An Ontology Based Information Exchange Management System Enabling Secure Coalition Interoperability

Military and humanitarian missions increasingly involve not only the participation of one nation but of forces allied in a coalition. Real-time information exchange is indisputably a critical aspect required for the success of these missions. The requirement for interoperability between deployed information management systems is not restricted to overcoming the low level obstacles in data exchange resulting from diverse information systems. The rising challenge is the selection and control of the content shared with coalition partners. Which coalition partner needs to be included in operational information? How is it assured that in a changing situation all affected partners are alerted? Currently, this management of information exchange is accomplished by Information Management Officers (IMO).