Realizing Network Enabled Capability Through Dependable Dynamic Systems Integration

The move towards Network Enabled Capability (NEC) by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is designed to achieve enhanced military effect through the networking and coherent integration of existing and future resources including sensors, weapon systems, and decision makers to achieve greater agility in the prosecution of military operations. One of the many challenges of realizing NEC is engineering systems to cope with change in a highly dynamic mobile environment. This paper presents our experience in realizing NEC through a proof-of-concept software demonstrator. It adopts an architectural approach, based on the principles of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), to deliver dependable, dynamic systems integration in the context of surveillance capability coping with variable availability of static and mobile sensors. Consideration of the delivery of NEC indicates that SOA can support evolutionary development and dependable operation through real-time discovery and fault-tolerance.