ge-

odesy, coordinate system and refer-

ence system and the mathematical

basis of map projection which act as

the pre-processing methods of spatial

data. Tere are ample examples of CDF

patterns in each of these fields which

can ignite the thought process of stu-

dents in high school or graduation lev-el. Pedagogically, there are many CDF

examples in GIS and its contributing

fields. Some of the geometrical concepts

of slope, aspect, curvature area, volume

etc. exhibit the CDF pattern. Te mul-

tiple definitions of these quantities in

different frame of reference lead to dif-

ferent formulae and have different ap-

plications. CDF is a good learning pat-

tern and fuels higher order thoughts and

understanding to the learners of GIS.

MVC (Model-View-Controller) is amicro pattern observed in almost all as-

pect of spatiotemporal data processing.

In this paradigm, the spatial data is

modeled as vector, raster or digital

elevation model (DEM) or into point,

line, polygon type. Further these mod-

el data are used to visualise the digital

map, digital model of the terrain surface

in a controlled fashion i.e. the scale vis-

ualisation of the spatial data, thematic

map creation, event based visualis-

ation, fly through and walk through vis-ualisation etc. Terefore, the controlled

visualisation of the terrain led to design

and analysis of many algorithms and

GIS brings in the

contemporary

fields of

geometry,geodesy,

coordinate

system, reference

system and the

mathematical

basis of map

projection

Sensor 1

Sensor DataProcessing 1

Data Fusion



Sensor DataProcessing N

Sensor 2 Sensor 3 Sensor N

An example of multi-sensor data fusion system. Courtesy: Nutaq



2 9 |


systems interfacing the software-hard-

ware and human cognitive system.

MVC has a profound impact in the

programming, design and develop-

ment of the algorithms in GIS and has

brought in the student community toharness their creative potential through

intelligent programs which binds the

HMI (Human Machine Interface) with

the GIS.

Terefore, MVC is a micro pattern

in the processing domain of GIS and

harnesses the algorithm and program

design skills of students. MVC has

ushered in the field of scientific visual-

isation, thematic map generation, vir-

tual visualisation or virtual reality and

augmented reality etc.Te DIKD is an overall learning

pattern in GIS that interconnects

the entire chain of GIS functions in

executing a spatial decision. Tis in-

volves the spatial data, the relevant

processing performed on the data to

transfer it to information and how the

information is processed to extract

knowledge for final spatial decision.

DIKD is a pattern repetitive in many

domains of applications involving

GIS with variation in data, processingand the end decision to be taken.

Presence of DIKD pattern establish-

es the GIS as a collaborative platform,

for spatiotemporal decision system.

In this pattern, spatial data is collect-

ed and collated contextually to bring

out the spatial information. Te spa-

tial information is further processed to

extract pattern from the data through

many algorithmic techniques known

under the banner of spatial data miningtechniques or spatial data analytics or

knowledge discovery algorithms. Tese

techniques applied on huge amount

of spatial data bring out the spatial

pattern or knowledge in the data. Te

spatial patterns and knowledge are lev-

eraged in different application areas to

take effective decision. A clear benefi-

ciary of these patterns is spatial deci-

sion support systems such as disaster

management system, Command and

Control System, Battlefield Manage-ment system (BMS) etc.

DIKD pattern interconnects and

leverages the entire chain of learning

patterns viz. CDF, MVC and IPO. DIKD

uses modelling of spatial data through

defined syntax to prepare spatial in-

formation out of the spatial data. Te

semantic networks, semantic rules the

spatial data patterns are extracted from

large volume of spatial data in pre-

paring actionable spatial information

for taking decisions. Further, thisspatial information is computed and

transformed using different spatial

processing algorithms often referred

as spatial data mining tools to extract

knowledge. Tis chain of processing

which transforms raw spatial data to

knowledge which, in turn is being used

for taking decision is called DIKD. En-

listed below in the table-I are few typi-

cal examples of these learning patterns.

Extensive use of GIS by armedforces for planning, execution and

analysis of operations cannot be over-

emphasised. Terefore, knowledge of

usage of GIS and understanding the

design and development of operation

systems and command and control

systems using GIS is quite important

for battle managers. Keeping in view

the above objectives, GIS training in

the form of CEP (Continuing Educa-

tion Programme) and user workshop

are imparted to the GIS users in thearmed forces and scientists. Te edu-

cation profile of the students attending

these courses is heterogeneous field of

engineering. Te impact of the GIS le-

sions imparted are evaluated through

a series of questions. Te questions set

were carefully crafted to be judicious

mixture of above four type of learning

patterns. Te observed data is consol-

idated in the table-II.

Conclusion Analysis of the data, trends emerging

from the MOOC (Massively Online

Courses) and classroom teachings

indicates the mixed pattern of learn-

ers from different field of engineering

Digital errain Model. Courtesy: MCE



LEARNING PATTERNS

3 0 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

and applications. Tis gives a strong

indication of the fact that GIS is fast

emerging as a platform for interdis-

ciplinary learning. Also, GIS exhibits

number of patterns which are facili-tator for learning and remembering

for students and teaching community.

Te experimental data obtained from

classroom teaching is enlisted in the

able-II. Te data was analysed by

plotting them in the form of a PI chart

(Fig.1). On observation the following

inferences regarding the learning pat-

terns in GIS can be drawn.

→ Te CDF is the highly effective

learning pattern across all types of the

students and GIS professionals.→ Te MVC is a learning pattern most-

ly followed and utilised by scientists,

mathematicians and engineers en-

gaged in design and development of

the GIS systems.

→ DIKD is the learning patternfollowed by the domain users and

domain experts of the GIS system

engaged in day to day use of the GIS

for taking decisions.

→ IPO is the learning pattern under-

stood and practised by students, do-

main experts, users, developers. It is

the second best learning pattern fol-

lowing the CDF pattern.

References

[1] Goodchild, M. F., “Geographical infor-mation science”, International Journal of

26%

22%29%

23%

IPOMVC

CDF DIKD

Year Types of Learning Patterns

No of students IPO MVC CDF DIKD

2008 42 29 24 40 25

2009 31 28 21 30 25

2010 24 21 19 23 20

2012 25 22 19 24 17

2013 37 35 31 36 30

Total 159 135 114 153 117

Geographical Information Systems 6:31–45,1992 [2] Longley, Paul A., Michael F. Goodchild,David J. Maguire and David W. Rhind(eds.). Geographical Information Systems.vol 1, vol 2. 2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons. 1999.[3] Panigrahi, N., “Geographical Informa-tion Science”, University Press, 2009.[4] Chen, Yong-qi and Yuk-cheung Lee(eds.). Geographical Data Acquisition. NewYork: Springer Wien. 2001[5] Frank, A. U., Spatial concept, geomet-ric data models, and geometric data struc-ture. Computers and Geosciences 18:409–17.1992.[6] Houlding, S. Tree-dimensional Geo-sciences Modelling. Berlin: Springer.1994.[7] Worboys, M. F. GIS: A Computing Per-spective. London: aylor & Francis. 1995.[8] Snyder, John P. “Flattening the Earth –wo Tousand Years of Map Projections.”Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1993.[9] Snyder, John P. “Map Projections – AWorking Manual.” U.S.G.S. ProfessionalPaper 1395. Washington D. C.: U.S. Govern-ment Printing Office. 1987. Reprinted 1989;1994 with corrections.[10] Snyder, John P. Map Projections Usedby the United States Geological Survey. 2nded. U.S.G.S. Bulletin No. 1532. WashingtonD.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1983.[11] Steers, J. A. An Introduction to the Studyof Map Projections. London: University ofLondon Press. 1965. 1st ed. 1927; 15th ed.1970.[12] Preparata, Franco P. and Shamos, Mi-chael Ian. “Computational Geometry, AnIntroduction”, Springer-Verlag., 5th ed 1993.[13] Aurenhammer, F. Voronoi diagrams: A survey of fundamental geometric datastructure. ACM Computer Survey 23:345–405. 1991.[14] J. O’ Rourke, “Art Gallery Teorems and Algorithms”. New York: Oxford UniversityPress. 1987.[15] J. O’ Rourke, ”Computational Geome-try Using C”, New York: Cambridge Univer-sity Press., 2nd edn, 1998.[16] Mitasova, H., L. Mitas, B.M. Brown,D.P. Gerdes and I. Kosinovsky. Modelingspatially and temporally distributed phe-nomena: New methods and tools for GRASSGIS. International Journal of GIS 9 (4), Spe-cial issue on integration of environmentalmodeling and GIS. 1995.[17] Burrough, P.A. “Principles of Geograph-ical Information Systems for Land Resourc-es Assessment.”, Oxford: Clarendon Press.Chapter 8. 1986.[18] Densham, P. J. “Spatial decision sup-port systems. In Geographical InformationSystems: Principles and Applications”, ed-ited by D. J. Maguire, M. F. Goodchield andD. W. Rhind. Harlow, Longman/New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc. vol. 1:403–12. 1991.

Narayan PanigrahiCenter for Articial Intelligenceand Robotics

Smita Tripathy

Aeronautical DevelopmentAgency (ADA)

ABLE II EXPERIMENAL DAA

FiG-1, PI-Chart of the correctly answered questions

Te statistics of 40 questions with 10 questions each from each learning patterns



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TECHNOLOGY

G

eographical Information

Systems (GIS) play a crucial

role in operation planning,

execution and monitoringof progress of operations by showing

all entities of interest in the context of a

map. GIS provides spatial information

platform such as digital maps, digital

elevation maps and satellite images

to visualise the operation scenario.

Tis would help enable the disposi-

tion of enemy deployments and better

planning of own forces’ deployment.

In the present digital era, GIS is an ex-

cellent tool for military commanders

in operations.

Te use of GIS applications

in military has the potential to

revolutionise the way in which

these forces operate and function.In the context of regional conflicts

necessitating, rapid deployment and

flexible response, spatial data enjoins

upon the operational staff and their

supporting system to maintain up-to-

date situational awareness of en-

emy activities. GIS has a variety of

applications including cartography,

intelligence, battle field management,

terrain analysis, remote sensing, and

military installation management and

monitoring of possible terrorist activity.

In this analysis of adoption of

GIS in the armed forces two is-

sues are germane. One is the aspect

of integration of operational andtactical information and knowledge

with reference to terrain for precise

targeting and second using the GIS

components to create a customisable,

scalable and data centric model for

armed forces.

In the Indian context, the need to

shift from Platform Centric Operations

to Net Centric Operations has brought

into focus the critical requirement for

integration of operational and tactical

information and knowledge with



3 3 |


GIS Adoption:

An Indian PerspectiveSpatial data is of crucial importance to the MilitaryCommander in the battle and for decision-maker

planning operational contingencies

reference to terrain for precise targeting.

Real-time geographical visualisation

of the battlefield scenario on a network

that is possible through the exploitationof geospatial data obtained from multi-

ple sensors located in space or on aerial,

ground, sub-surface and other plat-

forms has become an imperative.

Te task of generating digital top-

ographical database, preparation of

Defence Series Maps (DSMs), large scale

mapping, training on GIS and attribute

data collection, photogrammetric sur-

vey was assigned to the Military Survey.

In undertaking this task, the require-

ment to introduce an Enterprise GIS

became paramount, as also did the

requirements of large scale mapping

in meeting increasing demands of the

upcoming OIS. ransfrontier mappingresponsibility that was earlier up to 300

km depth across the border was in-

creased to a depth of 5,000 km by Head-

quarters Integrated Defence Staff (IDS)

apparently to meet requirements of the

Strategic Forces Command .

With an aim to introduce Enterprise

GIS, a tri-Service study was ordered

in 2007 to examine nuances for

establishing an Enterprise GIS. On con-clusion of this study, a GIS Policy with

common symbology for the military

was issued in 2009. Concurrently, a Re-

quest for Proposal (RFP) to establish an

Enterprise GIS was floated by DGIS in

mid-March 2009 but was not followed

In the present digital era, GIS

is an excellent tool for military

commanders in the operations



3 4 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

TECHNOLOGY

earlier the Military Survey which

was under the Military Operations

Directorate (MO Directorate) of

Army Headquarters, was moved to

Directorate General Information sys-

tems. However the Army hierarchy was not satisfied with the pace of work

of Military Survey as well as accuracy

of their digital maps. Concerned with

these errors in the Army’s acC3I,

Military Survey was reverted back to

MO Directorate in 2011-12.

According to informed sources, in

whatever little map digitisation has been

done, there are serious and persistent er-

rors even along the Line of Control (LC)

in number of cases alignment of LC is

off by as much as 50 meters or more. An-other issue is the pace of work; Military

Surveys time estimates to complete dig-

itisation of maps – a prerequisite for a vi-

able GIS – reportedly runs into 10 years

or so for maps astride the LC/Line of

Actual Control/IB and areas immediate-

ly beyond. Second issue is development

GIS based spatial information platform

such as digital maps, digital elevation

maps and satellite images to visualise

the operational scenario, such as enemy

deployments and dispositions, terrainfeatures for better operational planning.

Most of the GIS applications used

by Indian armed forces are based

on commercial off-the-shelf (COS)

software. Tese COS GIS come

with strict licensing policy and are

prone to technology denial. Teir

interoperability with other GIS systems

for exchange of spatial information

is limited.

o overcome these challenges and

pitfalls of COS GIS, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

(CAIR) has developed a home-grown

GIS software for military applications,

christened as INDIGIS. “Te INDIGIS

is a suite of GIS components which are

customisable, scalable and data centric

to meet the specific GIS requirements

of a collaborative defence environment.

It offers a common platform for display,

analysis and decision support involv-

ing spatio-temporal data for Net Cen-

tric Operation (NCO) systems,” Indig-

enous GIS kernel has been developed

as a library of software components

to cover the following major function.

Tey are: a) processing of geospatial

data in various formats of interest to

Indian military; b) creation and man-agement of a portable military symbol

library; c) geospatial data exchange,

analysis and visualisation with vari-

ous actical Command Control Com-

munication and Intelligence (acC3I)

systems; d) analysis and visualisation

of data from military sensors like GPS,

digital compass, Battlefield Surveil-

lance Radar, echo-sounder and un-

manned aerial vehicles; e) support

for all the usual features of COS GIS

including analysis and visualisation ofgeospatial data in 2D and 3D. Although

the INDGIS has been fielded in num-

ber of exercises, nonetheless the Ser-

vice HQ are nor very satisfied. In their

perception the system is at best a tech-

nology demonstrator which has yet to

be accepted for formal adoption by the

Army HQ.

Above analysis reveals that despite

attempts being made to develop a

robust and operational GIS System;

huge organisational and system gapsremain. Tis is primarily on account of

turf battles, perception gap between the

MO Directorate, DGIS and the DRDO.

Important issue is that as the IRNSS

and other space based assets become

available, delay in developing Enter-

prise GIS fast tracking digitisation by

Military Survey, taking a call INDIGIS

by Army HQ working in tandem with

CAIR, so that it can be fielded at the

earliest. One of the constant refrain

from DRDO and laboratories likeCAIR is the lack of feed back or enun-

ciation of desired operational and

system parameters.

up. Tis was followed by another study

addressing the organisational and out-

put oriented shortcomings of Military

Survey. Main issues addressed by the

study included — restructuring of Mil-

itary Survey in concert with available

global technology and modern tech-niques; examine existing system of

mapping, digitisation and how updating

can be speeded up through reorganisa-

tion; examine the role of Military Survey

in attribute data collection, rationalisa-

tion of existing manpower etc. some of

the important findings were; restruc-

turing of Military Survey including at

formation levels, changing its structure

to all arms, need to infuse new equip-

ment and technologies in particular,

emerging technologies like digital pho-togrammetric using digital aerial photo/

high resolution imagery/UAV inputs,

mobile data capture in field using PC

tablets, gravity and geomagnetic sur-

veys, Airborne Laser errain Mapping

(ALM)/LiDAR survey, online data

transfer for updation/web enabled

services, etc. based on visualisation of

future operational requirements. Te

study report despite approval remains

unimplemented.

In fact, the command and control

Most of the GIS

applications used

by Indian armedforces are based

on commercial

off-the-shelf

(COTS) software,

which come with

strict licensing

policy andare prone to

technology denial

Brig Arun Sahgal (Retd)

[email protected]



3 5 |


In their entire careers and maybe

even in their lifetime, Air Defence

operators may never be actually

attacked by an enemy aircraft.

If they do get such an opportunity, it

may be just once. In the fog of war, cana soldier afford to lose that one oppor-

tunity, that he gets in his lifetime, by

making a mistake and allowing the en-

emy aircraft to escape? It may be pos-

sible that the soldier mistakes enemy

aircraft as own and allows them to es-

cape. Alternately, the soldier may mis-

take own aircraft as enemy aircraft and

engage them. Unless the soldier has

faced actual or near actual situation

many times and practiced sufficient-

ly, he is likely to miss the opportuni-ty. Simulators can bring war-time or

operational situation to the soldier in

peacetime, in classrooms or in train-

ing areas. A soldier can now enter war

as a veteran, having experienced war-

like situations on the simulator.

Te Aircraft Recognition rainer

(AR) is computer based classroom

trainer that can be used to impart dy-

namic aircraft recognition training in

simulated operational situations. Te

system depicts fighter, transport andcommercial aircraft, helicopters and

UAVs in various modes and profiles

Aircraft Recognition Training

Using 3D Terrain ModelsAircraft recognition training is essential forevery soldier in air defence

of flight under realistic operational

terrain, weather and day/night condi-

tions. One such system is used to train

20 or more trainees at a time by an in-

structor. Realistic positional surround

sound with Doppler is integrated for alltypes of aircraft, helicopters and UAVs

in single aircraft and multiple aircraft in

various formations modes. Aircraft are

projected on a large screen in the class-

room to train the Air Defence operators.

Te operators have touch screen mon-

itors to answer questions and practice

aircraft recognition from a database of

realistic 3D models prepared.

System Configuration

Te AR comprises of an instructor workstation, one image generator

workstation, twenty desktop/thin cli-

ents based trainee workstations, one

projection system and audio system,

UPS and associated ethernet/wi-fi

based networking hardware. Te In-

structor Console is a suitable server

for the instructor to carry out group

training sessions and conduct tests. It

has both Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity

inbuilt and a F touch screen monitor

of 21-inch size. Te Image Generatoris a high-end workstation that displays

high-resolution graphics of the Aircraft

Recognition raining exercises on a

projection system. Tis also has inbuilt

Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity. Students

undertake AR in individual training

mode, group training mode and they

can be subjected to tests and assess-ment on thin client based student con-

soles. Soft copies of high fidelity and

high resolution aircraft, helicopters

and UAV models are pre-installed into

the system. More models can be made

and incorporated depending upon the

requirement of the clients. Different

terrain models comprising of elevation

data and imagery will be loaded in

the system.

Modes of OperationExercise Preparation Mode: In this

mode, the instructor is provided with

the facility to plan an exercise scenar-

io and save it in an exercise library. A

scenario comprises an area of inter-

est (AoI) of 10 km x 10 km and aircraft

routes. Routes are a set of waypoints

that aircraft or formations must touch.

A section between two waypoints is

called a route leg. Facility is provided

to store waypoints and routes in way-

point and route libraries respectively.During exercise creation, the instruc-

tor has the option to either create new

routes and add these to the scenario

or load existing routes from the route

library. Existing routes can even be

modified to create new routes and

stored thus. Te instructor then as-

signs aircraft formations to each of

these routes in the exercise. Te sys-

tem automatically computes time at

the waypoints based on the leg speed

and leg distance. Te actual path fol-

Students undertake ART in individual

training mode, group training mode

and can be subjected to tests and

assessment on Thin Client based

student consoles

TECHNOLOGY



3 6 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

TECHNOLOGY

lowed by the aircraft and formations

depends on flight dynamics. Te in-

structor also has the facility to pro-

gram observer positions along the

route to facilitate observation.

Exercise Execution (Training)Mode: Tis is the group training

mode in which students are trained

to recognize aircraft in realistic oper-

ational settings. Te instructor loads

an exercise from the exercise library

into the image generator application

and simulates the exercise. He is pro-

vided with the control to start, stop,

freeze and manage the speed of the

simulation. Te image generator cre-

ates a DEM and loads the imagery of

the AoI of the exercise from the terraindatabase to create NDA6978 realistic

terrain and environment setting,

night/day and weather conditionetc

as per the requirements. On starting

the exercise, the simulation engine of

the image generator updates the air-

craft position as per the set speed on

the programmed route and renders

the image at a frame rate of 60 Hz. By

default, the system renders the field

of view (FoV) of the observer, which

is pre-programmed into the exerciseby the instructor. However, the in-

structor is also provided with the fa-

cility to change the camera angle as

required. Te system will generate

audio of the aircraft sound on the 5.1

channel speaker provided. During

exercise execution, the student con-

soles flash a multiple choice questionof the aircraft in the frame and they

also have the facility to input their an-

swers through the touch screen.

Group Training Mode: In this mode,

the instructor conducts a class with

single aircraft models. He is provided

with the facility to zoom in/out, ro-

tate, pitch, roll and yaw the selected

model and highlight the important

sections like wings, engine, fuselage

and tail of the aircraft. He can also

pull out similar looking aircraft fromthe library and highlight the subtle

differences. Actual aircraft images,

videos and text data, if available, in

the aircraft database can be accessed

and displayed along-with the models.

In this mode, the student console is

loaded with the aircraft data being

presented by the instructor.

Individual Training Mode: In

this mode, each student can inde-

pendently pull out aircraft models,

images, text and videos from the cen-tral database in the instructor ma-

chine and carry out self study. Te

student console will be provided with

the controls to view the aircraft mod-

els from various perspectives using

zoom and rotate controls.

Test Mode: Tis consists of a test prepa-

ration mode and test conduct mode.Te instructor will be provided with the

facility to create a set of objective type

questions/answers and answer time for

the question. A test question may per-

tain to aircraft models, image, text or

an exercise scenario. Tese are stored

in a test database. A question paper

comprising of a set of questions picked

up from the database is loaded into the

student consoles during the conduct

of the test. Answers fed by the students

are compiled and stored in the centraldatabase.

Debrief Mode: In this mode, the in-

structor is provided with the facility

to debrief the students with their re-

sponses to an exercise or a test.

Software SpecificationsInstructor Console Software: Te

following functionality is provided by

the Instructor Application on the AR

network. It is user friendly and enables

the instructor to create new exercisesand to execute the created exercises

on the image generator.

System Configuration of Aircraft Recognition Training.



3 7 |


Software Functions• Provide a 2D map based workspace

to load geo-referenced satellite im-

agery/maps to create and execute

exercises.• Provide a 2D workspace to load stat-

ic images of aircraft and 3D work-

space to load 3D aircraft models.

• Facility to create new exercises com-

prising of areas of interest (AoI),

routes, aircraft and aircraft for-

mations scheduled to fly on these

routes in various profiles. Te sys-

tem will build the terrain for the se-

lected AoI from the terrain database.

• Create routes by defining waypoints

based on lat-long, military grid ref-erence and from the waypoint li-

brary. Facility to create routes as sets

of waypoints that include the start

points, target points and endpoints.

• Create missions comprising of

aircraft of same or different types

from the library. Facility to de-

fine the formation geometries and

attack profiles.

• Facility to place observers at selected

points on the ground for each route.

• Maintain a library of exercises,

routes, waypoints and aircraft.

Facility to modify and save param-

eters of exercises, routes, waypoints

and aircraft in the library by the in-

structor.• Facility to define the aircraft profile

on a route in a library or a mission.

Facility to set speed, altitude and

bank angle for each leg of the route.

Tis will define the aircraft attitude

at any point in flight which includes

the pitch, roll and yaw axis.

• Facility to load an exercise into the

image generator exercise. Control

the exercise execution in the image

generator by play, pause, resume,

speed adjustment and stop controls.• Facility to dynamically position

camera in an executing exercise.

• Facility to set the environmental and

weather conditions of the exercise

including time of the day, ambient

light, snow, rain, fog etc that affect

visibility. Facility to set the cloud

density and type and altitude.

• By means of above three mecha-

nisms, classify the missions as very

advanced, and basic based on the

number of recognisable features

seen by the observer based on the

aircraft attitude and distance.

• Project images/3D models of aircraft

to the student consoles in group

training sessions.• Facility to maintain a database

of students and a sample

question bank.

• Facility to create tests from the ques-

tion bank and conduct tests.

• Auto evaluate a student’s perfor-

mance in a test, maintain the test

scores and conduct debrief sessions.

Image Generator Software: Te im-

age generator is the application that

renders the scenario comprising the

aircraft and terrain in a realistic anddynamic fashion to provide high fi-

delity images in real time. Te im-

age generator processes the aircraft

and terrain models in 3D internally.

Te output of the image generator is

fed to the projection system for 2D

visualisation.

Software Functions• Maintains a library of terrain

information — imagery and eleva-

tion data — in a database.

Training Mode of ART



TECHNOLOGY

3 8 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

• Maintains a library of aircraft models

that will be rendered in the exercise.

• Executes commands received from

the instructor console to load,

play, pause, resume, and adjust the

simulation speed of an exercise.Synthesises high quality videos

as directed by the instructor and

displays the scenarios through the

state of the art projection system

provided.

• Renders the executing exercise at a

refresh rate of 60 Hz.

• Positions the camera as per the set-

tings in the exercise. Shifts the cam-

era dynamically on receipt of com-

mands from the instructor console.

• Simulates the mission profile andenvironment conditions as set in the

exercise or dynamically controlled

by the instructor. In case of dynamic

changes introduced by the instructor

at execution time, retains the param-

eters of the original exercise.

• Animates the flight path of air-

craft in real time by comput-

ing instantaneous positions and

it’s pitch, roll and yaw as per the

programmed route. Generate imag-

es procedurally without writing to

the disk.

• Renders the aircraft models and

terrain as per LoD requirements.

Te rendering engine automaticallyswitches the number of polygons of

the scenario elements in the field of

view depending upon their distance

from the camera point for efficient

rendering.

• Loads the highest resolution image

and elevation data available in the

database. Blends various resolution

data in case of an overlap to create

a single depth complexity image for

the scene.

• Simulates the environmentconditions of fog, haze, visibility,

rain, snow, clouds etc.

Student Console Software: Te

student console application is

launched on Tin Client system and

permits the student to undertake AR

sessions in various modes mentioned

below:

→ Te students have the facility to

train either in individual mode or

group mode and undertake a test in

the test mode.

→ In individual mode, a student can

download aircraft data from the

central database hosted in the

instructors console into his thinclient. Te data comprises of aircraft

models, images, videos and text.

Te data also consists of important

aircraft performance specifications

and WEF (Wings, Engine, Fuse-

lage and ail) features that form the

distinguishing characteristics of the

aircraft being displayed.

→ Te group training mode is instruc-

tor driven. Te instructor can either

train the students on individual

aircraft models or train them in arealistic scenario comprising an

exercise executing in the image

generator. In the exercise mode, as

an aircraft formation appears in the

field of view, the students’ console

is populated with a multiple choice

question on aircraft recognition.

Te answers inputted by the stu-

dents are automatically evaluated

by the instructor’s application.

→ In the test mode, the student needs

to answer multiple choice ques-tions on aircraft models, images,

videos and exercises projected on

the screen. Te multiple choice

questions appearing on the stu-

dents console are synchronised

with the model, image, video or

exercise portion projected on the

screen. Te students answer the

question from the multiple choice

option presented on their touch

screen monitors.

Brig SC Sharma (Retd)

[email protected] Aircraft Training Module



3 9 |


A Continual Shift

Market forces and customer needs barely allow us to only be an imagery

provider as there is a shift in extracted information services, speaks

out David Belton, General Manager, Geospatial Services, MacDonald,

Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA)

Y ou (MDA) are largest

satellite based radar data

provider, how accordingto you did Radarsat-1

and Radarsat-2 come into picture?

wo decades ago, Canada was in the

planning phase in terms of investing in

the space scenario. At that point of time,

the need to have a better understanding

of happenings in the Arctic region was

one of the pressing demands that the

country faced. Tere were too few tech-

nologies that were actually capable of

mapping the area. Space-based radar

system was the best suited technology,so Canada made a conscious decision

to strategically invest in

that area. Tis gave birth

to the RADARSA pro-

gramme. Since then,

maritime surveillancehas become a huge

and pressing issue

for the country and

this ultimately led to

RADARSA-1 mission.

Tis brought focus to

the radar technology

which formed the basis

of the company RADAR

International, which

gave birth to MDA.

So, what’s the range

RADARSA-1 and

RADARSA-2 are

playing with?

RADARSA-1 had a

range of different im-

aging modes. Te high-

est resolution mode

was an 8m mode called ‘fine beam

resolution mode’ and was about 50km

wide as single image. Tis also has a

number of other imaging configurations— something called the ‘ScanSAR

Wide Beam mode’ which has a 100m

resolution, but a very broad swath from

8m to 100m resolution. When RADAR-

SA2 was introduced, decisions were

made to go in a number of different

directions — one was to implement

some really high resolution imaging

modes, a three 3m resolution called

the ‘ultra fine’ and 1m resolution called

‘spotlight imaging’ focussed on target

surveillance which is a very localisedimaging of target locations. In addi-

tion, RADARSA 2 added a polarisa-

tion imaging suite which is a collection

technique that allows additional infor-

mation to be extracted. Te other main

component of RADARSA-2 was that a wide collection of nodes were created

to focus on broader coverage market

where RADARSA has a niche.

Are you planning to launch more

satellites to continue with the

RADARSA-1 mission?

RADARSA-1 was launched in 1995

and had a five year design life, but

it actually ran all the way to 2013 (a

good 17 years beyond its operational

service). And RADARSA-2 waslaunched in 2007 and has a design

life of seven one quarter years. Te

satellite is in incredible health today.

With adequate fuel onboard, we

expect it to continue functioning for

another decade or so. RADARSA

constellation mission is now a fully

funded programme. Te government

entered into a contract with us for the

build phase of the mission, last year,

so we’re in the mid of the construction

process. With a design life of sevenplus years, the scheduled launch of the

programme is 2018.

Are all the missions of MDA in

partnership with private players?

Te Government of Canada invested

in setting up of the infrastructure of

the RADARSA programme. In the

RADARSA-2 era, the investment came

in the form of an effectively prepaid

purchase of imagery to MDA. Ten,

through the course of the mission, MDAdelivered on the prepaid purchase

INTERVIEW



4 0 |


M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 1 5

INTERVIEW

commitment. MDA also made signif-

icant investments in the construction

and operation of the mission, so the

public private partnership has taken

the form of a government pre-purchase

of data and MDA investment in manu-

facturing and operations.

In the new RCM (RADARSA

Constellation Mission) era, things are

back to a traditional model where MDAis manufacturing and constructing a

government-funded mission and the

company is also in discussions with the

government to commercialise the data.

Trow light on your business

model...

On the RADARSA-1 case, this was

an instance where there was a royal-

ty relationship with the Government

of Canada. In RADARSA-2 case, it

really is a pre-purchase of data thatthe government has made. Tere is

a contract with Canadian govern-

ment on the funds provided to MDA,

and over the course of the contract

We deliver on the products that are

purchased through those funds.

How is radar imagery being utilised

in other applications apart from

maritime surveillance?

MDA has a particular market fo-

cus in its business — defense andsecurity, particularly maritime sur-

veillance, are the top market verticals

and the company spends a lot of its

time and energy in developing that

market. Te second focus is the oil

and gas industry, and within that in-

dustry MDA provides a range of ser-

vices. Perhaps the most robust and

mature is offshore oil spill detection

and monitoring, which MDA does

for commercial oil and gas operators

and government regulators. MDA alsodoes onshore subsidence monitor-

ing, using a technique called INSAR

that measures very small changes in

surface elevation over active reser-

voirs where oil and gas extraction is

happening. Tis is done for the pur-

pose of safety and to help the industry

understand the impact their activities

are having on the environment over

those reservoirs. Te third focus is the

natural resources sector – MDA has arange of services, particularly in the

areas of ice monitoring and detection

of illegal fishing.

ell us about the value added

services you offer...

MDA’s business is going more and

more in the direction of extracted in-

formation services as opposed to im-

agery. Because of market forces and

customer needs, MDA cannot only be

an imagery provider – it needs to de-liver more information and value to its

customers.

For MDA to be successful and

for its customers to be satiated, the

company has to help customers

extract the information for radar

imagery. For example, when we talk

about surface subsidence and defor-

mation services, what MDA is pro-

viding its customers is not imagery,

but deformation maps describing

vertical motion. When we talk aboutmaritime surveillance, while image-

ry might be a component of that ser-

vice, these maps are often deliverable

as text information product with ship

location, heading, speed, etc. Tere

is a continual shift in business, more

and more towards these value added

services. Tis doesn’t mean we don’t

sell imagery – that is still at the core of

the business. It is a service as well as a

product model – there is a range of ser-

vices that are built around things likemonthly subscriptions. For example,

in maritime surveillance, the way ser-

vice is provided is that a customer who

wants monitoring of a certain area

signs up for it. In other cases, there is a

product delivery model whereby MDA

delivers products to customers in re-

sponse to an emergency event, or theyare bought and sold on the basis of a

customer order. It varies quite a lot de-

pending on the customer and the level

of service he wants.

When it comes to imagery

distribution, how do you operate

across the world?

It’s a mixture of direct selling

and selling through international

partners, distributors and resellers.

In our Vancouver office, we havea centralised direct sale customer

service group that handles individual

orders globally. We also have

comprehensive sales team that tries

to find out complex opportunities in

sales. Te team here is multilingual,

they serve users in Asia, Europe and

North America. In addition to that, we

also have a global network of partners

that are geographically focussed on a

certain market vertical, etc.

In the past, we have partnered withgeneral geospatial and remote sensing

companies. But what we find ourselves

doing today is more and more market

vertical specific partnership to access

the mining industry or oil and gas

industry or defense sector.

Is MDA catering to the emerging

markets?

Te overall MDA strategy is to become

a multinational company. In order to

address that strategy, the company islooking at finding ways to have local

presence in emerging markets and

geographies like Brazil and India.

Natural resources are driving a lot of

geospatial activities in these economies

and the company has a particular focus

on building local partnerships with

organisations that are operating in

these domains and locations. Places

like Brazil, where mining is a major

endeavor and deforestation is a major

issue, are well suited for some of MDA’stechnologies.

The future for the RADARSAT

programme is the RADARSAT

Constellation Mission, which is now

a fully-funded programme



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