On the uses of technical support systems for tactical battle management

This report investigates Swedish and international experiences from using technical support systems for battle management. A survey is presented, based on literature reveiws and interviews with key personnel with insight in the development process of the Swedish battle management system Stridsledningssystem bataljon, (SLB). The reports show successful examples of usage of similar systems, primarily from American studies. The experimental unit Stryker Brigade has reportedly been very successful in its operations, largely due to its' capability of acting network-centric thanks to the FBCB2 system, according to the reports. The study also identifies a lack of practical experiences aside from those reported from Stryker Brigade. To get a wider perspective the investigation also includes common components and subsystems of support systems for battle management. Instead, further results have been achieved by investigating common components in this type of support systems, and found a long list of featurs that support, enhance or enable important capabilities. The conclusion of this study is that introducing technical support systems for tactical battle management, or their common components, will give a capability boost. Whether the Swedish Armed Forces is in need of such a capability enhancement has not been investigated in this study.