As the Army advances Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) and the C2Now initiative, resilient transport and infrastructure have become foundational to maintaining command and control in contested environments. Operations against near-peer adversaries are already occurring under Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) conditions, where communications disruption, electromagnetic warfare, and cyber-attacks are present realities. Success will depend on the ability to sustain resilient, adaptive, and distributed network capabilities that enable commanders to make timely decisions at the tactical edge.
This panel brings together Army leaders, operational practitioners, and industry experts to discuss the transport, networking, and infrastructure technologies required to deliver continuous command and control when connectivity cannot be guaranteed. Panelists will examine how resilient transport architectures, distributed infrastructure, edge computing, and intelligent network management enable tactical formations to operate effectively despite contested communications.
Discussion will explore how diverse transport options, software-defined networking, decentralized computing, and expeditionary infrastructure can provide commanders with persistent access to mission-critical data. The panel will also highlight how commercial innovation and emerging technologies are accelerating the Army's vision for NGC2 by creating agile, self-healing, and survivable communications architectures that preserve decision advantage in the most challenging operational environments.
Key Discussion Topics:
- Operationalizing C2Now: Translating NGC2 concepts into modular, expeditionary transport and infrastructure capabilities that support mission command at the tactical edge.
- Transport Diversity and PACE: Integrating multi-orbit SATCOM, terrestrial transport, commercial capabilities, and waveform diversity to ensure resilient communications and data survivability in DDIL environments.
- Edge Compute as a C2 Enabler: Moving compute, data storage, and mission services closer to the point of need to reduce dependence on long-haul communications and centralized cloud services.
- Adaptive Network Infrastructure: Building software-defined, self-healing, and dynamically managed transport networks capable of rapidly adapting to disruption, degradation, and contested electromagnetic conditions.
- Enabling Decision Superiority: Integrating transport, infrastructure, data, and mission applications to ensure commanders maintain situational understanding and command and control despite intermittent or degraded connectivity.
This session is intended for military leaders, network professionals, systems engineers, industry partners, and technology innovators focused on resilient tactical communications, network modernization, and enabling Next Generation Command and Control for Large-Scale Combat Operations.
Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Translate Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) concepts into modular, expeditionary transport capabilities that support mission command at the tactical edge.
- Integrate multi-orbit SATCOM and waveform diversity to establish resilient Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency (PACE) communications in DDIL environments.
- Assess the role of edge computing and decentralized data storage in reducing reliance on long-haul communications and centralized cloud services during contested operations.
- Design software-defined, self-healing network infrastructures capable of dynamically adapting to electromagnetic disruptions and contested conditions.
- Evaluate the integration of transport, infrastructure, and mission applications to maintain situational understanding and decision superiority despite degraded connectivity.