Sweden has tested its new command and control system LSS Mark with armored battalion operations during a live attack training.
LSS Mark is a digitized battle management platform developed to support ground units on the battlefield. It is equipped on land vehicles, including tanks and tracked vehicles, to maintain seamless coordination between division commanders and troops.
The solution is currently in its introductory phase across the Swedish military. The first tranche of the technology is being fielded with the army.
Measuring Battalion Capability
Stockholm wrote that the recent LSS Mark demonstration ran for a week and involved validations beginning from the garage floor to secure connections prior to actual simulations.
Participating battalions then practiced assaults, further testing the system’s radio, antenna, recording, and microphone functionalities in an active scenario.
“The aim was to answer the question of whether you can lead an armored battalion with this system,” Swedish Materiel Administration Project Manager Magnus Torneheim explained.
“The armed forces have asked us for help with technical support and they also want us to check that the system works to its fullest.”
“We also looked at how the unit behaves, at what distance they are visible with drones and signals intelligence. We did lots of small tests, all of which answer the question of whether this is the right system to lead an armored battalion.”
Leveraging Test Experiences
According to the Swedish government, the approach taken with the LSS Mark evaluation was based on laboratory tests with previous command support systems, including the older battle management system and its corresponding power supply.
“Now we are testing with real bandages, with trained personnel,” Torneheim said. It also provides the opportunity to look at the interaction between humans and technology.
Following the LSS Mark’s battalion trials, testers will transmit reports to the additional program management experts and the Swedish Armed Forces to gain feedback and establish the platform’s use cases.