Remote control operators with the 96th Test Wing simulate command and control of a high-speed maritime target vessel at the Eglin Range Control Complex in Florida, Nov. 9, 2023. (Michelle Gigante/U.S. Air Force)
A Pentagon initiative to create a high-speed, interconnected military command system is lagging due to fragmented efforts and a lack of clear oversight, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Tuesday.
The concept, known as Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2, aims to unify data, sensors and weapons across all U.S. military services and domains — land, sea, air, space and cyberspace — to give commanders rapid decision-making capabilities in combat.
But six years into development, the Defense Department has made only piecemeal progress, the GAO said. Military branches are largely working in isolation and without shared goals, which could slow progress and undermine the effectiveness of the system, the report found.
“This approach will likely result in delivering capability much more slowly and inefficiently, if at all,” the GAO wrote.
Envisioned as a seamless data-sharing network enhanced by artificial intelligence, CJADC2 is intended to allow commanders to quickly sense threats, make decisions and take action in a coordinated way — including with allies and international partners.
In a hypothetical scenario, Navy ships or Air Force jets might detect an enemy target, transmit the data for rapid analysis, and trigger a timely strike by ground forces.
Rather than a single weapons system, CJADC2 is a broad strategy guiding modernization and new acquisitions. The Pentagon, however, has yet to build a comprehensive framework to monitor progress or coordinate investments across the department, the GAO said.
Each service branch is developing elements that will fit into the overall concept. For example, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Joint Fires Network prototype offers a shared targeting picture and tools to coordinate strikes across services and allies.
Still, combatant commands — including INDOPACOM — told the GAO they lack guidance on which CJADC2 projects to prioritize, especially as units approach similar problems in different ways.
“Without a common framework … any progress made by DOD will remain hard to understand and likely relies on joining individual efforts together after-the-fact, rather than working collectively from the outset,” the GAO said.
The Pentagon mostly agreed with the GAO’s recommendations to create a structure to track and assess progress and to improve information sharing across the department.
