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Full motion video has become one of the most effective means of
acquiring and sharing intelligence and situational awareness data.
Commercial standards such as MPEG 2 and MPEG 4 are well established,
enabling military users to employ Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)
systems and applications to capture, store, retrieve and distribute
video imagery, from the field level to all command echelons. While the
intelligence community has been using video recording technology for
years, it hasn't yet been accepted as an integral part of modern
combat systems.
The emergence of high precision weaponry and growing concerns about
collateral damage have made it necessary to equip warfighters, and
their commanders and leaders at all levels, with tools that can
document actions and events, in order to enable them to conduct better
informed operations, and provide accountability for decisions and
actions. The availability of this type of information, either locally
developed or shared over a network, enables commanders to support
every decision they make, assess actions and their consequences in
after action reviews, and defend themselves in case of public
scrutiny.
New solid-state digital recorders are now providing the tools for
monitoring events in combat situations. In the past recorders were
used mainly to track and record communications. Today's digital
recorders are providing the resources necessary to record analyze and
present a multi-dimensional situational picture, which is developed
and monitored at command posts, by sharing information collected at
the individual level, by the warfighter, leader and commander at the
lowest echelon. Miniature video recorders can capture snapshots every
time the soldier aims and fires his rifle, or take video sequences
from observations posts, or through sniper's sights – information that
can be relevant for situational understanding and decision making or,
if something goes wrong, provide critical evidence in after-action
investigations.
Other issues covered in this feature:
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