Blue force tracking

When all capitalized, the term refers to a specific defense contractors' system, but the capability is found in many military and civilian mobile apps.

Neil Siegel, then of TRW, is credited with leading the development of Force XXI Battle Command Brigade-and-Below (FBCB2), the first successful large-scale blue-force tracking system.

There the data are consolidated into a common operational picture, or COP, and sent to numerous destinations, such as the headquarters element, other in-theater forces, or back out to other military units for situational awareness.

The system also allows users to input or update operational graphics (i.e. obstacles, engineer reconnaissance on the road, enemy forces).

[2] The BFT system, and the FBCB2 system of which it is a variant, have won numerous awards and accolades, including: recognition in 2001 as one of the five best-managed software programs in the entire US Government,[4] the 2003 Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's award for most innovative US Government program,[5] the 2003 Federal Computer Week Monticello Award (given in recognition of an information system that has a direct, meaningful impact on human lives), and the Battlespace Information 2005 "Best Program in Support of Coalition Operations".