Distributed Common Ground System-Navy (DCGS-N) Fact Sheet

by United States Navy

United States Navy
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
Office of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications
Contact: Steven A. Davis / steven.a.davis@navy.mil
Desk: 619.524.3432

Distributed Common Ground System-Navy
(DCGS-N) Fact Sheet

Description
The Distributed Common Ground System-Navy (DCGS-N) program provides the Navy’s primary intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR&T) support capability. Afloat or ashore, DCGS-N tools are critical for the operational commander’s battlespace awareness and netcentric operations.

Features
DCGS-N is the Navy’s primary ISR&T support system, providing processing, exploitation and dissemination services at the operational and tactical levels of warfare. DCGS-N operates at the General Services and Sensitive Compartmented Information security levels. The program will be fielded in two increments to Navy force-level units, Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs), the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center and at several Navy training locations.

DCGS-N makes maximum use of mature commercial / government-off-the-shelf and joint services software, tools and standards to provide a scalable, modular and extensible multi-source capability that is interoperable with the other service and agency DCGS systems. In 2007, the DCGS-N program was realigned to fit into the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) architecture, which is the Navy’s next generation tactical afloat network. The Increment 1 follow-on system, DCGS-N Increment 2, planned for fiscal year 2016, will be hosted primarily as software within the CANES infrastructure as part of the Navy's long-term vision for consolidation of C4I networks and services.

Background
DCGS-N Increment 1, the current increment of the program, is the initial Navy component of the Defense Department DCGS family of systems and is replacing legacy ISR&T systems. Increment 1 is broken into two blocks. Increment 1, Block 1 is currently being fielded. Increment 1, Block 2, expected to field fourth quarter fiscal year 2012, will focus on capability gaps such as increased storage, enhanced collection management tools, and enhanced geospatial and signals intelligence tools. Increment 1, Block 2 will also serve as the initial step to moving to the CANES environment.

The Increment 1 installation plan includes aircraft carriers, large-deck amphibious assault ships, fleet command ships, intelligence training centers and school house facilities, and shore-based numbered fleet MOC reach-back support sites. Between Milestone C in August 2009 and September 2011, 10 Increment 1 exploitation suites were installed with 19 additional installations through Full Deployment in fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014, as well as five Shipbuilding and Construction, Navy-funded deliveries through fiscal year 2015.

DCGS-N Increment 2 will build upon the capabilities provided by DCGS-N Increment 1 and Maritime Domain Awareness Spiral 1, converging afloat and ashore ISR into an integrated Information Dominance enterprise. Increment 2 will be a software-centric program that will support evolving fleet needs through early and frequent delivery of capabilities starting in fiscal year 2016.

All Increment 1 (Blocks 1 and 2) hardware requirements will be phased out with the delivery of Increment 2. Increment 2 will also address the remaining capability gaps to include the ability to process, exploit and disseminate sensor data from emerging sensors such as the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance and Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System unmanned sensors, as well as data from the new P-8 manned aircraft. Increment 2 will greatly improve the Navy’s ability to 1) detect and identify maritime threats 2) fuse national, tactical and inter-theater data for operational use and 3) allow better DCGS family of systems and intelligence community visibility into maritime collection requirements.

Point of Contact
Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence
Battlespace Awareness and Information Operations Program Office
4301 Pacific Highway,
San Diego, CA 92110
Public Affairs: 619.524.3432

Updated November 2011