ARKONA (FüWES)
ARKONAPLATZ (original name of the NVA : A utomatisierte R adar Ko ntroll- and N avigations a nLocated ) is a command and weapon control system of the German air force .
definition
According to NATO, ARKONA was a Situation Awareness / Recognized Air Picture (RAP) system of the NVA , which was adopted by the German Air Force and adapted, shaped and updated in terms of air situation representation , weapon use and combat management.
Today ARKONA is a command and weapon deployment system (FüWES) with RAP primary function in EinsFüDstLw , which was used operationally in the stationary Control and Reporting Centers (CRC) until 2010 and can still be used in deployable operations and by third-party users.
history
ARKONA was developed, procured and used as an armament project on behalf of the LSK / LV command of the East German NVA. The then head of radio technology troops , GenMaj M. Merkel, was responsible for the overall project. It was intended exclusively for the NVA air force / air defense and was used in the command posts, according to today's understanding CRC / CRP. According to the language used by the NVA, it was part of the “Automated Information System of the Air Force with alphanumeric screen input and output”. System design, software development as well as software maintenance and software modification (SWPÄ) were largely carried out by officers of the radio technical troops, who were grouped together and released into a development team especially for this purpose. With the last software version, the NVA had, according to its own understanding, a co-primary product from the eastern combat command system of Alma's at that time . ARKONA had decisive advantages (e.g. confidentiality , availability, etc.) over Almas. It depicts a continuous digital processing from the radar device to the operational management level in real time.
Note (ru / de: original designation Алмаз / Almas): Алмаз - АСУ КП объединений и ЦКП Войск ПВО , German translation: Automated command system GS Division and ZGS of the air defense troops .
Advantages of ARKONA
Despite some compatibility problems with the Integrated Air Defense System of NATO - ARKONA did not offer a full backup in terms of weapons use / combat management - the basic idea was worth preserving. The overall positive overall assessment of the ARKONA IT architecture ultimately supported the decision-making basis for taking over into the Bundeswehr .
Takeover and use in the Bundeswehr
After ARKONA was taken over by the German Armed Forces, the system documentation (including the IT security concept) was reproduced as a proper armament project. In addition, the product was shaped into FüWES. Since then, it has been embedded in the organizational structure of the Air Force. It was used primarily in the stationary CRCs of the operational management areas and in deployable use, but also by so-called third-party users (e.g. BOS ) with the consent of the responsible user manager.
Functionality today
ARKONA is a self-sufficient system with interfaces to other IT architectures . Within the system , a RAP is generated, distributed and displayed from sensor data that is imported via tactical data links (e.g. Link 1 ). Various coordinate systems can be displayed and changed "on the fly" to support the deployment of weapons. "Bull's-eye control" is possible and "Vector Assistance" is available. In addition, ARKONA can record, process and display data from different sensors with different data formats. The respective CRC application scenarios as well as the different tasks and roles can be implemented through explicitly defined workstation modes, whereby the hardware equipment can be retained unchanged. The preparation of correlated flight plan data took place until 2005 with the support of ADMAR 2000 and later CIMACT .
Performance characteristics
The performance of the FüWES ARKONA can be proven by the following data:
- Compatibility with the NATO data link standard Link 1 and interoperability with NATO air defense
- Maximum upper limit of the flight destinations to be processed = 3,000 flight destinations (tracks)
- Direct connection of a maximum of 255 radar sensors
- Receipt of radar data via the military radar data network (MilRADNET) and the radar data network (RADNET) of DFS
- Conversion of any proprietary radar data formats to the ASTERIX data standard
- Link 1 data exchange with up to 16 management positions in the course
- Data communication via IJIMS (Interim JTIDS Message Specification / Standard) with AWACS
- Air situation simulation for education and training through to participation in NATO LV exercises
- LAN data communication via TCP / IP and UDP / IP
Note: ARKONA processes the ASTERIX categories CAT001, 002, 034, 048 and 150, which are available via DFS 'civil RADNET.
Hardware software
ARKONA can run on commercially available hardware ( COTS ) that meets the specific minimum technical requirements. With a few applications, PCs of the X86 class are recommended.
Commercially available hardware is also sufficient as IT for data supply. Microsoft Windows is used as the operating software. The software maintenance and modification (SWPÄ) of the proprietary software was carried out in-house by the Air Force's weapon system support center (TE: System Support Center for Air Force Command Services (SysUstgZ FüDstLw) in Erndtebrück).
The former advantages (support on Windows, usability on COTS hardware) had an increasingly negative effect at the end of the 1990s. Due to the relatively short time intervals between the market launch of increasingly complex Windows software versions, the increasing need to change the hardware configuration and latent IT security risks, the procurement of the successor product GIADS (German Improved Air Defense System) was ultimately imperative.
User management
The Air Force Office , later the Air Force Material Command and ultimately the Air Force Weapons System Command , were responsible for the ARKONA usage management. Obsolescence management, configuration control and SWMÄ commissioning also took place there.
End of use
With the closure of the last ARKONA-CRC leaflet in December 2010, stationary use as FüWES was frozen. ARKONA in connection with DASDIPS should continue to be used for remaining requirements as long as there are still possibilities for logistical supply. This is also true for third-party users. In particular, there is an undiminished need for selected functionalities such as:
- Interface function / data exchange via tactical data links
- Protection of IT security gradients "high-to-low" via BSI certified security gateway ( ASGW - Advanced Security Gateway)
- ASTERIX conversion of proprietary radar data formats (RACO - Radar Data Converter)
- Mode S processing / display
Note: When "DASDIPS" deployable systems are operational command service of the Air Force (EinsFüDstLw), respectively. Mainly it concerns the ARKONA air situation display component, the remaining ground radio stations aeronautical radio service (R-863, Flugfunk Ost / original name: "Бекас P-863M") and possibly CSI (CRC / SAM interface) device. DASDIPS is mainly used for small projects (e.g. administrative assistance for the police etc.) with a focus on air situation display and interface function and serves to improve local, regional and supra-regional awareness of the situation.
The successor product GIADS is currently being used operationally in the stationary CRCs and in the deployable CRC.
References
- 50 years EinsFüDstLw 1960 - 2010, L. Fölbach 2001.
- Military Lexicon, 2nd edition, Military Publishing House of the GDR , 1973.
- L. Willmann, O. Kopatz: Ready for battle, 1982.
- Dictionary of German military history, 1st edition, 1985.
- G. Hiemann, textbook Mil. FS,… 1987, ISBN 3-327-00310-6
- Soviet troops in Germany,… 1994, ISBN 5-235-02221-1
- Mil. Study glossary, Federal Language Office 50354, current edition
- W.-R. Stuppert u. S. Fiedler, The radio technical troops of the air defense of the GDR - history and stories, Steffen Verlag Berlin u. Friedland, 1st edition 2012, ISBN 978-3-942477-39-0