Coalition Battle Management Language (C-BML) Study Group Report

The objective of Battle Management Language (BML) is to define an unambiguous language to describe a commander’s intent, to be understood by both live forces and automated systems, for simulated and realworld operations. The resulting language is intended to be applicable not only to simulation systems, but also to operational command and control systems, and robotic systems. Within the last three years, multiple papers presented at the Simulation Interoperability Workshops (SIW) have dealt with the need for, and initial work in, Modeling & Simulation (M&S) to Command and Control (C2) Interoperability based on the use of unambiguous mission and task definitions. During the Spring 2004 SIW, a meeting of subject matter experts determined that a detailed evaluation of BML efforts at a Coalition level is necessary and subsequently drafted Terms of Reference (TOR) for a Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) Study Group. The TOR for the Coalition BML (C-BML) Study Group was accepted by the SISO Standards Activity Committee and identifies the following tasks: • The Study Group shall conduct a Survey comprising as many international contributions applicable to the Coalition BML effort as possible. • The Study Group shall develop a plan for how these various efforts can contribute to a common Coalition BML specification within a methodological framework. • The Study Group shall formulate a set of Recommendations for a Coalition BML Product Development Group (PDG). The Coalition BML Study Group was subsequently formed in September 2004 to address these tasks. The Study Group has conducted a number of face-to-face and teleconference meetings through the year since the Fall 2004 SIW, involving a membership of over 100 persons from 11 different countries. This paper is an executive summary of the full Study Group Final Report. As the Study Group concludes, it recommends that a PDG be formed. The C-BML Study Group has worked closely with the Military Scenario Definition Language (MSDL) Study Group to coordinate both PDG proposals to ensure a consistent set of standards for initialization, tasking and reporting.