Developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Secure Handhelds on Assured Resilient networks at the tactical Edge (SHARE) program successfully developed and integrated software and networking technologies to enable secure and resilient information sharing between US forces and international allies in tactical operations.
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The program also adapted rapid commercial development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) models for US Defense Department research and development, pioneering novel ways to get new tech into the hands of operational warfighters faster.
SHARE software runs on military end-user mobile devices allowing real-time data sharing with allied forces — at the appropriate classification levels — over available military or commercial networks.
The software is now integrated with the US military’s Tactical Assault Kit, or TAK, an operational map-based situational awareness application used by warfighters.
Mary Schurgot, SHARE program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office, explained the importance of the SHARE program, saying: “Before SHARE, security and networking architectures for tactical communications between US and coalition forces were often brittle and required end-to-end connections to large, fixed data centres.”
DARPA collaborated with military end users throughout the effort, including the delivery of prototype software for independent experimentation, which informed program development and reduced transition risk.
“Our performer teams developed new technology based on routing individually secured data packets and created software to rapidly configure user devices operating on any type of network, whether commercial Wi-Fi, cellular, or military networks. This new paradigm for sharing data at the tactical edge reduces reliance on fixed infrastructure and enables secure, resilient communications at various data sensitivity levels between handheld devices,” Schurgot added.
Ryan McLean, director of the TAK Product Center, added: “SHARE brings next-generation networking technology to the TAK ecosystem.
“The SHARE team chose to transform how tactical edge networks are deployed through innovative research using named data networking and digital rights management on the widely-adopted ATAK [Android Tactical Assault Kit] software platform. Because of this, SHARE is now primed for rapid technology transition to the TAK user community. This transition is already underway and, with the release of TAK 5.0 in November 2023, US soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen, as well as our allied mission partners, will experience the immediate benefits that SHARE provides for resilient tactical networking in contested environments.
“The SHARE program began in 2017 and officially transitioned to the Defense Department’s TAK Product Center in 2023,” McLean added.
The SHARE performer for the third and final phase of the program was Two Six Technologies, teamed with Eucleo Software Corporation and MAPPS.