Abrams Tanks SatCom Locates Enemy Targets

The Army is now expanding a new, high-speed, vehicle-mounted force tracking technology to include a wider range of combat platforms such as Stryker vehicles, Bradleys and Abrams tanks, service officials said. 

The system, now on Army jeeps or HMMWVs, allows Soldiers in combat to instantly know their location in relation to fellow Soldiers, enemy locations and surrounding terrain, service developers said.

The technology, called Joint Battle Command – Platform, has already been fielded with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and 10th Mountain Division. Future plans include a wider deployment across the Army with units traveling to strategically vital operational parts of the globe, Army officials told Scout Warrior.

The force tracking system, called JBC-P, uses a high-speed satellite network to show blue and red icons on a moving digital map – letting units on-the-move know exactly where they are in a fast-moving, dynamic combat environment.

For instance, the vehicle-mounted display technology could prove essentially significant in mountainous terrain such as Afghanistan where both friendly and enemy forces are maneuvering quickly to gain an advantage in an ongoing firefight. If U.S. Soldiers are able to quickly see where their fellow Soldiers are in relation to both the surrounding terrain and enemy forces, they will retain a combat-relevant strategic advantage.

U.S. Special Forces have also expressed interest in the technology, Army officials said. JBC-P could be particularly relevant to Special Operations units as they often deploy in small, self-contained mobile units disconnected from a larger force.

Next-Generation Technology

JBC-P uses an upgraded, high-speed satellite network called Blue Force Tracker 2, an improvement to the previous network that is, at least, ten times faster, Army officials said.