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==Description==
While in U.S. Air Force use, the system produces intelligence collected by the [[U-2 Dragonlady]], [[RQ-4 Global Hawk]], [[MQ-9 Reaper]] and [[MQ-1 Predator]].<ref name="fact">{{cite web|url= http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15433
Although officially designated a "weapons system", it consists of computer hardware and software connected together in a [[computer network]], devoted to processing and dissemination of information such as images.<ref>{{Cite book |title= The Future of Air Force Motion Imagery Exploitation: Lessons from the Commercial World |publisher= Rand Corporation |author= Lance Menthe |author2= Amado Cordova |author3= Carl Rhodes |author4= Rachel Costello |author5= Jeffrey Sullivan |pages= 3–4 |work= Technical Report 1133 |date= February 10, 2012 |isbn= 978-0-8330-5964-2 |url= http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2012/RAND_TR1133.pdf |
The [[480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing]] of the [[Air Combat Command]] operates and maintains the USAF system.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency |work= Fact sheet |publisher= US Air Force |date= August 10, 2007 |url= http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104553/air-force-isr-agency.aspx |
A plan envisioned in 1998 was to develop interoperable systems for the Army and Navy, in addition to the Air Force.<ref name="flaw">{{Cite news |title= Distributed common ground system comes under fire |author= Greg Slabodkin |date= October 1, 2012 |work= Defense Systems Magazine |url= http://defensesystems.com/articles/2012/10/01/defense-it-2-distributed-common-ground-system.aspx |
By 2006, version 10.6 was deployed by the Air Force, and a version known as DCGS-A was developed for the Army.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) |work= Defense Update |year= 2007 |url= http://defense-update.com/products/d/dcgs.htm |
After a 2010 report by General [[Michael T. Flynn]], the program was intended to use [[cloud computing]] and be as easy to use as an [[iPad]], which soldiers over a few years were commonly using.<ref name="SIGNAL">{{Cite news |author= George I. Seffers |title= Making Battlefield Intelligence "iPad Easy" |date= July 2012 |url= http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=node/3004 |work= SIGNAL Online |publisher= Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association |
By April 2011, project manager Colonel Charles Wells announced version 3 of the Army system (code named "Griffin") was being deployed in the US [[war in Afghanistan (2001–present)|war in Afghanistan]].<ref>{{Cite news |title= Army harnesses full power of intelligence assets |work= Defense Systems |date= April 4, 2011 |author= Barry Rosenberg |url= http://defensesystems.com/Articles/2011/03/29/Project-Manager-View-Army-Distributed-Intelligence.aspx |
In January 2012, the [[United States Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center]] hosted a meeting based on the DCGS-A early experience. It brought together technology providers in the hope of developing more integrated systems using cloud computing with [[open architecture]]s, compared to previously specialized custom-built systems.<ref>{{cite news |author= Kristen Kushiyama |title= Cloud computing to integrate with current Army system |url= http://www.army.mil/article/72508/ |publisher= US Army |date= February 1, 2012 |
A major contractor was [[Lockheed Martin]], with computers supplied by [[Silicon Graphics International]] out of its [[Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin]] office.<ref>{{Cite news |title= State companies helping Army with cloud computing |author= Rick Barrett |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |url= http://www.jsonline.com/business/state-companies-helping-army-with-cloud-computing-7258roe-150105585.html |
Software known as the Analyst's Notebook, originally developed by [[i2 Limited]], was included in DCGS-A.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Army continues use of i2 software |date= August 17, 2011 |work= UPI |url= http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/08/17/Army-continues-use-of-i2-software/UPI-61181313598534/ |
Some US Army personnel reported using a [[Palantir Technologies]] product to improve their ability to predict locations of [[improvised explosive devices]].
An April 2012 report recommending further study after initial success. Palantir software was rated easy to use, but did not have the flexibility and wide number of data sources of DCGS-A.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Palantir Operational Assessment Report |date= April 5, 2012 |author= US Army Operational Test Command |url= https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2012/08/1830_001.pdf |
In July 2012, Congressman [[Duncan D. Hunter]] (from [[California]], the state where Palantir is based) complained of [[United States Department of Defense|US DoD]] obstacles to its wider use.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper= [[The Washington Times]] |title= Military has to fight to purchase lauded IED buster |date= July 16, 2012 |author= Rowan Scarborough |author-link= Rowan Scarborough |url= http://p.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/16/military-has-to-fight-to-purchase-lauded-ied-buste/ |
Although a limited test in August 2011 by the [[United States Army Test and Evaluation Command|Test and Evaluation Command]] had recommended deployment, operation problems of DCGS-A included the baseline system was "not operationally effective" with reboots on average about every 8 hours. A set of improvements was identified in November 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Distributed Common Ground System – Army (DCGS-A) |publisher= United States Army Test and Evaluation Command |date= December 27, 2012 |url= http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/fy2012/pdf/army/2012dcgs-a.pdf |
The press reported some of the shortcomings uncovered by General Genaro Dellarocco in the tests.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Brain, Damaged: Army Says Its Software Mind Is 'Not Survivable' |author= Noah Shachtman |date= August 8, 2012 |work= Wired Danger Room |url= https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/software-brain-not-survivable/ |
The ambitious goal of integrating 473 data sources for 75 million reports proved to be challenging, after spending an estimated $2.3 billion on the Army system alone.<ref name="flaw" /><ref>{{Cite news |title= No Spy Software Scandal Here, Army Claims |author= Noah Shachtman |date= November 30, 2012 |work= Wired Danger Room |url= https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/11/no-spy-software-scandal-here-army-claims/ |
In May 2013 ''[[Politico]]'' reported that Palantir lobbyists and some anonymous returning veterans continued to advocate the use of its software, despite its interoperability limits. In particular, members of special forces and US Marines were not required to use the official Army system.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Spy Chief Called Silicon Valley Stooge in Army Software Civil War |author= Noah Shachtman |date= August 1, 2012 |work= Wired Danger Room |url= https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/palantir/ |
Similar stories appeared in other publications, with Army representatives (such as Major General [[Mary A. Legere]]) citing the limitations of various systems.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Boondoggle Goes Boom: A demented tale of how the Army actually does business |date= June 19, 2013 |work= The New Republic |author= Robert Draper |url= https://newrepublic.com/article/113484/how-pentagon-boondoggle-putting-soldiers-danger |
Congressman Hunter was a member of the House Armed Services Committee which required a review of the program, after two other members of congress sent an open letter to Secretary of Defense [[Leon Panetta]].<ref>{{Cite web |title= Open Letter to Leon E. Panetta, Secretary, US Department of Defense |author= Darrell Issa |author-link= Darrell Issa |author2= Jason Chaffetz |author2-link= Jason Chaffetz |name-list-style= amp |date= August 1, 2012 |url= http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/2012-08-01-DEI-Chaffetz-to-Panetta-re-ATEC-assess-of-Palantir.pdf |
The equivalent system for the [[United States Navy]] was planned for initial deployment by 2015, and within a shipboard network called Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) by 2016.<ref name="flaw" />
Some early testing was announced in 2009 aboard the aircraft carrier {{USS | Harry Truman}}.<ref>{{Cite news |title= Seaborne Intelligence Comes Aboard |date= December 2009 |author= Robert K. Ackerman |work= SIGNAL Online |url= http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=node/2139 |
A portion of the software, a distributed data framework for the DCGS integration backbone (DIB) version 4, was submitted to an [[open-source software]] repository of the Codice Foundation on [[GitHub]].<ref>{{Cite news |title= Major part of DCGS now open source |work= Fierce Government IT |date= June 24, 2013 |author= David Perera |url= http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/major-part-dcgs-now-open-source/2013-06-24 |
The framework was new for DIB version 4, replacing the legacy DIB portal with an Ozone Widget Framework interface.<ref>{{Cite web |title= DCGS Integration Backbone (DIB) v4.0 Overview |publisher= The DCGS MET Office |date= March 13, 2012 |url= http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a556470.pdf |
It was written in the [[Java programming language]].<ref>{{Cite web |title= Frequently Asked Questions |work= Distributed Data Framework |publisher= Codice Foundation |url= https://codice.github.io/ddf/Faq.html |
==DCGS-A==
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===Promotion===
An August 17, 2011, UPI article quoted i2 Chief Executive Officer Robert Griffin who commented on DCGS-A's best-of-breed approach to development. The article detailed the Army contracting with i2 for Analyst's Notebook software. "With its open architecture, Analyst's Notebook supports the Army's strategy to employ and integrate best-of-breed solutions from across the industry to meet the dynamic needs users face in the field on a daily basis."<ref>{{cite web|last=UPI|title=Army continues use of i2 software|url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/08/17/Army-continues-use-of-i2-software/UPI-61181313598534/|publisher=UPI|
A February 1, 2012, article in the Army web page quoted Mark Kitz, DCGS-A technical director. DCGS-A "uses the latest in cloud technology to rapidly gather, collaborate and share intelligence data from multiple sources to deliver a common operating picture. DCGS-A is able to rapidly adapt to changing operational environments by leveraging an iterative development model and open architecture allowing for collaboration with multiple government, industry and academic partners."<ref>{{cite web|last=Kushiyama|first=Kristen|title=Cloud computing to integrate with current Army system|url=http://www.army.mil/article/72508/|publisher=U.S. Army|
A July 2012 article in SIGNAL Magazine, monthly publication of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, promoted DCGS-A as taking advantage of technological environments with which young soldiers are familiar.<ref name="SIGNAL"/> The article quoted the DCGS-A program manager, Col. Charles Wells on the systems benefits. The article also included Lockheed Martin's DCGS-A program manager.<ref name="SIGNAL" />
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article May 4, 2012, about Wisconsin-located companies helping DCGS-A with cloud computing technology.<ref name="Milwaukee">{{cite news|last=Barrett|first=Rick|title=State companies helping Army with cloud computing|url=http://www.jsonline.com/business/state-companies-helping-army-with-cloud-computing-7258roe-150105585.html|
The article promoted the speed when cloud computing processes intelligence and cost savings by analyzing data in the field.<ref name="Milwaukee" />
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