Recently, I had the opportunity to moderate a discussion with聽defense聽leaders聽working toward聽the聽Joint聽All-Domain聽Command and Control (JADC2) initiative. The panelists discussed the challenges of implementing JADC2 and providing warfighters with information when and where they need it most.聽During the discussion, Preston Dunlap, chief architect of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, posed聽perhaps the most pressing question聽facing聽the United States聽when it comes to setting the stage for future battle:聽鈥淲ill we be ready, when the time comes, for the uncertainty that we most聽certainly will face?鈥�
Intriguing question, right?聽As the panelists ruminated over Mr. Dunlap鈥檚 question, they arrived at the short answer:聽There is still much work to be done.聽As Dr. George聽Ka鈥檌liwai聽III,聽director of Requirements and Resources (J8)聽at聽U.S. Indo Pacific Command,聽so adeptly聽summarized,聽there is hard work being done within service-centric silos,聽and they聽are聽accomplishing tremendous things聽individually, but聽there hasn鈥檛 been a united vision to bring聽everything聽together.聽A united vision聽is crucial to聽ensuring the聽Department of Defense (DOD)聽is ready for future battle, as it will help improve聽interoperability聽and information聽sharing, all while聽reducing聽the cost and time it takes to make vital decisions on the battlefield.聽But first, DOD needs to聽answer another question:聽What聽is聽needed聽to聽achieve聽this聽united,聽joint聽force聽solution?
- Modular聽Open Architectures:聽The鈥� government is moving toward聽open architectures, and for聽good聽reason.聽Adopting an open architecture approach聽allows聽the flexibility to integrate technology from聽various聽systems and suppliers,聽making it easier for different services聽to work together to rapidly upgrade聽systems as needed.聽To聽achieve the vision of a united, joint force solution, the government聽needs聽to聽fully embrace these open architectures and聽rise to the challenge of bringing聽everything together in a聽standardized,聽federated manner.
- Industry Innovation:聽DOD聽must innovate聽and adapt to changing needs, which means that industry聽should play a central role in providing software across DOD. How can it聽guarantee聽it鈥檚 on track?聽Col.聽Matt聽鈥淣omad鈥� Strohmeyer, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a panelist at the event,聽said industry should聽make sure聽it is conforming聽to open architecture requirements. Companies should keep聽a close eye on the 鈥痠nformation, requirements, and parameters being聽set forth聽to ensure what聽they鈥檙e聽building聽will聽work with the rest of the department.
- A聽Common Data Fabric:聽Perhaps most importantly, DOD聽needs a common data fabric聽that will bring together a pool of data from聽a variety of sources,聽allowing聽combatant commands to聽view聽the same聽information聽from the聽start聽and聽find聽attainable聽solutions quickly.聽As Dr.聽Ka鈥檌liwai聽noted, DOD must find a minimum viable solution rapidly,聽rather than waiting until tomorrow for a solution 鈥痶hat meets the full set of requirements. The consequences of not delivering a 鈥痗apability聽are severe. A common dataset will allow DOD to better curate its data and allow the department to get to a minimum viable solution sooner rather than later.
- A Paradigm Shift:鈥�Col.聽Strohmeyer closed out聽the discussion聽by聽coming back to a聽pertinent聽theme聽he raised at the beginning: DOD needs聽鈥渁 willingness to challenge鈥� [the] paradigms that we operate under; some聽of those聽paradigms don鈥檛聽necessarily聽translate well聽into聽building,聽developing,聽and delivering聽the聽capability that we need聽at鈥� the 鈥痵peeds聽that we need.鈥澛燞e noted that DOD often gets stuck in the way聽that聽they聽operate at the tactical, strategic, and operational levels, which hinders interoperability.聽He聽said聽that DOD needs to create聽a culture that forces聽them聽to think differently about聽the way that they operate and challenges old聽ways of thinking聽to聽fully develop joint capabilities.
To聽achieve a united, joint force solution and聽maintain a decision advantage, DOD must be proactive when it comes to adapting its digital infrastructure to changing needs.聽Carrying out these key steps will bring disparate data systems together and聽create a united front for the digital battlespace, ensuring the joint forces are prepared for the uncertainty they will most certainly face.
