DOD Lacks Resilient Technologies for JADC2, Defense Official Says

The Department of Defense is missing technologies with the survivability needed to enable Joint All-Domain Command and Control, according to a top official.

JADC2 is the concept of connecting shooters and sensors from all warfighting domains into a single network. Marine Corps. Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall, chief information officer of the Joint Staff, said the DOD’s sensor connectors must be resilient enough to mitigate interference by adversaries, C4ISRNET reported Wednesday.

He said the military also does not yet have the edge processing capabilities needed to support the large amounts of data that will pass through its JADC2 network.

“We got work to do on a resilient cloud structure that follows us to make sure that that data is there. I’m concerned about the transport layer to move that information to decision,” Crall said during a recent TechNet Augusta conference.

He added that warfighters need lightweight cloud-connected processing devices that can process information even in environments with degraded network access.

Industry should propose solutions that are battle-ready and can function well even when not in high-bandwidth areas, Crall said, adding that technologies that only serve as a “garrison solution” are not enough.

Crall previously announced that the DOD is working to deliver an initial JADC2 capability within the next six months. “This is the opening gambit of our formal delivery schedule,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, commander of the Joint Forces Headquarters-DOD Information Network, said the Pentagon will need to rethink its acquisition strategy if it fails to deliver a minimal viable product within Crall’s deadline.