Connectivity Is Key

Jan 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By ASHLEY ROE

How do you manage and track nearly 7,000 metric tons of dry cargo in an environment where connectivity is elusive? The U.S. Navy's Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ship (T-AKE) program produces ships that transfer ammunition, food, fuel, repair parts and expendable supplies and materials to station ships and naval forces at sea. Since October 2001, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has awarded a combined $2.5 billion in contracts to General Dynamics/National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), Falls Church, Va., to build eight of these ships to be operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command. In accordance with their mission, the ships must continue to provide a steady stream of supplies and provisions to service members overseas. With so much cargo entering and leaving the ships, it was imperative to employ a commercial warehouse management system to track each batch of supplies. Yet, without secure network connectivity both at sea and in port, the system does not work.

The lead T-AKE ship, the USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), was completed last June and equipped with a Shipboard Warehouse Management System (SWMS) from HK Systems, New Berlin, Wis. “NAVSEA also required a solution to allow the tracking of information securely and to permit data to be transmitted wirelessly while at sea or in port,” says John Dow, vice president of marketing and business development for Fortress Technologies Inc., Tampa, Fla. In November 2006, General Dynamics NASSCO announced it had selected Fortress Technologies to supply wireless communications to T-AKE ships. “The ability to track and manage cargo efficiently is a major concentration for the T-AKE program,” Dow says. “The SWMS is a key part of the overall solution, and NAVSEA needed a wireless infrastructure to enable the system to work right.”

Fortress Technologies chose to implement its AF7500 Security Gateway plug-and-play solution and Secure Client software agent to provide a secure wireless link between the SWMS and its end-users. The AF7500 Security Gateway is a rack-mountable device that handles encryption, authentication, data integrity checking, key exchange and data compression. “Users should think of Security Gateway as a blanket for the network,” Dow explains. The device manages all security operations between wireless devices and their users and the network infrastructure, acting as the “security blanket” protecting all data being transferred over the network. The Secure Client software agent enables wireless devices, such as tablet PCs, PDAs and laptops, to communicate with the network and with each other. When installed, the system uses a single sign-on and creates a unique device identifier that allows only authorized devices on the network. The software agent functions over a range of different operating systems, from the newest Windows version to DOS.

Both Fortress Technologies components maintain the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) FIPS 140-2 certifications, which govern the security of combat support systems. Currently, the components are in use onboard the Lewis and Clark T-AKE ship. “The feedback we have received from our client is that the installation and implementation have been seamless,” Dow says. Secure Gateway arrives as a plug-and-play device. Secure Client is either installed on a host of devices or each one individually. “Installation for any application depends on the specific architecture you are working with,” he says.

“From talking with our customers, we've learned that having a wireless network is a critical component to these types of management systems,” Dow says. “In this application, the flexibility of wireless leads to operational efficiency not attainable in a wired environment.”

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