Reliable messaging for tactical group communication

Command and Control and other applications operating in tactical edge networks often require group-wise communication to effectively support military operations. Tactical users rely upon group situational awareness. Mission planning and execution involves distributing force orders and supporting information among collaborating groups. Network-centric concepts of operation offer the promise of a more flexible and responsive fighting force if the necessary information can be effectively disseminated and exchanged among warfighting users and elements. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has conducted research and development of reliable multicast transport protocols for over a decade. The NACK-Oriented Reliable Multicast (NORM) protocol specification provides robust reliable transport and ancillary functions to support different application needs. The NRL NORM “toolkit” implementation provides controls for application developers to develop robust and efficient group messaging applications capable of operating in tactical edge network environments. This paper describes these mechanisms and presents some results from laboratory and field experiments.