The DOD is faced with two daunting and potentially conflicting imperatives. Integration is the cornerstone of net-centric operations which acts as a force multiplier by enabling all information to be shared across all systems to achieve superior situational awareness. Innovation is the cry from today's warfighters as they demand a faster and more agile OODA (observe, orient, decide, and act) loop by adopting new technologies, products, and tactics to respond to constantly changing threats and missions. DOD acquisitions must balance both integration and innovation demands while managing low costs through healthy contractor competition and incentives.
To develop a strategy that balances these objectives, it is beneficial to combine best practices from a number of past successes related to these challenges. Because of the diversity of systems, information technology (IT) intensive systems critical to C4ISR will be the focus of this paper. Given this, key concepts to be adopted include: Layering, Convergence Protocols, and Loosely Coupled Services.
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