ARKONA (FüWES)
Encyclopedia
ARKONA – is an Air Command and Control System (ACCS) of the German Air Force.
(RAP) System of the former National People’s Army (NVA) operated by the East German Air Force
. After the German reunification in 1990, it was adapted to NATO standards, developed to an ACCS, and integrated to the Bundeswehr
/ German Air Force.
Original NVA designation: ARKONA - Automatisierte Radar Kontroll- und Navigationsanlage
NVA Air Force Command
at that time. The overall responsibility was with the ACOS and Chief Command Posts and Automation (de: Gefechtstände Automatisierung - GSA) Major General
Dr. G. Hiemann. It was dedicated exclusively to the East German Air Force (East GAF) and operated on Air Command and Control (ACC) Post level, according to NATO terminology Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) / Control and Reporting Post (CRP). The system design, software development, – maintenance, and – change was mainly provided by east German soldiers / IT-engineers with education background of the Soviet Union’s Military Academy, S.M. Budjonny
in St. Petersburg. According to its own understanding, with the final software release the NVA was equipped with a co-primary ACCS
which was independent from the Russian
system ALMAS at that time. As to Confidence
and Availability
ARKONA did have advantages in comparison to ALMAS.
Remark:
Original designation (ru Soviet Army
): Алмаз — АСУ КП объединений и ЦКП Войск ПВО
Translation (en): Automated Control System Division
Command Post and Major Operating Centre
Air Defence
, ARKONA did not have full backup capability as to weapons control and operations, the basic ideas have been worth to be preserved. The general positive assessment of the ARKONA IT-Architecture initiated the final decision to transfer ARKONA to the Bundeswehr.
. In the time to come, the operational utilisation of ARKONA took plase mainly in stationary CRC, in deployable engagements, and by so-called third party users with the agreement of the responsible in-service support manager.
) and generates distributes and displays system internal a RAP. During missions on any working position different systems of co-ordinates are displayable and on-the-fly changeable. Bull’s–eye Control is possible and Vector Assistance is available. Moreover, from different sensors with different data formats ARKONA is capable to receive, process, and display . The appropriate CRC operational scenario as well different missions exercise and training might be provided on the basis of the explicit working position mode. In any case the hardware can be maintained. Up to 2005 the processing of correlated Flight plan
date was supported by ADMAR 2000
and in the time to come by CIMACT
.
Remark:
ARKONA processes the ASTERIX categories CAT001, 002, 034 and 048, available via the civil DFS RADNAR.
hardware which has to meet specific technical requirements. With the exemption of a small number of particular cases X86-Class PC
s are recommended. The data providing IT
might be on COTS as well. The operating system is Microsoft. Software engineering, - maintenance, and - change is executed by the GAF C3 Systems Support Centre (GAF C3 SSC) in Erndtebrück. The previous advantages (based on MS Windows and COTS hardware) changed end of the 1990th more and more into the oboist. Windows became permanently more complex, the hardware configuration had to be changed more frequently, and last but not least the latent IT-security risks became unacceptable. In order to overcome these problems the German Improved Air Defence System (GIADS) was procured and intoduced in 2004.
– WSC (de: Waffensystemkommando der Luftwaffe – WaSysKdoLw) have been in charge of the ARKONA In-Service Support Management (ISSM) since its take-over to the Bundeswehr in 1990. Today this WSC provides the obsolescence management, the hardware and software configuration control and the software related instructions to the GAF C3 SSC. The in-service support manager certifies on request the utilisation of third party users.
Remark:
The DASDIPS pool consists mainly of deployable hardware and software products operated by the GAF Tactical Command and Control Service (TACCS / de: Einsatzführungsdienst der Luftwaffe – EinsFüDstLw). Some of these component are the ARKONA ACC System, the remaining terrestrial radio systems of the Aeronautical Mobile Service (R-863, AMS East, original description „Бекас P-863M“) and the CSI (CRC/SAM Interface) System. DASDIPS is mainly dedicated to support limited operations (e.g. to provide assistance to the Federal Police, exercises, etc.) with the emphasis RAP display, interface functionality, and the improvement of the Air Situation Awareness.
At present the successor product GIADS is operational in the stationary CRCs and in the Deployable CRC.
Definition
According to NATO terminology, ARKONA was an Air Situation Awareness / Recognized Air PictureRecognized Air Picture
A Recognized Air Picture or RAP is a complete listing of all aircraft in flight within a particular airspace, with each aircraft being identified as friendly or hostile, and ideally containing additional information such as type of aircraft, flight number, and flight plan...
(RAP) System of the former National People’s Army (NVA) operated by the East German Air Force
Luftstreitkräfte der NVA
The Luftstreitkraefte / Luftverteidigung was the Air Force of East Germany . As with the Landstreitkräfte, the Volksmarine, and the Border troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army ....
. After the German reunification in 1990, it was adapted to NATO standards, developed to an ACCS, and integrated to the Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
/ German Air Force.
Original NVA designation: ARKONA - Automatisierte Radar Kontroll- und Navigationsanlage
History
The procurement product ARKONA was developed, introduced and operated by order of theNVA Air Force Command
Luftstreitkräfte der NVA
The Luftstreitkraefte / Luftverteidigung was the Air Force of East Germany . As with the Landstreitkräfte, the Volksmarine, and the Border troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army ....
at that time. The overall responsibility was with the ACOS and Chief Command Posts and Automation (de: Gefechtstände Automatisierung - GSA) Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Dr. G. Hiemann. It was dedicated exclusively to the East German Air Force (East GAF) and operated on Air Command and Control (ACC) Post level, according to NATO terminology Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) / Control and Reporting Post (CRP). The system design, software development, – maintenance, and – change was mainly provided by east German soldiers / IT-engineers with education background of the Soviet Union’s Military Academy, S.M. Budjonny
Military Academy of the Signal Corps, S. M. Budjonny
The Military Academy of the Signal Corps, S. M. Budjonny is a military university in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, founded in 1919.- History :...
in St. Petersburg. According to its own understanding, with the final software release the NVA was equipped with a co-primary ACCS
ACCS
ACCS is the $500M NATO Air Command and Control System programme, which is intended to replace the existing air command and control systems in Europe from 2009 onwards. At the highest level it comprises the Combined Air Operations Centre from which the air battle is run...
which was independent from the Russian
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
system ALMAS at that time. As to Confidence
Confidence
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited...
and Availability
Availability
In telecommunications and reliability theory, the term availability has the following meanings:* The degree to which a system, subsystem, or equipment is in a specified operable and committable state at the start of a mission, when the mission is called for at an unknown, i.e., a random, time...
ARKONA did have advantages in comparison to ALMAS.
Remark:
Original designation (ru Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
): Алмаз — АСУ КП объединений и ЦКП Войск ПВО
Translation (en): Automated Control System Division
Division
-Mathematics:*Division , the inverse of multiplication*Division , digital implementation of mathematical division*Division, in relational algebra-Science:*Cell division, the process in which biological cells multiply...
Command Post and Major Operating Centre
Bunker Fuchsbau
The Fuchsbau is a bunker system, located south of Fürstenwalde in the mountains Raunische Berge federal-state Brandenburg, which was mainly used militarily.- Description :Utilisation by the Air Force of the NPA...
Air Defence
ARKONA advantages
In spite of some compatibility problems to the Integrated NATO Air Defense SystemIntegrated NATO Air Defense System
Integrated NATO Air Defense System or INADS was the NATO response to the Russian development of long range bombers in the 1950s. The need to maintain a credible deterrence when early warning and intercept times were massively reduced led to the development of an improved air defense ...
, ARKONA did not have full backup capability as to weapons control and operations, the basic ideas have been worth to be preserved. The general positive assessment of the ARKONA IT-Architecture initiated the final decision to transfer ARKONA to the Bundeswehr.
Take-over and utilisation in the Bundeswehr
After ARKONA was taken over by the Bundeswehr, the rework of the system documentation (including the IT-Security Concept) had to be provided as this is the case with any regular German procurement product. Subsequently, that particular product had to be upgraded to a full compatible and interoperable NATO ACCS. Since that time it has been embedded into the organisational structure of the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. In the time to come, the operational utilisation of ARKONA took plase mainly in stationary CRC, in deployable engagements, and by so-called third party users with the agreement of the responsible in-service support manager.
Functionality today
ARKONA is a self-supporting System with interfaces to other IT-Architectures. System internal it receives TDL information (e.g. Link 1Link 1
Link 1 is a computer network standard developed by NATO to provide information exchange for air defence.- General description :Link 1 is a point-to-point, duplex, non-encrypted, digital NATO Tactical Data Link Standard for the automatic exchange of Track and Strobe data, combined with link and...
) and generates distributes and displays system internal a RAP. During missions on any working position different systems of co-ordinates are displayable and on-the-fly changeable. Bull’s–eye Control is possible and Vector Assistance is available. Moreover, from different sensors with different data formats ARKONA is capable to receive, process, and display . The appropriate CRC operational scenario as well different missions exercise and training might be provided on the basis of the explicit working position mode. In any case the hardware can be maintained. Up to 2005 the processing of correlated Flight plan
Flight plan
Flight plans are documents filed by pilots or a Flight Dispatcher with the local Civil Aviation Authority prior to departure...
date was supported by ADMAR 2000
ADMAR
ADMAR – stays for the German wording Abgesetzte Darstellung von MADAP Radar data and was the predecessor product of CIMACT.- Definition :...
and in the time to come by CIMACT
CIMACT
CIMACT – a European Civil- Military Air Traffic Management Co-ordination Tool- Definition :CIMACT is a EUROCONTROL software product, that combines and merges several civilian surveillance- and military sensor data sources with Flight plan data sources. After data correlation it provides a...
.
Features
- Compatibility to The NATO Data link standards Link 1 and interoperability to the NASTO Airde Defence
- Maximal upper limit of targets to be processed = 3,000 Flight targets (Tracks)
- Direct connection of up to 255 sensors
- Sensor data reception via the military RADAR Data Network (MilRADNET) and the RDNAT of the Deutsche FlugsicherungDeutsche FlugsicherungThe Deutsche Flugsicherung is the company in charge of air traffic control for Germany. It is a company organized under private law and 100% owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. Since 1994, DFS has been responsible for handling both civil and military air traffic in peacetime, removing a...
(DFS) - Conversion of any proprietary RADAR data format to the ASTERIXASTERIX (ATC standard)ASTERIX is a standard for the exchange of air traffic control information. It is developed and maintained by the European ATC organization Eurocontrol...
data standard - Link 1 data exchange wit up to 16 Air Defence Control Centres
- Data communication via Interim JTIDS Message Specification/Standard with AWACS
- LAN data communication via TCT/IP and UDP/IPLAN
Remark:
ARKONA processes the ASTERIX categories CAT001, 002, 034 and 048, available via the civil DFS RADNAR.
Hardware Software
ARKONA runes on COTSCommercial off-the-shelf
In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
hardware which has to meet specific technical requirements. With the exemption of a small number of particular cases X86-Class PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s are recommended. The data providing IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
might be on COTS as well. The operating system is Microsoft. Software engineering, - maintenance, and - change is executed by the GAF C3 Systems Support Centre (GAF C3 SSC) in Erndtebrück. The previous advantages (based on MS Windows and COTS hardware) changed end of the 1990th more and more into the oboist. Windows became permanently more complex, the hardware configuration had to be changed more frequently, and last but not least the latent IT-security risks became unacceptable. In order to overcome these problems the German Improved Air Defence System (GIADS) was procured and intoduced in 2004.
In-Service Support Management
The General Air Force Office (de: Luftwaffenamt - LWA), later the GAF Material Command and finally the GAF Weapon Systems CommandWaffensystemkommando der Luftwaffe
The German Air Force Weapon Systems Command – GAFWSC is a Bundeswehr command authority on division level, with the entire organization areas covering responsibility for air force logistics, armament, and in-service support controlling of the GAF material and airborne vehicles.-External links:*...
– WSC (de: Waffensystemkommando der Luftwaffe – WaSysKdoLw) have been in charge of the ARKONA In-Service Support Management (ISSM) since its take-over to the Bundeswehr in 1990. Today this WSC provides the obsolescence management, the hardware and software configuration control and the software related instructions to the GAF C3 SSC. The in-service support manager certifies on request the utilisation of third party users.
End of lifecycle utilisation
With the closure of the last ARKONA CRC – Brockzetel in December 2010 the stationary utilisation of this ACC System was frozen. For special cases, e.g. Deployable Air Situation Display and Interface Processor System (DASDIPS), and as far as the logistic maintenance remains possible, ARKONA might be used continuously. This will be the case for third party users as well. Moreover, there might be requirement for selected features e.g.:- Interface functionality / data exchange of tactical data links
- Utilisation of the ARKONA IT-Security gateway function high-to-low (certified by the National Certification Authority) in line with the Security Operating Procedures (SOP)
- ASTERIX conversion of proprietary RADRA data formats
- Mode S processing / display
Remark:
The DASDIPS pool consists mainly of deployable hardware and software products operated by the GAF Tactical Command and Control Service (TACCS / de: Einsatzführungsdienst der Luftwaffe – EinsFüDstLw). Some of these component are the ARKONA ACC System, the remaining terrestrial radio systems of the Aeronautical Mobile Service (R-863, AMS East, original description „Бекас P-863M“) and the CSI (CRC/SAM Interface) System. DASDIPS is mainly dedicated to support limited operations (e.g. to provide assistance to the Federal Police, exercises, etc.) with the emphasis RAP display, interface functionality, and the improvement of the Air Situation Awareness.
At present the successor product GIADS is operational in the stationary CRCs and in the Deployable CRC.