Exercise WARFIGHTER 25.4 (WFX 25.4) is a US Army delivered exercise involving 10,000 personnel, exercising from multiple locations in the USA, mainland Europe and the UK. Soldiers from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom took part in WFX 25.4. Troops from 1st Infantry Division French Army, and 3rd (UK) Division, exercised in a realistic simulated combat environment to improve communications, coordination and planning skills, when responding to enemy threats.
249 Gurkha Signal Squadron deployed for just under three months under the command of Major Andrews Kane (Officer Commanding 249 Gurkha Signal Squadron), to provide operational communications information system (OpCIS) and tactical communications and information systems (TacCIS) communication services to the Division Headquarters staff. As a regiment, we supported Division Main Command Post, Lower Control (LOCON), Communications Operational Planning System (COPS)1 and COPS 2. Cambrai Troop delivered tactical communications and the SWE, Mons Troop provided OpCIS and Normandy Troop enabled wide area network to all Command Post locations and Falcon voice in Division Main.
This exercise aimed to enable the development of UK warfighting capability, train and develop bilateral interoperability and validate HQ 3 (UK) Division at training level hotel (H) to be held at readiness. Achieving validation has enabled the Division to play its part as a core component of NATO’s Strategic Reserve Corps under the command of HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, whilst also being able to operate as a sovereign UK Division under US Command or within another allied construct. WFX 25.4 offered an opportunity to enhance interoperability with our US, German and France partners and for the Division to conduct experimentation in pursuit of optimising our approach to warfighting, enhancing our lethality and survivability.
There were challenges including severe weather conditions which tested the resilience of our people and system capabilities. There were many technical challenges throughout the exercise in which OpCIS and TacCIS communication was enabled by the Land Deployable Gateway. Our engineers also supported the integration of ZODIAC, Joint Target Platform, and Multi-Domain Data Analytics for Areas of Intelligence Interest (MDDAAII), contributing to capability development for the Division.
The MDDAAII system uses artificial intelligence and provides valuable support to staff users on decision-making through automation, Joint Training Plan (JTP) supported the Deep Recce Strike (Strike) Brigade staff users through digitalisation of fires. Additionally, we trialled Skytale, for communication between two locations over TacCIS data, a system that can replace HCDR UHF antenna in the near future.
This engineering was complex and required extensive configuration efforts from our engineers. In addition, the squadron experimented and achieved a host of other activities including establishing the HQ in hardened infrastructure (Buildings of Opportunity) rather than tents, deploying a PHOENIX WAN Network, power optimisation for TacCIS, and 4G LTE over SATCOM.
