Army approves Tactical Space Layer A-CDD

The Army announced today the approval of the Tactical Space Layer Abbreviated Capability Development Document, a move that will allow the service to rapidly experiment and prototype capabilities for tactical space-based sensors to deliver solutions necessary to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline.

The Tactical Space Layer is one of three signature efforts under the Army's Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space Cross-Functional Team and will provide deep area sensing, rapid targeting and "unmatched battlefield situational awareness," Lt. Col. Travis Tallman, director of the CFT's tactical space signature effort, said in an April 19 statement. "Leveraging the TSL will further enable long-range precision fires and ground maneuvers in GPS-challenged environments."

In addition to shortening the sensor-to-shooter timeline, the TSL will allow soldiers to operate in anti-access/area-denied environments.

"The TSL will be integrated with the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, the Army's next generation intelligence ground station, which will be a crucial component to enable deep sending and shortening the S2S timeline," according to an April 19 Army press release. "TITAN will have the ability to access aerial and terrestrial sensors while enabling assured access to national commercial and TSL sensors to identify and deliver targetable data directly to fires networks that support LRPF."

A number of Army organizations were involved in the TSL A-CDD approval, including Space and Missile Defense Command, which provided the critical science and technology capabilities development support to the CFT.

The APNT/Space CFT and its partners are currently conducting a multiple-year, multiple-exercise campaign of learning that spans the U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. European Command theaters.

The CFT will also be assessing TSL prototypes during Project Convergence in October at White Sands Missile Range, NM, and Yuma Proving Grounds, AZ.