NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute and Hudson Institute Release New Paper on Joint Force Integration
NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute and Hudson Institute Release New Paper on Joint Force Integration
(Arlington, VA) The National Defense Industrial Association’s (NDIA) Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI), in partnership with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts & Technology, has published a new paper titled “Integrated by Mission—Federated for Execution". The paper, released on September 23, 2024, outlines the technical challenges and opportunities involved in better integrating the U.S. military's joint forces.
The report aims to refocus CJADC2 on joint integration, rather than simply achieving technical interoperability, arguing, "by emphasizing communications rather than integration, CJADC2 also fails to address one of the DoD’s main limitations in its efforts to gain a decision advantage against China—the domain- and service-centric nature of deployed US force packages."
The paper presents six principles that would improve the DoD’s ability to integrate joint forces rather than simply connecting their networks:
- The DoD could achieve joint integration more quickly by prioritizing requirements for federated integration over universal standards.
- Interoperability will require the DoD to have a continued emphasis on a data-centric approach over a network-centric one.
- Preserving adaptability through modular approaches and delegating key decisions and activities to the field would give military forces decision-making advantages over opponents.
- The DoD would benefit from “on-demand interoperability” via continuous integration and delivery pipelines or tools that allow systems with varying data formats and interfaces to exchange information.
- The DoD should organize integration efforts around shared mission problem statements, like specific kill chains, rather than broad technological interoperability.
- DoD organizational and cultural challenges are greater obstacles to advancing interoperability than technical and materiel limitations.
For more information, visit ETI’s Reports page: EmergingTechnologiesInstitute.org/Publications/Reports
Contact: rsutherland@NDIA.org