Development of a C2 Standard of Task Representation for C4ISR Systems, Simulations and Robotics: Battle Management Language

Abstract

The science of Command and Control (C2) of military forces moves increasingly towards digital systems. As such, not only are humans consuming this information but also so are more automated systems. The need to use simulations to interact with Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems is becoming more acute. The interaction is becoming less interpersonal and focused more on data. Most critical of all the C2 information are the commander's intent, orders and directives, but these don't currently flow as data. They are typically transmitted as free text elements within messages or as stand-alone files. This is acceptable for interpersonal communication but it is inadequate for use with simulations, or for the future forces that have robotic components. Commanders demand to train as they fight. This means using their C4ISR devices to control simulations in addition to live forces. We need to fix the free text problem. Battle Management Language (BML) is a means to provide a completely unambiguous C2 specification for live forces, simulations and robotic forces.