US Army moves forward with WIN-T fielding 

The US Army has announced that the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (2BCT) of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii has received the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Communications Node-Lite (WIN-T TCN-L) and Network Operations Security Centre-Lite (NOC-L) apparatus.

This replaces the WIN-T Increment-1archtecture which the 2BCT had previously possessed which only permitted communications across the WIN-T network at the halt. The introduction of the WIN-T TCN-L will enable mobile communications across the network. The US Army’s 101st Air Assault Division is also in possession of the WIN-T TCN-L and NOSC equipment. The former provides mobile and at-the-halt communications across the WIN-T network, with the NOSC providing a WIN-T network management tool.

The WIN-T initiative provides both conventional land tactical radio communications and satellite communications, the latter using the US Department of Defense’ Wideband Global SATCOM constellation, to all deployed echelons down to battalion and company levels of the US Army. Broadly speaking, Increment-2 of the WIN-T initiative had intended to provide the army with mobile communications across the WIN-T network down to company level. However, as of 2017, the US Army has decided to halt the rollout of Increment-2 amid concerns over the mobility of some of the platforms required to host Increment-2 systems and the ability of the Increment-2 incarnation of the network to operate in a contested electromagnetic environment.

Thomas Withington