JADC2, Lockheed Martin image
WASHINGTON: Army and Air Force generals said Tuesday the two branches are closely collaborating and “squarely focused” on delivering capabilities for Project Convergence 21. PC21 is the second annual Army-hosted exercise focused on digitally connecting and tactically coordinating (“converging”) disparate cutting-edge technologies in harsh real-world domains.
While PC20 was largely about coordinating different Army Futures Command projects, with some participation by the Marines and Special Operations, PC21 is all about “joint mission threads” across the different US services. Then, PC22 will begin to bring allies and partners into the fold. The primary goal: Give a practical field workout to promising technologies that can be linked together into a future Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) meta-networking strategy for coordinating military operations across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.
Army Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, who heads the Army’s network modernization effort for Futures Command, said Tuesday the Army and Air Force are working together on the process of fielding capabilities for PC21, using a roadmap that builds on the inaugural PC20 initiative last year. Gallagher said they will conduct a capabilities review within the next month.
The task ahead for PC21 and future PC exercises is mammoth and entails integrating “millions of lines of code,” according to Air Force Brig. Gen. Jeffery Valenzia, service director of joint force integration. But he said the Air Force is “well-aligned” to the Army in their collaborative effort to enable joint warfighters to make confident decisions.
A key Air Force component of PC21 and the broader JADC2 vision is its Advanced Battle Management System, which is designed to demonstrate technology to underpin the Air Force’s implementation of JADC2.
Perhaps the bedrock in this initiative is modernizing the Army’s tactical network, which enables the envisioned sensor-to-shooter kill chain through efficient transmission of data from a variety of sources, including satellites, to forward-deployed joint forces operating in contested environments. Gallagher said the goal is to improve JADC2’s “speed, range, convergence, and dominance,” stressing what the Army has taken to calling “decision dominance,” the ability to outthink and outmaneuver the enemy so thoroughly they cannot prevail.
“We’ve got to be able to win in the information decision domain, and we are winning right now,” Gallagher said, but he added, “Without the network, all the other modernization efforts are just stovepipe dreams.”
And while the network is the backbone, it’s just one of myriad components that must be designed, developed, and integrated to provide a real-time virtual picture of a battlespace, based on millions of sensors tied to C2 for targeting and firing. Considerations in this complex mosaic include everything from network connectivity, resilience, and survivability to operationalizing a host of new tech — including, but not limited to, cloud and edge computing.
And, while each component is important, there’s one underlying attribute that Gallagher views as offering the US an opportunity for advantage. “Speed is what will really give us that overmatch against adversaries,” Gallagher said.
A key challenge is the distinct way in which service branches today collect, transmit, and store data, including sensor data. To address this issue, Army Brig. Gen. Robert Collins is leading the effort to build a common, federated network “data fabric.”
The data fabric will provide a way to quickly determine the most relevant information within high-volume, disparately formatted raw data, and then efficiently transmit that data in a standardized format that can be used to make timely decisions — without the need for additional data analysis or complex data integration after receipt. In short, Collins said it enables commanders to “sense, decide, and act” in a fast and informed manner.
“With innovation comes a lot of opportunity,” Collins observed. “This really comes down to pace, continuity, and momentum. Putting kit into the hands of soldiers to improve their op effectiveness.”
A key participant in PC21 design, development, and testing efforts is a lab at Aberdeen Proving Ground run by Michael Monteleone. The lab explores new tech in an environment that reflects a JADC2 network. The lab’s key tasks include measuring system performance and helping to integrate new capabilities, as well as expanding participation among partners.
To be sure, the officials said, there’s still much work ahead to realize the vision for JADC2. And the work will undoubtedly be an endless process of iteration and improvement, even after hitting key milestones and delivering specific capabilities.
“When we get this right, we’re never done,” Valenzia said. “There’s always another step” required to re-explore and relearn.
