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Air and Missile Defense Workstation is the First Army System to Receive Geospatial Certification

Army Geospatial Center
Published Nov. 9, 2020

The Army Geospatial Center’s (AGC) Enterprise Support Branch is leading the effort to certify systems as compliant with the Army Geospatial Enterprise (AGE). AGE Geospatial Certification verifies that systems are interoperable and able to seamlessly exchange geospatial data.

Air and Missile Defense Workstation (AMDWS) was the first Army system to receive geospatial certification earlier this year. AMDWS provides the air situational input to the Common Operational Picture (COP) of Army Mission Command systems. The AMDWS is the staff planning and battlespace situational awareness tool for the Air and Missile Defense Planning and Control System

 
Air and Missile Defense Planning and Control System.

AMDWS successfully completed the four phases of certification: Coordination, Planning, Execution, and Reporting. As a result of the AMDWS geospatial certification, the AGE Certification process was able to verify the certification documentation, evaluation methods, and testing procedures.

The AGE Certification, issued by the U.S. Army Geospatial Information Officer, Gary Blohm, validates that AMDWS correctly implemented the standards needed to exchange the Standard Shareable Geospatial Foundation (SSGF), i.e., can ingest and visualize  imagery and elevation data in accordance with AMDWS system requirements. It also ensures that the system will be geospatially interoperable with other Army systems as they are certified.

Scot Cleveland, an AGE Certification Subject Matter Expert, describes the testing process, noting that “The foundation of the test is to use tools to validate that data sets are built in accordance with their associated standards; identify geospatial formats, products and services that a system exchanges; exercise exchanges between associated systems in accordance with system requirements; and certify systems to verify that data exchanged is useable by the end user and not corrupted.”

Mr. Cleveland observed that AGE certification is a comprehensive process that is unique in fully exercising the geospatial exchange capabilities of Army systems. The process assesses the geospatial interoperability of a system and identifies any challenges / corrective action necessary to achieve geospatial interoperability to achieve geospatial interoperability system requirements and AGE Certification. 

The requirement to certify geospatially-aware Army systems, such as AMDWS, is part of the Army’s Geospatial Information and Services (AR 115-11) regulation, a component of the Army GIO Charter and integrated into the Army Interoperability Certification (AIC) process. Additional systems will be evaluated in the future with the ultimate goal of AGE Certifying all Army systems that produce or consume geospatial data.

Resources
Army Geospatial Enterprise Geospatial Certification


Contact
Doug Caldwell
703-915-0179
Douglas.R.Caldwell@usace.army.mil
7701 Telegraph Road, Alexandria, VA 22315

Release no. 20-003