New Bills Aim to Accelerate DOD’s JADC2 Program

Lawmakers have filed companion bills in the U.S. House and Senate seeking to accelerate the Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control. 

According to the office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who filed the House bill, the proposed legislation would provide specific DOD officials the authority and resources for developing the cutting-edge technologies the program needs and sending them straight to JADC2 frontliners.

The legislation empowers the right officials and programs at the Pentagon “to deploy needed strategies in a transformative way,” Issa said, Nextgov/FCW reported.

He cited as an example the chief technology officer for mission capabilities who will be tasked under the bill to identify new technologies and operational concepts to address the Joint Force’s key operational challenges. 

Issa’s bill also prioritizes the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s requirements covering operations across China, Japan, India, North Korea and Australia.  

The companion Senate bill was filed by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was quoted in a C4ISRNET report as saying that it is critical to find the right solutions to untangle the Indo-Pacific theater. According to Ernst, whatever service branch, critical capabilities for better military coordination “across air, land, sea, space and cyber” have to be accessible to commanders.