Defence Information Infrastructure
Encyclopedia
Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) is a secure military network owned by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence MoD
. It covers the various branches of the armed forces, including the Royal Navy
, British Army
and Royal Air Force
as well as MOD Civil Servants. It reaches to deployed airbases and ships at sea, but not to aircraft in flight.
The partnership developing DII is called the Atlas Consortium
and is made up of HP Enterprise Services (formerly EDS), Fujitsu
, EADS
and Logica. Their approach is in essence to leverage Microsoft Windows XP (and future Windows platforms) together with the web browser Internet Explorer
to access a VPN
.
The intent is to support 2,000 MoD sites with some 150,000 terminals (or end user computers) and 300,000 user accounts. There are likely to be several hundred application programmes available through DII, with the aim of them having consistency in look-and-feel. Terminals may be fixed or mobile in nature. The ability to handle data classified as Secret is fundamental to its design. User logon leads to that user being able to see just the data and applications for which they are authorised. The network is to handle not just alphanumeric data, but also graphics and video. Voice, as in voice over internet protocol VOIP is out of scope and will be handled by a different MoD network. Similarly communication with aircraft is out of scope and is handled by a further collection of networks.
The network was conceived of in a 1998 UK Strategic Defence Review. The Defence Procurement Agency
(DPA) formed its Integrated Project Team IPT
in October 2000 and ATLAS was selected in March 2005, with contract signing on 21 March 2005.
The contract for Increment 2c, including the Top Secret element of the programme, was signed in January 2009.
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. It covers the various branches of the armed forces, including the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as well as MOD Civil Servants. It reaches to deployed airbases and ships at sea, but not to aircraft in flight.
The partnership developing DII is called the Atlas Consortium
Atlas Consortium
The ATLAS Consortium comprises five partner companies; HP Enterprise Services, Fujitsu, EADS Defence and Security Systems and Logica. Each ATLAS partner has extensive experience of major technology implementation programmes in both the public and private sectors.The Consortium are tasked with...
and is made up of HP Enterprise Services (formerly EDS), Fujitsu
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the world's third-largest IT services provider measured by revenues....
, EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
and Logica. Their approach is in essence to leverage Microsoft Windows XP (and future Windows platforms) together with the web browser Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
to access a VPN
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
.
The intent is to support 2,000 MoD sites with some 150,000 terminals (or end user computers) and 300,000 user accounts. There are likely to be several hundred application programmes available through DII, with the aim of them having consistency in look-and-feel. Terminals may be fixed or mobile in nature. The ability to handle data classified as Secret is fundamental to its design. User logon leads to that user being able to see just the data and applications for which they are authorised. The network is to handle not just alphanumeric data, but also graphics and video. Voice, as in voice over internet protocol VOIP is out of scope and will be handled by a different MoD network. Similarly communication with aircraft is out of scope and is handled by a further collection of networks.
The network was conceived of in a 1998 UK Strategic Defence Review. The Defence Procurement Agency
Defence Procurement Agency
The Defence Procurement Agency , was an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence responsible for the acquisition of materiel, equipment and services, for the British armed forces....
(DPA) formed its Integrated Project Team IPT
IPT
IPT may refer to:* Department of Petroleum Engineering and Applied Geophysics, NTNU* Illini Prosthetic Technologies, a prosthetics organization based in Illinois* Incendiary paint theory, a theory of the Hindenburg disaster...
in October 2000 and ATLAS was selected in March 2005, with contract signing on 21 March 2005.
The contract for Increment 2c, including the Top Secret element of the programme, was signed in January 2009.
Costs and transparency
The project is currently (2010) scheduled to cost at least £7.1bn, however the UK government has said it may attempt to reduce this sum. The Ministry of Defence gave parliament the figure of £2.3bn, even though it knew the cost would be at least £5.8bn. By 2008 the programme was running at least 18 months late; had delivered only 29,000 of a contracted 63,000 terminals; and had delivered none of the contracted Secret capability. In January 2010 the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence announced that the Ministry of Defence had authorised DII increment 3a at a cost of around £540 million to provide 42,000 terminals within the RAF and at Joint Helicopter Command. He stated that the project would deliver "benefits" worth over £1.6 billion over the 10 years of the contract.External links
- Defence Information Infrastructure at the ATLAS Consortium site
- Defence Information Infrastructure Group at the UK Ministry Of Defence site