Pentagon budget 2022: US Navy scales up INFOWAR accounts

The US Navy is scaling up its information warfare (INFOWAR) accounts across the board, as part of its fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) budget request, as part of an effort to support service-wide networking objectives tied to Project Overmatch.

The USD5.87 billion navy leaders set aside for INFOWAR coffers for FY 2022 represents a USD256 million increase over the USD5.61 billion service officials sought in the previous fiscal year, according to budget documents released on 28 May. Within those accounts, line item figures for Assured Command and Control, Integrated Fires, cyberwarfare and cybersecurity all saw modest increases within the FY 2022 request.

The biggest topline increase request for INFOWAR coffers was set aside for enterprise network development, coming in a USD1.1 billion compared to the USD958 million requested in fiscal year 2021, budget documents stated. That increase, combined with the USD48 million requested increase in spending for command and control (C2) systems, will likely support the navy’s Project Overmatch initiative.

Specifically, the initiative will assist navy leaders in developing “the networks, infrastructure, data architectures, and analytic tools to connect manned and distributed forces, and enable the delivery of synchronised effects from every axis and every domain”, according to a service fact sheet. Under Project Overmatch, navy leaders plan to integrate not only advanced networked command, control, and communication technologies that can support the Pentagon’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) effort, but further develop key applications in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and cloud computing into its future arsenal.

“These (FY 2022) investments include supporting Project Overmatch efforts to seamlessly network sensors, platforms and weapons for decision advantage,” budget documents stated.