General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, has deployed more than 500 Command Post of the Future (CPOF) systems in support of the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. CPOF is part of a program to insert technology into the Army's Battle Command System (ABCS), a suite of networked digital systems that enable interoperability at all levels across the battlespace.

CPOF enables commanders and their staffs - more than 200 simultaneous users - to collaboratively develop operational plans, then monitor plan rehearsal and execution from geographically dispersed headquarters. The system runs on a commercial off-the-shelf computer workstation with three screens that provide a user-friendly, shared environment that rapidly displays and manipulates current operational information about friend and foe units. Information, including images and data, is seen in two and three dimensions across the distributed workspace.

By sharing situational awareness and collaborating with headquarters, warfighters can reduce their exposure to roadside threats.

After successful completion of an $18 million contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in June 2004 to field CPOF in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the program transitioned from DARPA to the Army in February 2006. CPOF is now managed by PM Battle Command which directs the program's deployment, sustainment and feature development for the Army. In May 2006, the U.S. Marine Corps awarded General Dynamics an engineering design contract to determine how CPOF could be integrated into its Combat Operations Centers. It was also used in the U.S. Air Force's Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 06 and the U.S. Joint Forces Command Urban Resolve 2015 series of experiments in October 2006.

Sergyi Way
24.10.2006

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