C4ISR –
For the third year, the Eisenhower School (ES) for National Security and Resource Strategy studied the Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) industry. The focus for the academic year 2020-2021’s C4ISR Industry Study is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2).
C4ISR systems are critical for enabling an operational all-domain command and control system. Considering the Joint Force will face acute time, distance, and anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) operational challenges as described in the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), it is all the more imperative that the DoD be ready for high-end conflict against great power competitors, China and Russia. To deter Chinese or Russian aggression and degrade their A2/AD networks, the U.S. must be able to rapidly plan and execute operations across all domains, services, and allies in a synchronized and cooperative manner. To counter its evolving GPC (GPC) competitors, the U.S. is pursuing the JADC2 initiative. JADC2 is the “DoD’s concept to connect sensors from all of the military services - Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force - into a single network.”
Making decisions within minutes or seconds instead of the current 72-hour operational planning cycle is critical in delivering JADC2. Future conflicts require speed and agility, and the DoD has also noted that its existing C2 architecture is insufficient to meet the demands of the NDS. Planners hope JADC2 will apply technology to speed the military science of decision-making, translating those gains to aid decision-makers and effectively defend and deter GPC threats.
The questions used to identify the problem and guide this study are: 1) What are specific challenges identified by DoD stakeholders in designing and integrating technologies to deliver JADC2 (i.e., competition, complexity, and culture). 2) What competitive advantages does the U.S. enjoy in C4ISR industries that support JADC2? 3) What is the capability and capacity of the U.S to sustain its C4ISR technology advantages within GPC? 4) How will acquisition and security processes and policies adapt to: support multi-domain operational constructs, integrate/support inclusivity with coalition partners, incentivize innovation rather than sustainment within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and across industry, support rapid and iterative development (Agile), and increase competition?
The Joint Force faces many challenges in planning and implementing JADC2, but contrary to popular belief, funding is not its most significant hurdle. DoD's 2021 budget includes $58.21 billion for C4ISR programs, an increase of $1.37 billion, or 2.4% over the 2020 request, and DoD spending for 2020-2025 is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.5%.
JADC2’s primary issues are the challenges that arise with most institutional change; technical, policy, and process challenges that come with the adoption and implementation of JADC2. These challenges are all rooted in cultural and doctrinal differences. The services, Congress, and industry each have unique cultures, bureaucracies, and operational structures that inform their vision for JADC2 and drive their development of material solutions.
America’s C4ISR manufacturers can develop technologies for JADC2 and are working to deliver tools to enable joint multi-domain operations in a synchronized, cooperative, and efficient manner. However, the integration of these technologies and capabilities across all domains, services, and allies are challenges that cannot be overcome by industry or technology alone.
To successfully implement JADC2, the DoD should look for more solutions than simply bigger budgets and new exquisite platforms. The Joint Force must leverage the existing technologies within the U.S. C4ISR industry and America's competitive tech industry and innovative spirit to design a user-focused JADC2. DoD leaders, at all levels, must work to ensure that process challenges and cultural challenges, and aversion to risk inhibit the adoption of JADC2. A truly joint (and combined) warfighting concept must also leverage warfighter expertise and build trust across departments, services, partners, and allies.
To ensure the successful implementation of JADC2, the C4ISR Industry Study submits the following four recommendations and bold actions: 1) the Joint Staff should undertake an evaluation of the market strengths and weakness of its great power competitor to leverage U.S. dominance and hedge against GPC advantage; 2) the DoD must implement reforms to the its acquisition policies and processes to encourage competition in the C4ISR market; 3) the DoD should develop agreements and standards that enable a trust-based culture for joint and coalition warfighting; and 4) the DoD should continuously evaluate security/classification requirements to remove hurdles that prevent effective interoperability and delegate an authorized board of senior stakeholders that can adjudicate hurdles beyond the scope of individual services.
Implementing these proposed recommendations will require bold actions:
1. Joint Staff understand the market strengths and weakness of its great power competitor,
- U.S. Strengths – Innovation culture, Technology Industry, “Fail Fast Fail Often” culture, DevSecOps model of rapid application development and deployment, and a vast network of partners and allies.
- U.S. Limitations – Federal acquisition process, inefficient communication between DoD, Congress, and industry; and diminishing STEM labor force (quantity and quality).
- China Strengths – Military-Civilian Fusion strategy, large manufacturing workforce, the dominant supplier of rare-earth materials; 5G technology leader; and robust R&D capital investments.
- China Limitations – Centralized party control of industry hinders innovation, a vast unskilled labor force, and reliance on foreign technology and systems.
- Russia Strengths – Clear demand signal from central government and skilled technical workforce in software development and space launch.
- Russia Limitations – Competition-limiting firm structure and an innovation-stifling cultural environment and reliance on foreign suppliers and foreign financing.
2. Implement reforms to the DoD’s acquisition policies and processes that encourage competition in the C4ISR market.
- Modernize program life cycles to focus on rapid development and deployment rather than long-term sustainment of outdated systems and divest antiquated legacy programs.
- Educate workforce on effective risk management; balance risks against rewards to deliver minimal viable products and support rapid development and deployment cycles.
3. Develop a trust-based culture for joint and coalition warfighting.
- Implement, train, and trust the Joint Warfighting Concept.
- Break down service-centric silos at all levels across all domains.
- Encourage healthy interservice competition and innovation to develop JADC2.
- Immediately Integrate partners and allies into JADC2 concept development.
4. Continuously evaluate security/classification requirements to remove hurdles that prevent effective interoperability and delegate an authorized board of senior stakeholders to adjudicate hurdles beyond the scope of individual services.
- Include American partners and allies from the start; not including them creates weakness.
- Sharing classified information across a coalition network is more a cultural hurdle than a protecting classified data challenge.
- Invest in partnerships with international partners to ensure U.S. and partners and allies industries support emerging technological development and provide additional industrial output in the event of a contingency.
Disclaimer: The 2020-2021 academic year at the Eisenhower School was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, the C4ISR IS was approved for a limited in-person classified sessions, and in April 2021 was approved to conduct in-person site visits to a limited number of C4ISR companies. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the IS had limited access to classified information and discussions hindering the TS/SCI component of the IS. Therefore, research and analysis conducted used open-source data, and classified programs supporting C4ISR and JADC2 are not addressed in this industry study.
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