Distributed Common Ground System: Transforming Terabytes of Data in Actionable Intelligence

Timely sharing of accurate intelligence is critical to our nation’s security.

As the Department of Defense transforms, so does the intelligence enterprise. Forces deployed throughout the world, operating in joint environments, require real-time access to actionable intelligence. The Department of Defense’s response to this need is a global enterprise where military services, national agencies and coalition partners can access to time sensitive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data. This collaborative enterprise is the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS).

For more than 30 years, Lockheed Martin has supported DCGS, helping users around the world access time-sensitive, actionable intelligence gathered by manned and unmanned ISR platforms. 

DCGS integrates multiple ISR sensors and systems across the world and draws intelligence data from various sources; then correlates that data into an integrated picture of the battlespace.  When upgrading DCGS, Lockheed Martin is committed to an open systems architecture approach that enables interoperability with a wide range of previously “stove-piped” ISR systems.  Helping the DoD integrate sensors and ground stations on a common network to create a shared information enterprise is a challenge, and the foundation element uniting all service elements is the DCGS Integration Backbone or DIB.

A Foundation for Interoperability: DCGS Integration Backbone (DIB)

Each service is developing a portion of the DCGS Family of Systems, focused on their unique environments and challenges.  Key to delivering a cost-effective interoperable solution for Joint and Coalition partners is the establishment of a common infrastructure for DCGS: the DIB.

As co-developer of the DIB, Lockheed Martin brought its extensive service-oriented architecture expertise to the development of this revolutionary technology.  Predicating the DIB architecture on an open standards interface provides the interoperability link to support intelligence sharing between the entire DCGS Family of Systems. An open architecture also allows new applications to be easily added to support joint operations throughout the ISR domain. With its common interface standards and an open, service-oriented architecture, the DIB connects disparate locations and allows analysts with the appropriate security clearance to access, federate and share data from a multitude of intelligence sources.