Allies Need to Take Part in Services' JADC2 Goals.

• Author: Sax, Chris

Adm. Christopher Grady in April highlighted the three axes he integrates in his job to be successful as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He visualizes integration "from the Pentagon down to where our servicemembers operate" as the 'y-axis.' He defines integration across the 'x-axis' as covering all domains--cyber, space, air, land, surface and subsurface.

Finally, he emphasizes the 'z-axis' is to "integrate across all of our partners."

Like Grady, the U.S. military is most effective when it integrates its military planning and operations across all three axes. This is the underlying truth driving the need for joint all-domain command and control, also known as JADC2.

In its current conceptual phase, JADC2 aims to unite sensor information across the services in a cloud-like architecture, transmitting combined military service data within a geographic combatant command--the y-axis--out across all operational domains and functional commands with global missions--the x-axis. Achieving this vision will enable greater visibility of the battlefield and logistics lines across all domains and shorten the time needed for informed command decisions.

Until now, however, discussions about JADC2 often stopped with these two axes. However, the optimal approach is not limited to the U.S. Joint Force. America's allies must be included in the conversation to fully implement a JADC2 solution that enables the United States to operate in multiple theaters and across operational domains with peak effectiveness. Incorporating allies into the framework is an essential step to incorporating the missing z-axis.

But there is significant work in front of us to realizing a Combined JADC2, or CJADC2. To date, the individual military services have focused on developing their own concepts. One industry partner identified these separate approaches as forming an environment of "limited commonality or interoperability across the defense enterprise."

To be effective in the future, the military services will need to integrate their separate approaches to JADC2 under a common data fabric with common data formatting and rule sets to properly develop and implement a two-axis JADC2, let alone a three-axis CJADC2.

One of the challenges is the Defense Department needs to identify a joint operational lead to ensure the concept's ongoing developmental success. A combatant command is the proper joint pathfinder for JADC2 development and implementation. As the nation...