23/7/2014
The IDF use many C3 systems, but only one provides IDF GHQ with a status picture of the war. It is called "Tirat Ha’Agam". The Matzpen Unit is responsible for the development and maintenance of the system. Exclusive interview
If you ever wondered how IDF GHQ commands the military during a war or some other operational activity, meet "Tirat Ha’Agam" ("Castle of the Lake") – a communication system for the decision-making echelon at the "Pit" (Underground GQH Operations Center), designed to provide a current battle picture of the entire IDF. System development had begun sometime in the late 1990s and the first operational employment was in 2004. That first trial employment involved a major training exercise that should have relied on the system, and it failed. The next operational trial was attempted in 2005, during the pullout from the Gaza Strip, using a more stable version – and this time it was successful. In 2006, the system was handed over to the Ness Company for further development with the IDF remaining in a supervisory position, until recently.
In the last months the IDF decided to have the development of the C2 system brought back home. Pursuant to this decision, the bulk of the system development and maintenance activity will be transferred from the Ness Company to the "Matzpen" Unit of the IDF C4I Branch. "We take advantage of this move to initiate a major system upgrade (NG version). The return process is expected to take two and a half years, at the conclusion of which, namely – in July 2016, everything will be reassigned to IDF responsibility. The first version will be issued by the end of this year, with support provided for about 40% of the operational processes specified in advance and the rest will be completed by 2016," explains Lt. Col. Omer, Head of the "Otzma" Branch, in charge of C3 systems for the regional command and GHQ levels at the Matzpen Unit of the C4I Branch.
According to the new plan, about 80% of the activity will be handled by the IDF and the remaining 20% will still be handled by the Ness Company. IDF fully owns the rights (IP) for the system. The people of the Matzpen Unit say that the system is highly complex, and that the change has been made as the IDF had realized that such a critical system should be fully controlled by the military. It is easy to imagine what will happen if such a system malfunctions during wartime. At the same time, it is difficult to ignore the timing of this decision – precisely at a time when the IDF commits to budget cuts, the Chief of Staff decides to entrust the development of the system to compulsory service programmers rather than to the programmers of a specialist company. Without a doubt, this will lead to significant cost savings.
App Store for GHQ
Another aspect they note at the Matzpen Unit is the user's experience. "The current system has two primary deficiencies: it is not easy to operate, and its performance is not good enough," explains Omer. "Compared to the services the user is accustomed to on the Internet, it is a significantly less pleasant experience, and we want to improve that. The new version will be similar to the Google Maps service, with alerts similar to Facebook. We would like the user to be able to learn how to use the system in a few hours."
Tirat Ha’Agam is the primary C3 system of the IDF for the supreme command and GHQ level. It supports operational processes, from the launching of a rocket in the direction of Israel to a total war, hence its importance. For clarification purposes – IDF GHQ does not have any other C3 system. "We refer here to hundreds of man-years (invested) in a development effort which consists primarily of adding operational processes to the system. Namely – someone will characterize the processes and they would then be loaded into the system. The occupational specialty that is the most difficult to produce and preserve at the unit is the system analyst specialty – the people who provide a bridge between the operational side and the technical side. Some of them hail from different places within the military, and they understand the field very profoundly," says Omer.
Unlike other C3 systems like the Tzayad (Digital Ground Army) system used by the tactical echelon and designed to function at the front line, IDF GHQ is almost always stationary, so it is assumed that they will have a wall socket available. That is the reason why the programmers develop the system for the IDF's standard IT infrastructure. "There is a difference between a website and a C3 system. With Tirat Ha’Agam it was the first time this connection was made. We implement such technologies as 5HTML. No other military C3 systems are based on this technology," says Major Eli, leader of the Tirat Ha’Agam project at the Matzpen Unit.
"We are trying to work with a lean client instead of the full-figured client we have today. As we are upgrading an existing system, at this point we do not touch the structure of the database. If we want to switch from a relational database into an object-oriented one, it will involve a lot of man-years and it would not converge into our timetable. We do develop a hybrid model. At the bottom we have a relational database and the end stations will be object-oriented and provide us with abilities that we do not have today. The database will not remain exactly as it is - we will add in-memory capabilities to improve the response. One should bear in mind that every little modification must be approved by all service branches. The objective is to adapt the lean client to the Network IDF concept – a service-oriented concept."
Will Tirat Ha’Agam become a managed service or will it remain an application?
"It will be both," says Eli. "You will have all of the operational processes at one place. We are trying to make some of the services accessible through platforms other than PC, like tablets, for example. We have developed a version we issue to senior commanders so that they may be able to access the system even when they are out of the office, using ruggedized and secure platforms. The next changeover of Chiefs of Staff will probably involve the handover of a tablet rather than a book. We are also planning an App Store for GHQ."
Innovating - but Carefully
Despite the difficulties involved in converting a system such as Tirat Ha’Agam to new technologies like object-oriented databases, Omer explains that the unit is experimenting with new database types in the context of new systems they are developing. "There is some controversy around the world as to how mature these technologies really are and to what extent they actually improve the system's performance. I believe in a combined approach, as necessary".
"One of the options is to have the system provide secondary processes through new technologies as an alternative to developing the entire system afresh using these technologies. We can, for example, add a tab that will display the data received from another system. As far as the user is concerned, when he opens this tab everything is done in the background. In this way we can improve the system without disrupting it."
Along with new databases, the Matzpen Unit is also experimenting with open code applications. One consideration is to reduce costs (although this does not always happen), and the other consideration is more frequent version updates. "With an open code things happen faster," explains Eli. "We decided to adopt tools that offer a better solution than the classic tools. At the same time, there is the issue of information security. It is a different work methodology than the one we were accustomed to vis-à-vis a classic software company."
Omer states further that the Unit is developing a training program in cooperation with the IDF Computer School. "Admittedly, with Tirat Ha’Agam we do not use it very intensively, but with other systems it has been assimilated. We do it in a calculated manner. One should bear in mind that if the system malfunctions on Saturday at 03:00 AM, you want to have someone you can call. In the past, we encountered a malfunction on a Saturday evening, and Microsoft made their specialist available to us from abroad in order to provide a solution. With operational systems, you want someone at the manufacturer's end. You cannot rely on support forums in such cases. These issues are important to the IDF," says Omer.
With systems like Tirat Ha’Agam, which should monitor operational processes at the level of the entire IDF, characterization is the most difficult part. The technical characterization specialists step in, sit down with the field officers in charge of the operational characterization and with the client and translate the operational need into the technical language for the programmers. "In the context of the characterization process of a major operational process, you go out to the field. You attend the actual training exercises, you sit down with the users where they operate. You must understand the user's environment," explains Eli.
"A system analyst can characterize a simple operational process in a few months. A complex process can take many long months. After the analyst had written the document, the operational user should endorse it. Subsequently, the document is transferred to the development people who issue a software version which the user should once again endorse. When the system is ready, another round of tests is run vis-à-vis the users. Only then do we have the software installed and a week-long trial is run at the operational site. These four inspection points enable us to ensure the full compatibility between the user's need and the final product."
Does the system include operational processes that are not used?
"One of the problems is the time constant from the moment the demand is initiated until the final product is ready. In most cases, the user who had characterized the needs will not be the one who receives the final product (owing to the development interval). We are working on tools that will allow shorter time constants", says Eli.
Whereas the system is very complex, the most difficult challenge with which the Matzpen Unit has to cope is preserving their professional personnel for long service periods of several years, like they do at civilian companies like NESS.
"We understand that we must produce and preserve system engineers. These people should remain in IDF for many years. At Ness, they managed to accomplish that. In the IDF it is more difficult. One of the ideas is to develop a long-term service program for them, including officer training and command positions", concludes Omer.
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