The Department of Defense (DoD) this week released the implementation plan for the military’s joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) initiative, the Pentagon announced on Mar. 17.
JADC2 is a warfighting necessity to keep pace with the volume and complexity of data in modern warfare and to defeat adversaries decisively. The JADC2 strategy was issued in May, and DoD officials stated that an implementation plan was in the works. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed the implementation plan on March 15.
“Command and Control in an increasingly information-focused warfighting environment have never been more critical. JADC2 will enable the DoD to act at the speed of relevance to improve U.S. national security. JADC2 is delivering capabilities beginning now, and it will continue to be funded in the coming years,” said Hicks.
The strategy provides a vision and approach for improving command and control capabilities, while the implementation plan outlines how the department will accomplish it.
“We must maintain continued focus and momentum on these initiatives and programs which enhance Department capabilities to face current and future threats,” said Hicks.
While the details for the JADC2 implementation plan are classified, the Pentagon released an unclassified version of the strategy, offering a glimpse of the DoD’s vision for a vast, interoperable communications network.
In the summary, the DoD explained that the strategy centers on six guiding principles:
- Designing universal and continuous information sharing at an enterprise level;
- Making it secure with a “layered” and “strong cyber defense”;
- Having an interoperable and standardized data fabric;
- Making it operational and resilient in a degraded environment;
- Improving command and control capability development broadly; and
- Delivering JADC2 capabilities quickly through acquisitions and development.
