Web-based HLA federations and simulations - methods and possibilities

Modelling and Simulation (M&S) is a vital part of the Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) concept, adapted by the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF). However, simulation model development, implementation, testing, and execution are time consuming and expensive processes. Hence, it is of great interest to combine the web and Internet technologies, and M&S in order to e.g. utilize the simulation models and computing resources more efficiently. This report presents the results from research conducted within the area of Web-based M&S. The project "Web-based HLA Federations and Simulations" was carried out during 2001 and 2002 on behalf of the SwAF. The main objective of the project was to investigate and study the benefits and advantages of the impact of networking technologies and distributed computing techniques on M&S for the SwAF. During the first year the potential of the combination of Web-technology and HLA federations, and Web-technology and legacy simulations was investigated. The focus of the project during 2002 was on component-based model development, distributed computing techniques, particularly Peer-to-peer computing, and collaborative model development and execution. The results from the project confirm our preliminary assumptions regarding the advantages of combining networking technologies, such as Internet and the World Wide Web, and M&S. We believe that the area has a great potential and will play a central role in the future NCW systems.