US Army leaders are planning to use the service’s upcoming round of joint field tests for its Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) to showcase technological developments on the Pentagon’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept, according to the head of Army Futures Command.
Army leaders, in conjunction with representatives from the US Air Force, navy, and marine corps, at the three-star general officer and flag officer level, have been involved in the planning process for the ground service’s experimentation plan for the Capability Set 21 (CS21) variant of the ITN, Army General John Murray said.
“We are focused on joint mission threads,” Gen Murray said of the field-testing strategy being drafted by service leaders for CS21, which will include development of the JADC2 concept and subsequent technological applications. Set to take place later in 2021 at army training ranges in Yuma, Arizona, and White Sands, New Mexico, the CS21 exercises will be a joint endeavour among US armed forces and not an Army-sponsored experimentation opportunity.
An M2 Bradley fighting vehicle covers dismounted units from 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team during field exercises at Fort Irwin, California. (Credit: US Army )
“This is not about bringing your equipment to play in an army experiment, this is about coming together from the very beginning to plan, execute, and solve joint problems … and really to inform the JADC2 effort,” Gen Murray said during a webinar sponsored by the Center for International and Strategic Studies. “I do think solutions that we can prove in the dirt [at Yuma] will work their way into that bottom up feed into what will eventually be decided” by joint staff leaders on JADC2, the four-star general added.
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