JADC2: Pentagon Breaks Through With Networked War….Drones, Ships, Stealth Jets & Tanks Will Attack Together

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington D.C.) What if a satellite detected some kind of enemy movement behind a small mountain on a remote island somewhere in the Pacific and was able to quickly transmit threat data to an Air Force drone within range to “zero-in” on the target? Meanwhile, in near simultaneous fashion, the drone sends threat coordinates, imagery and even real-time video of the enemy movement to Navy amphibious assault ships and destroyers in position to take action with long-range precision weapons such as Tomahawk cruise missiles. 

Targeting specifics and intelligence can then also be sent to airborne ship-launched 5th-gen stealth aircraft such as Marine Corps F-35Bs able to both conduct additional surveillance or fire weapons at the enemy positions.

JADC2

Concurrently, the amphib instantly launched an amphibious assault transporting Marines, weapons and armored vehicles toward the island. As surface ships approach the island and Marines and armored vehicles move ashore, air and surface platforms continuously send advancing ground forces real-time targeting detail and intelligence of critical operational relevance to the Corps’ attack. 

What if, instead of needing to travel through various ground centers, command and control stations and an extensive decision-making process, all of this data sharing was secure, able to transition between otherwise disparate transport layer formats and taking place in a matter of seconds? Attacking fighter jets and advancing Corps ground forces, fortified by the multi-domain data-sharing network, would be able to operate with real-time knowledge of changing enemy movements, weapons positioning and tactical maneuvers in order to optimize timing, method and location of attack.

Video Above: Maj. Gen. Pringle Manned-Unmanned Teaming

This kind of real-time scenario, in which attacking forces operate within or faster than an enemy’s decision cycle, increases prospects for a rapid, successful first strike attack, decreasing risk to friendly forces and ensuring near immediate destruction of enemy forces before they can launch offensive operations …. Is increasingly becoming realistic. It is the premise of the JADC2 program, a multi-service effort to connect “air-ground-sea-space-cyber” domains to one another seamlessly across a dispersed, multi-domain operational area.