The United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
command, designed as a public-private initiative, that runs modernization projects for the Army. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and was first commanded by General
John Murray, formerly the Army's
G-8; the second and
current commander was formerly the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
's
G-3/5/7.
As of 2018 Futures Command was focused on six priorities:
1)
Long-range precision fires, 2)
Next Generation Combat Vehicle, 3)
Future Vertical Lift
Future Vertical Lift (FVL) is a plan to develop a family of military helicopters for the United States Armed Forces. Five different sizes of aircraft are to be developed, sharing common hardware such as sensors, avionics, engines, and counterm ...
platforms,
4) a mobile & expeditionary Army network, 5)
air and missile defense capabilities,
and
6) soldier lethality.
AFC's cross-functional teams (
CFTs) are Futures Command's vehicle for sustainable
reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
of the
acquisition process for the future.
[Phillip B. Fountain, U.S. Army Futures Comman]
(8 October 2019) Army Futures Command to highlight modernization efforts at 2019 AUSA
By October 2021, the 40th Chief of Staff of the Army was able to project that 24 of the top 35 priority programs for modernization would be fielded in fiscal year 2023 (FY2023).
Overmatch
Overmatch is a concept in modern military thinking which prizes having overwhelming advantages over an adversary to a more significant margin than in traditional warfare. It is related to military superiority. Overmatch uses a military force's "ca ...
of the capability of a competitor or adversary is one of the goals of AFC. More specifically, the imposition of multiple simultaneous dilemmas upon a competitor or adversary is a goal of the US Army: to get into a position of relative advantage.
By 2021, Army leadership recognized that new Army formations (the
multi-domain operations task force —
MDTF) had the ability to simultaneously compete with, and also threaten an adversary, with its new capability, across domains (space, cyber, disinformation) of the
conflict continuum.
Christine Wormuth
Christine Elizabeth Wormuth (born April 19, 1969) is an American defense official and career civil servant who serves as the United States Secretary of the Army since 2021. Wormuth previously served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy f ...
br>(10.11.2021) AUSA 2021
/ref> By 2022 or 2023, a new concept for command and control ( JADC2) will have been largely prototyped.[ Colin Demarest]
(21 Oct 2022) Project Convergence shows JADC2 alignment, leaders from 3 services say
Interoperations "show the services are aligned and not disjointed".
History
U.S. Army Futures Command was activated in the summer of 2018. The Decker-Wagner report on the 2010 Army Acquisition Review (Jan 2011) listed numerous changes to the acquisition process;[Gilbert F. Decker, Louis C. Wagner (co-chairs) et. al]
(Jan 2011) Army Strong: Equipped, Trained and Ready
Final Report of the 2010 Army Acquisition Review the recommendation to disestablish RDECOM was not followed.[C. Todd Lope]
(25 July 2011) Army to implement 63 Decker-Wagner acquisition recommendations
/ref> Instead a unitary Futures Command, to unify development over the life cycle was moved forward by an Acting Secretary of the Army (Ryan McCarthy), and the 36th Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (James McConville), who established a task force for modernization in 2016-2017 using cross-functional teams of subject matter experts to drive initial actions.''See § Need for modernization reform''
AFC declared its full operational capability in July 2019,[Scott Maucion]
(19 July 2019) Army Futures Command fully operational, dinged by GAO on announcement
/ref>[ after an initial one-year period.][ The FY2020 military budget allocated $30 billion for the top six modernization priorities over the next five years.][ The $30 billion came from $8 billion in cost avoidance and $22 billion in terminations.][ Over 30 projects][ Michael A. Grinston, James C. McConville, and Ryan McCarthy (U.S. Army), Ryan McCarthy]
(2019) 2019 Army Modernization Strategy
revision 7, CFTs' 31 signature efforts[ are envisioned to become the materiel basis needed for overmatching any potential competitors in the 'continuum of conflict' over the next ten years,][ in multi-domain operations (Reorganization plan of United States Army#Multi-domain operations (MDO), MDO).][MDO Challeng]
(15 May 2019) *Start here* MDO 101
General explanation of multi-domain operations (MDO) for the layman By 2018 a fundamental strategy was formulated, involving simultaneous integrated operations across domains.[ This strategy involves pushing adversaries to Conflict continuum#Standoff, standoff, ][ by presenting them with multiple simultaneous dilemmas.][Sydney Freedberg, Jr]
(14 January 2020) Army Chief Seeks ‘Minimally Manned’ Vehicles, Joint C2
LRPF, ITN, IBCS, FARA, FLRAA, and "We need a joint command and control system" —Army Chief of Staff James C. McConville[Sydney Freedberg, Jr]
(2021) Army Chief To Navy, Air Force: We’ve Got ‘Speed & Range’
"The future is all about range and speed" —Gen. McConville By 2028, the ability to project rapid, responsive power across domains will have become apparent to potential adversaries.[Chief of Staff paper #1, Headquarters, Department of the Arm]
(16 March 2021) Army Multi-Domain Transformation: Ready to Win in Competition and Conflict
Unclassified version by 40th Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. James C. McConville[Chief of Staff paper #]
(1 March 2021) The Army in Military Competition
/ref> ''See Power projection''
From an initial 12 people at its headquarters in 2018, AFC grew to 24,000 across 25 states and 15 countries in 2019. The apparent rapid expansion came by research facilities and personnel (including ARCIC and RDECOM) migrated from other commands and parts of the Army such as the United States Army Research Laboratory
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) is the U.S. Army's foundational research laboratory. ARL is headquartered at the Adelphi Laboratory Center (ALC) in Adelphi, Maryland. Its largest sing ...
.
The AFC was created in 2018 as a peer of Forces Command (FORSCOM), Training and Doctrine Command
The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...
(TRADOC), and Army Materiel Command (AMC), the Army commands that provide forces, training and doctrine, and materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
respectively.[ The other Army commands focus on their readiness to "fight tonight" when called upon. In contrast, AFC is focused on future readiness][Arpi Dilanian and Matthew Howar]
(1 April 2019) The number one priority: An interview with Gen. Mark Milley
Readiness (both current and future) for competition with near-peers, who have updated their capabilities.[Sébastien Robli]
(11 Oct. 2019) China's stealth drones and hypersonic missiles surpass—and threaten—the U.S.
*Binkov
(11 Oct 2019) New game changing weapons shown at Chinese military parade; October 2019
Binkov explains and animates Hypersonic glide trajectories for under-the-radar operation; Binkov estimates which weapons displays are mockups; Compares and contrasts Chinese, Russian, and US capabilities The command is supported by United States Army Reserve Innovation Command (aka. 75th Innovation Command
The 75th Innovation Command (75th IC) is a separate command of the United States Army Reserve.[75th Innovation C ...](_blank)
).
''See §Army of 2040''
Transition to multi-domain operations (MDO)
According to the 24th Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, the three elements in Futures Command are to be:[Sydney Freedberg, Jr]
(26 March 2018) Army Outlines Futures Command; Org Chart In Flux
/ref>
# Futures and Concepts: assess gaps (needs versus opportunities,[ given a threat).][ Concepts for realizable future systems (with readily harvestable content)][ will flow into TRADOC doctrine, manuals, and training programs.
# Combat Development: stabilized concepts.][ Balance the current state of technology and the cash-flow requirements of the defense contractors providing the technology, that they become deliverable experiments, demonstrations, and prototypes, in an iterative process of acquisition.][Neil Hollenbeck and Benjamin Jense]
(6 December 2017) Why the Army needs a Futures Command
Enable a culture of experimentation, and develop concepts and technology together. (''See Value stream
A value stream is the set of actions that take place to add value to a customer from the initial request through realization of value by the customer. The value stream begins with the initial concept, moves through various stages of development and ...
'')
# Combat Systems: experiments, demonstrations, and prototypes.[ Transition to the acquisition, production, and sustainment programs of AMC.][
23rd Secretary of the Army, ]Mark Esper
Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as the 23rd ...
emphasized that the 2018 administrative infrastructure for the Futures and Concepts Center (formerly ARCIC) and United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC, now called DEVCOM, (formerly RDECOM)) remains in place at their existing locations.[ What has changed or will change is the layers of command (operational control, or OPCON)][ needed to make a decision.][Sydney J. Freedberg, Jr]
(7 May 2018) Permanent Evolution: SecArmy Esper On Futures Command
/ref> He said, "You've got to remain open to change, you've got to remain flexible, you've otto remain accessible. That is the purpose of this command."[ ''See § Army of 2040''
]
Cross-Functional Teams (CFTs)
When he was 33rd Under Secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy characterized a Cross-Functional Team (CFT) as a team of teams, led by a requirements leader, program manager, sustainer and tester.[ Scott Maucion]
(14 Sep 2018) Army leaders ask for trust in lieu of metrics for Futures Command
/ref> Each CFT must strike a balance for itself amid constraints: the realms of requirements, acquisition, science and technology, test, resourcing, costing, and sustainment. A balance is needed in order for a CFT in order to produce a realizable concept before a competitor achieves it.[ The Army Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) itself serves as a kind of CFT, operating at a higher level][Headquarters, Department of the Army]
(29 Jun 2021) Army Regulation 71–9 Force Management. Warfighting Capabilities Determination
°1-6c, p.1) tasks for CG,AFC; °2-24 p.13) CG,AFC is a principal member of AROC, with 43 duties ''a through qq''; °3-1 ch.3 pp20-21) AROC is a forum for requirements decisions (RDF); °4-1 p.24) CG,AFC is responsible for force design; °6-4 p39) figure 6-1 Deliberate staffing and review process; ''figures for more staffing and review processes follow.'' [Research, Development, and Acquisitio]
AR 71–9 (2009) Warfighting Capabilities Determination
Aug 15, 2019 update[HQD]
(3 May 2022) Army Directive 2022-07 (Army Modernization Roles and Responsibilities)
AD2022-07 is 6 pages[Research, Development, and Acquisitio]
(22 Jul 2011) Army Acquisition Policy
AR 70-1[Jared Serb]
(11 Mar 2016) Army puts its chief of staff 'at the center' of acquisition decisions
/ref>[USAASC, Army ALT Magazine, Best Practice]
(16 February 2018) A Model and Process for Transitioning Urgent Acquisition
- USAASC (United States Army Acquisition Corps) as response to Congressional oversight, budgeting, funding, policy, and authorization for action. [Jen Judson]
(6 Sep 2022) Futures Command faces identity crisis as Army shifts mission
[Jen Judso]
(6 Sep 2022) Army’s next Futures Command leader could come 'in short order'
/ref>[Andrew Eversde]
(7 Sep 2022) After months of delay, Army nominates new commander for Futures Command
[Stripe]
CFTs for materiel and capabilities were first structured in a task force, in order to de-layer the Army Commands.[US Arm]
(6 Oct 2017) Army Directive 2017-24 (Cross-Functional Team Pilot In Support of Materiel Development)
/ref>[David Vergun, Army News Servic]
(13 October 2017) Cross-functional teams to spearhead modernization, says McCarthy
allocated money in Program Objective Memorandum (POM) to protect resources. Each CFT addresses a capability gap, which the Army must now match for its future: there can be a Capability Development Integration Directorate (CDID), for each CFT.[The capabilities as prioritized by the Chief of Staff, will use subject-matter experts (SMEs) in the realms of requirements, acquisition, science and technology, test, resourcing, costing, and sustainment, using CFTs for:
# Improved long-range precision fires (artillery):—(Fort Sill, Oklahoma) Lead: BG John Rafferty ... PEO Ammunition (AMMO)
# Next Generation Combat Vehicle—(Detroit Arsenal, Warren, Michigan) Lead]
BG Geoffrey Norman
... PEO Ground Combat Systems (GCS)
# Vertical lift platforms—(Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama) Lead: BG Wally Rugen ... PEO Aviation (AVN)
# Mobile and expeditionary (usable in ground combat) communications network (Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland)
## Network Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence—Lead: BG Jeth Rey ... PEO Command Control Communications Tactical (C3T)
## Assured Position Navigation and Timing—(Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama) Lead: William B. Nelson, SES
# Air and missile defense—(Fort Sill, Oklahoma) Lead: BG Brian Gibson, ... PEO Missiles and Space (M&S)
# Soldier lethality
## Soldier Lethality—(Fort Benning, Georgia) Lead: BG Larry Q. Burris, Jr. ... PEO Soldier Program Executive Office Soldier is a US Army organization that is responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and fielding of equipment for its soldiers.
Development areas
Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (PM SPIE) d ...
## Synthetic Training Environment—(Orlando, Florida) Lead: BG William Glaser ... PEO Simulation, Training, & Instrumentation (STRI)
* Above, 'dotted line' relationship (i.e., coordination) is denoted by a ' ... ' Initially, the CFTs were placed as needed; eventually they might each co-locate at a Center of Excellence ( CoE) listed below. For example, the Aviation CoE at Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...
, in coordination with the Aviation Program Executive Officer (PEO), also contains the Vertical Lift CFT and the Aviation CDID.
Modernization reform is the priority for AFC, in order to achieve readiness for the future.
The CFTs will be involved in all three of AFC's elements: Futures and concepts, Combat development, and Combat systems.[Arpi Dilanian and Matthew Howar]
(31 August 2018) Modernizing at the speed of relevance: An interview with Under Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy
/ref> "We were never above probably a total of eight people" —BG Wally Rugen, Aviation CFT. Four of the eight CFT leads have now shifted from dual-hat jobs to full-time status. Each CFT lead is mentored by a 4-star general.[
Although AFC and the CFTs are a top priority of the Department of the Army, as AFC and the CFTs are expected to unify control of the $30 billion-dollar modernization budget,][Sydney Freedber]
(29 August 2018) Army Futures Command: $100M, 500 Staff, & Access To Top Leaders
/ref>[ "The new command will not tolerate a zero-defects mentality. 'But if you fail, we'd like you to fail early and fail cheap,' because progress and success often builds on failure." —Ryan McCarthy][David Vergu]
(22 April 2018) New Army Futures Command success hinges on relationship building
Ryan McCarthy Holland notes that prototyping applies to the conceptual realm ('harvestable content') as much as prototyping applies to the hardware realm.[Lt. Col. Thomas "Bull" Holland, PhD, U.S. Arm]
(15 January 2019) Proposed Army Futures Command Process Tenets
# 'Scientific research is a fundamentally different activity than technology development';
# Incorporate 'scientific research into "Appendix C: Functional Concepts" and specify pathways for technology development';
# Buy into the 'fail fast' mentality;
# '6.3-funded projects to produce knowledge (technical data) that can be consumed by requirements developers as opposed to PMs';
# Use 'evidence-based requirements process' (early hypothesis testing) with citations for evidence:
#* All projects will be executed in no less than two increments.
#* No new requirements once an increment is started.
# Summary: 'advances on the battlefield requires comprehensive, coordinated changes in the entire acquisition system';[
A 2019 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report][ cautions that lessons learned from the CFT pilot][ are yet to be applied; Holland notes that this organizational critique applies to prototyping hardware, a different realm than concept refinement ("scientific research is a fundamentally different activity than technology development").][ Also in 2019 the GAO recommended that the government establish a process to ensure that CFTs implement their intended business reforms; however by 2021 the office of the Chief Management officer (CMO) had been disestablished.][United States Government Accountability Office (GAO]
Defense Management: DOD Needs to Implement Statutory Requirements and Identify Resources for Its Cross-Functional Reform Teams
GAO 19-165 accessdate=2021-09-24
Search for GAO 19-165
but the 35th deputy secretary of defense addressed the issue of DoD-wide CFT continuity in 2021 by establishing the RDER fund. —Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
(21 Jun 2021) Hicks Seeks To Unify Service Experiments With New ‘Raider’ Fund
/ref>
Joint collaboration on modernization
The Secretaries of the Army, Air Force, and Navy meet regularly to take advantage of overlap in their programs:[David Vergun, Defense.go]
(21 February 2020) Military leaders discuss hypersonics, supply chain vulnerabilities
/ref>
;Hypersonic
* Hypersonic: The US Army (August 2018) has no tested countermeasure for intercepting maneuverable hypersonic weapons platforms,[In, for example ]Waverider
A waverider is a hypersonic aircraft design that improves its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio by using the shock waves being generated by its own flight as a lifting surface, a phenomenon known as compression lift.
The waverider remains a we ...
hypersonic weapons delivery, China has flown a Mach 5.5 vehicle for 400 seconds, at 30 km altitude, demonstrating large-angle deviations from a ballistic trajectory, as well as recovery of the payload. See
3 August 2018 China tests hypersonic aircraft Starry Sky-2
--Xingkong-2 (Starry-sky-2) first flight
China successfully tests first hypersonic aircraft that can .. Youtube clip XingKong-2 hypersonic aircraft (Starry Sky-2)
John Hyten
John Earl Hyten (born July 18, 1959) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 11th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2021. A career space operations and acquisitions officer, he commanded the United St ...
statement 05:03, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
(15 Jun 2018) Lockheed Martin Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon (HCSW) Missile for US Air Force
**Chris Marti
(17 Dec 2019) Lockheed awards $81.5M contract for hypersonic missile motor
to Rocketdyne for HCSW $81.5M, ARRW
*NPR
(23 October 2018) Nations Rush Ahead With Hypersonic Weapons Amid Arms Race Fear
*DOV S. ZAKHEIM, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
(08/26/19) Putin built a hypersonic arsenal, while the Pentagon slept
*Colin Clark
(19 June 2019) Raytheon, Northrop Will ‘Soon’ Fly Hypersonic Cruise Missile
Paris Air Show, new additive-process materials to build the combustor of a scramjet; potential integration among members of an intercommunicating swarm of hypersonics systems
Current test targets, such a
Zombie Pathfinder
are not hypersonic
Rand Corporation (28 September 2017) Hypersonic Missile Nonproliferation
estimates there is less than a decade to prevent Hypersonic Missile proliferation.
[Stephen Carlso]
(14 Nov 2018) DARPA issues contract proposition for hypersonic missile defense
*Stephen Carlso
(13 Nov 2018) Space, lasers, hypersonic missiles rank high for U.S. missile defense research
/ref>[ and in this case the problem is being addressed in a joint program of the entire Department of Defense.][ The Army is participating in a joint program with the Navy and Air Force, to develop a hypersonic glide body,][Paul McLear]
(31 January 2020) SecNav Tells Fleet Hypersonic Competition Demands ‘Sputnik Moment;’ Glide Body Test Set
Hypersonic Glide Body test for 2020 by mutual agreement between the respective secretaries[ In order to rapidly develop this capability, a dedicated program office was established,][ Clark, Coli]
(2019-05-24) Army Moves Out On Lasers, Hypersonics: Lt. Gen. Thurgood
/ref> in behalf of the joint services.[Kelley M. Sayler, Analyst in Advanced Technology and Global Security. Congressional Research Service R4581]
(11 July 2019) Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress
Lists names for hypersonics programs A division of responsibility was agreed upon, with researchers who demonstrated hypersonic capability in 2011, teaching industrial vendors, to transfer the technology.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(30 August 2019) Hypersonics: Army Awards $699M To Build First Missiles For A Combat Unit
prototypes—Dynetics: Common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB); Lockheed: Long range hypersonic weapon (LRHW)
*Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, U.S. Army RCCT
(30 August 2019) Army awards hypersonic weapon system contracts
/ref> Joint programs in hypersonic are informed by Army work;[ however, at the strategic level, the bulk of the hypersonic work remains at the Joint level.][Aaron Greg]
(2 August 2019) In conversations with investors, defense firms double down on hypersonic weapons
As of August 2019, Lockheed reports $3.5 billion in hypersonics work, while Raytheon reports $1.6 billion; Boeing declined to give the value of its hypersonics awards.[Jason Cutsha]
(19 September 2018) Secretary of the Navy visits AMC, SMDC
memorandum of agreement in June to co-develop a hypersonic vehicle[ ]Long Range Precision Fires
The Field Artillery Branch is a combat arms branch of the United States Army that is responsible for field artillery.
Historical background
The U.S. Army Field Artillery branch traces its origins to 17 November 1775 when the Continental Congr ...
(LRPF) is an Army priority, and also a DoD joint effort. The Army and Navy's Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) had a successful test of a prototype in March 2020.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(20 Mar 2020) Hypersonics: Army, Navy Test Common Glide Body
"The U.S. Navy and U.S. Army jointly executed the launch of a common hypersonic glide body (C-HGB), which flew at hypersonic speed to a designated impact point"
DoD (20 March 2020) Department of Defense tests hypersonic glide body
"The C-HGB – when fully fielded – will comprise the weapon's conventional warhead, guidance system, cabling, and thermal protection shield." Also: comments from LTG L. Neill Thurgood RCCTO After the US realized that a catch-up effort was needed, billions of dollars were expended by 2020.[Jon Harpe]
(4 March 2020) JUST IN: Pentagon to Spend Billions Mass-Producing Hypersonic Weapons
"Aero shells that provide thermal protection for the high-speed platforms will be a key component of the systems" A wind tunnel for testing hypersonic vehicles is being built at the Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems.
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...
' RELLIS Campus in Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley ( East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of Colleg ...
(2019). The Army's Land-based Hypersonic Missile "is intended to have a range of 1,400 miles".[ By adding rocket propulsion to a shell or glide body, the joint effort shaved five years off the likely fielding time for hypersonic weapon systems.][ Countermeasures against hypersonic will require sensor data fusion: both radar and infrared sensor tracking data will be required to capture the signature of a hypersonic vehicle in the atmosphere.][John L. Dolan, Richard K. Gallagher & David L. Man]
(23 April 2019) Hypersonic Weapons – A Threat to National Security
Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS)
*Kris Osbor
(16 December 2019) Pentagon Advances New Technology to Destroy Hypersonic Missile Attacks
HBTSS will "establish a continuous 'track' on approaching hypersonic missiles"
*Melanie Marlow
(8 April 2020) Three obstacles are slowing space sensors for hypersonic threats
Continuous tracking is needed to maintain custody of a hypersonic threat before its disposition.
*David Brenna
(27 Jan 2021) Pentagon Orders Hypersonic Missile Trackers Amid Russia, China Arms Race
HBTSS awards to L3Harris; Northrop Grumman[Theresa Hitchen]
(24 February 2020) 2021 Budget Will Finally Fully Fund Next-Gen OPIR, Says Roper
Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) replacement: three satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) and two satellites in a polar orbit[Theresa Hitchen]
(17 May 2021) New SBIRS Sat Creates Bridge To Next-Gen Missile Warning
SBIRS GEO 5[Theresa Hitchens]
(1 Aug 2022) Space Force plans launch this week for final SBIRS missile warning sat
GEO 6[Jen Judso]
(20 August 2019) US Missile Defense Agency boss reveals his goals, challenges on the job
Increase the discrimination of the radars and other sensors. Use Large aperture sensors. Use Space-based missile sensors. An SM-3 Block IIA missile test against ICBM is scheduled for 2020. Plan out the detection, control and engagement; the sensors, the command-and-control, the fire control, and the weapons (the kill vehicles).[ Theresa Hitchen]
(9 October 2020) SDA Missile Tracking A ‘Strategic Win’ For L3Harris, SpaceX
/ref>[Center for Strategic & International Studie]
(7 Feb 2022) Complex Air Defense: Countering the Hypersonic Missile Threat
Dr. Tom Karako, Director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project; Ms. Kelley Sayler, CRS; Dr. Gillian Bussey, Director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office; Dr. Mark Lewis, Executive Director of NDIA's Emerging Technologies Institute; Mr. Stan Stafira, Chief Architect at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) In 2021 the GAO counted 70 separate hypersonic projects, in both offense and defensive categories overseen by DoD's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, abbreviated USD (R&E), is a senior official of the United States Department of Defense. The USD (R&E) is charged with the development and oversight of technology strategy for the DoD. T ...
, which oversees only research and development, and not DoD's Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, or USD(A&S), is the Principal Staff Assistant (PSA) and advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all matters relating to acquisition and sustainment in the Department of Defense. Thi ...
—DoD's acquisition and sustainment office, which do not need oversight until the hypersonic projects are ready for the acquisition phase.[Theresa Hitchen]
(22 Mar 2021) DoD Needs To Sharpen Hypersonics Oversight: GAO
/ref>[Nathan Strou]
(5 Oct 2020) SpaceX, L3 to provide hypersonic tracking satellites for Space Development Agency
SDA's National Defense Space Architecture ( NDSA)
**By 2021, the Missile Defense Agency
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...
(MDA) realized that it almost had a countermeasure to hypersonic boost-glide weapons, by using existing data on the adversary hypersonic systems which were gathered from existing US satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
and ground-based sensors.[Paul McLear]
(18 Dec 2019) MDA Kickstarts New Way To Kill Hypersonic Missiles
HBTSS is 'Space sensor layer' MDA then fed this data into its existing systems models, and concluded that the adversary hypersonic weapon's glide phase offered the best chance for MDA to intercept it. MDA next proffered a request for information (RFI) from the defense community for building interceptors (denoted the GPI —glide phase interceptor) against the glide phase of that hypersonic weapon. GPIs would be guided by Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensors (HBTSS).[Theresa Hitchen]
(19 Nov 2021) Raytheon, Northrop, Lockheed to compete for hypersonic interceptor
/ref> These GPI interceptors could first be offered to the Navy for Aegis
The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
to intercept using the C2BMC
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), ...
,[Jen Judso]
(20 Nov 2021) Here are the three companies selected to design hypersonic missile interceptors for MDA
/ref>[Jen Judso]
(24 Jun 2022) Raytheon, Northrop advance in competition to develop hypersonic weapons interceptor
and later to the Army for THAAD to intercept using §IBCS.[Jen Judso]
(13 Aug 2021) Missile Defense Agency dials up the speed in quest for hypersonic interceptor
/ref>[Theresa Hitchen]
(12 Aug 2021) Next Budget Will Limit Glide Phase Interceptor Contractors: MDA Head
2028 target date is being accelerated. FY2022 decisions on GPI/Ground-Based Interceptor
The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is the anti-ballistic missile component of the United States' Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
Description
This interceptor is made up of a boost vehicle, constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporat ...
, GBI replacement (the Next generation interceptor NGI) will be made by Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks.
;Multi-Domain Operations (MDO); Joint warfighting concept (JADC2)
* Multi-Domain Operations (MDO):[Todd Sout]
(13 September 2019) Massive simulation shows the need for speed in multi-domain ops
"400 participants working with 55 formations, 64 concepts and 150 capabilities"[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. ] Joint planning and operations are also part of the impending DoD emphasis on multi-domain operations.[Gen. David G. Perkins, U.S. Arm]
(Nov-Dec 2017) Multi-Domain Battle: The Advent of Twenty-First Century War
/ref>[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(7 March 2019) US ‘Gets Its Ass Handed To It’ In Wargames: Here's A $24 Billion Fix
Army prepositioned stocks (APS) vulnerability[Matthew Co]
/ref>[Army Futures Comman]
(28 February 2020) Joint All Domain Command and Control
AFC is the functional lead representing the Army in JADC2's development Multi-domain battalions, first stood up in 2019,[ comprise a single unit] for air, land,[Jason Cutshaw (USASMDC]
(8 August 2019) Leader gives space and missile defense update at SMD Symposium
Integrated fires across domains space,[Stephen Clar]
(8 August 2019) Atlas 5 launch adds to U.S. military's secure communications satellite network
Air Force's fifth AEHF (Advanced Extremely High Frequency
Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) is a constellation of communications satellites operated by the United States Space Force. They are used to relay secure communications for the United States Armed Forces, the British Armed Forces, the C ...
) communications satellite[Office of the Chief of Public Affair]
(10.16.2019) 2019 AUSA Warriors Corner - TacticalSpace: Delivering Future Force Space Capabilities
*Loren Thompso
(30 Jul 2019) Defense Against Hypersonic Attack Is Becoming The Biggest Military Challenge Of The Trump Era
/ref>[Paul McLear]
(18 December 2019) MDA Kickstarts New Way To Kill Hypersonic Missiles
MDA's Hypersonic Defense Weapon System - 4 Interceptors—and cyber[ domains.][ A hypersonic-based battery similar to a THAAD battery is under consideration for this type of battalion,][ possibly denoted a ''strategic fires'' battalion] (however I2CEWS support would likely be needed), depending on the theater. In 2019, as part of a series of globally integrated exercises, these capabilities were analyzed.[ Using massive simulation][ the need for a §new kind of command and control (now denoted ''JADC2'') to integrate this firepower was explored.][
**The ability to punch-through any standoff defense of a near-peer competitor is the goal which Futures Command is seeking.][ For example, the combination of F-35-based targeting coordinates, Long range precision fires, and Low-earth-orbit satellite][Theresa Hitchen]
(2 December 2019) Hey SDA, AFRL Boosts Space-Based Internet Tests
/ref> capability overmatches the competition, according to Lt. Gen. Wesley.[Joseph Lacdan, Army News Servic]
(21 October 2019) AFC deputy: Combined capabilities make military might more lethal
/ref>[ Critical decisions to meet this goal will be decided by data from the results of the Army's ongoing tests of the prototypes under development.][
**For example, in Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF), the director of the LRPF CFT envisions one application as an ]anti-access/area denial
Anti-Access/Area Denial (or A2/AD) is a military strategy to control access to and within an operating environment. In an early definition, anti-access refers to those actions and capabilities, usually long-range, designed to prevent an opposing ...
(A2AD) probe; this spares resources from the other services;[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(16 July 2020) Army Says Long Range Missiles Will Help Air Force, Not Compete
/ref> by firing a munition with a thousand-mile range at an adversary, LRPF would force an adversary to respond, which exposes the locations of its countermeasures, and might even expose the location of an adversary force's headquarters. In that situation an adversary's headquarters would not survive for long, and the adversary's forces would be subject to defeat in detail
Defeat in detail, or divide and conquer, is a military tactic of bringing a large portion of one's own force to bear on small enemy units in sequence, rather than engaging the bulk of the enemy force all at once. This exposes one's own units to ...
. But LRPF is only one part of the strategy of overmatch by a Combatant commander.
**In August–September 2020. at Yuma Proving Ground
Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation ...
, the US Army engaged in a five-week exercise to rapidly merge capabilities in multiple-domains. The exercise prototyped a ground tactical Network, pushing it to its limits of robustness[ (as of 2020, 36 miles on the ground, and demonstrated 1500-mile capability above the ground, with ]kill chain
The term kill chain is a military concept which identifies the structure of an attack. It consists of:
* identification of target
* dispatching of forces to target
* initiation of attack on target
* destruction of target
Conversely, the idea o ...
s measured in seconds) in the effort to penetrate anti-access/area denial (A2AD) with long-range fires. Longer-range fires are under development, ranging from hundreds of miles to over 1000 miles, with yearly iterations of Project Convergence being planned.[
*** MDO (''multi-domain operations'') and JADC2 (''joint all-domain command and control'') thus entails:]
***# Penetrate phase: satellites detect enemy shooters
***# Dis-integrate phase: airborne assets remove enemy long range fires
***# Kinetic effect phase: Army shooters, using targeting data from aircraft and other sensors, fire on enemy targets.[Patrick Tucke]
(24 Sep 2020) Inside the Army's Fearless, Messy, Networked Warfare Experiment
Murray: Army software factory will start contributing.
*** Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville will discuss the combination of MDO and JADC2 with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown. In October 2020 the Chiefs agreed that Futures Command, and the Air Force's A5 office will lead a two-year collaboration 'at the most "basic levels" by defining mutual standards for data sharing and service interfacing' in the development of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2).
**** The ability of the joint services to send data from machine to machine was exercised in front of several of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in April 2021; this is a prerequisite capability for Convergence of MDO and JADC2.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(20 Apr 2021) New Army Lab Tests Joint Tech: Project Convergence
Joint Systems Integration Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground[Joseph Lacda]
(17 Apr 2021) Service leaders prioritize integration in joint effort to achieve overmatch
JSIL, Aberdeen: Preparation of data fabric for Project Convergence, ABMS JADC2, and Project Overmatch: Army - Air Force - Navy[Colin Demarest]
(23 Sep 2022) Siemens, 29 others added to Air Force’s $950 million JADC2 contract
* In July 2022 the 7th ASA(ALT) Doug Bush called for the formation of a large office on the scale of the Joint Counter-small UAS office, but for JADC2.[Jaspreet Gil]
(11 Jul 2022) Army acquisition exec pushes for joint JADC2 office, large-scale exercise
This would coordinate,[Colin Demares]
(11 Jul 2022) Pentagon’s secret JADC2 plan 'evolving', official says, as lawmakers seek audit
"The oversight will inform future support and is not meant to be punitive". and eventually reconcile requirements for JADC2 for Army’s Project Convergence, the Navy’s Project Overmatch and the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System.[Valerie Insinn]
(17 Jul 2022) Air Force’s sixth-gen fighter downselect ‘not all that far away,’ says Kendall
Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) will have a private company as prime contractor, but the US government will probably be the prime contractor for integrating efforts involving collaborative combat aircraft (drones), NGAD, and AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile
The AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) under development by Lockheed Martin. Designed to address advanced threats, the missile is expected to replace or supplement the A ...
. —USAF Secretary Frank Kendall[Travis Sharp, CSBA]
(20 Oct 2022) JADC2 spending is sprawling. DoD should keep watch, but Let It Go.
Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution Process (PPBE) ~ $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion in FY2023 for 30 initiatives in JADC2.[ ''See CDAO''
* In July 2022 Army Test and Evaluation Command called for more digital twinning and ]modeling and simulation
Modeling and simulation (M&S) is the use of models (e.g., physical, mathematical, or logical representation of a system, entity, phenomenon, or process) as a basis for simulations to develop data utilized for managerial or technical decision makin ...
,[Jen Judso]
(15 Jul 2022) Army Test and Evaluation Command pushes to reduce live-fire tests
as end-to-end tests become more comprehensive, expensive, and larger-scale;[ as the scale of an exercise increases, a Synthetic Training Environment (STE) can be used to cut costs.][
]
Partners
AFC is actively seeking partners outside the military,[Sean Kimmons ] including research funding to over 300 colleges and universities,[ but with one-year program cycles.] "We will come to you. You don't have to come to us. —General Mike Murray, 24 August 2018"
Multiple incubator tech hubs are available in Austin,
especially Capital Factory, with offices of Defense Innovation Unit
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization founded to help the U.S. military make faster use of emerging commercial technologies. Launched in 2015, the organization has been called "the Pentagon's ...
(DIU) and AFWERX
AFWERX is a United States Air Force program with the goal of fostering a culture of innovation within the service. Encompassing a number of programs supported with relatively small amounts of funding, the initiative is intended to circumvent burea ...
(USAF tech hub).[ Gen. Murray will stand up an Army Applications Lab][ Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
Army Applications Lab
(23 October 2018) Army Futures Command Wants YOU (To Innovate)
*—Adam Jay Harrison's list for types of Funding Authority there to accelerate acquisition and deployment of materiel to the soldiers, using artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...
(AI)
[ as one acceleration technique;][Kelley M. Sayler, CR]
(10 Nov 2020) Artificial Intelligence and National Security
R45178 Murray will hire a chief technology officer for AFC.[Lauren C. William]
(14 Sep 2018) Army Futures Command to set up DIU-like innovation lab
Ronald Sega, CTO for AFC, Starts 1 July 2019
Ronald M. Sega
Ronald "Ron" Michael Sega (also Ronald Šega) (Ph.D.) (born December 4, 1952) is professor of systems engineering and Vice President for Energy and the Environment at the Colorado State University Research Foundation, a non-profit advocacy organiz ...
[ Gen. Murray, in seeking to globalize AFC,][David Vergun, Army News Servic]
(10 October 2018) Army Futures Command to become 'global command,' says its leader
/ref> has embedded U.S. military allies into some of the CFTs.[
For the US, and its allies and partners, the basis of global ]surveillance and target acquisition
Surveillance and target acquisition is a military role assigned to units and/or their equipment. It involves watching an area to see what changes (surveillance) and then the acquisition of targets based on that information.
Artillery STA
The ro ...
is the US National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA) as realized by layered constellations of Earth satellites and Earth station
A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fr ...
s (such as TITAN).[Andrew Eversde]
(28 Jun 2022) Army moves ahead with Palantir and Raytheon for next phase of TITAN
"The TITAN program is a tactical ground station that will process data from across space and land-based sensors using artificial intelligence and ship it off to the right shooter — such as one of the new Army long-range precision fires missiles".[Courtney Albo]
(28 Jun 2022) US Army awards $72 million for new phase in next-gen ground system effort
DIU and Northrop will field a prototype TITAN in the interim It will take machine learning (ML) and AI to handle the scale of data flows needed for MDO.
;AI
*Disinformation
Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.
The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...
at scale appears to be AI-generated, in 2021.[Brad William]
(30 Sep 2021) Researchers Warn Of ‘Dangerous’ Artificial Intelligence-Generated Disinformation At Scale
/ref>[Theresa Hitchen]
(7 Apr 2022) How US intel worked with commercial satellite firms to reveal Ukraine info
using RF geolocation
*Artificial Intelligence (AI) Modernization[Defense.go]
(12 February 2019) SUMMARY OF THE 2018 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY
/ref>[Ashton Carte]
(2012-11-21) Autonomy in Weapon Systems
Most recent DoD guideline: 2012—The 23rd Secretary of the Army directed the establishment of an Army AI Task Force (A-AI TF) to support the DoD Joint AI center. The execution order will be drafted and staffed by Futures Command:[Army AI task forc]
Army Directive 2018-18 (Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force in Support of the Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center)
2 October 2018[Terri Moon Cronk ]
*The Army Applications Laboratory[ was established in 2018, along with the stand-up of the Army Futures Command, to act as a concierge service across the Army's Future Force Modernization Enterprise and the broader commercial marketplace of ideas.
** Army AI task force][Carnegie Mellon Universit]
Brigadier General Matt Easley is Director of Army Artificial Intelligence task force (A-AI TF)[Gary Sheftic]
(13 August 2019) AI Task Force taking giant leaps forward
Coordinating with: NREC, Talent management task force, the CFTs, and DOD's Joint AI Center (its relationship with the CFTs is cross-cutting
Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time, and often in the same place. In a cross-cut, the camera will cut away from one action to another action, which can suggest the simultan ...
, in the same sense as the Assured Position, Navigation, Timing (A-PNT) CFT and the Synthetic Training Environment (STE) CFT are also cross-cutting) will use the resources of the Army to establish scalable machine learning projects at Carnegie Mellon University
** the Army CIO/G-6 will create an Identity, Credential, and Access Management system to efficiently issue and verify credentials to non-person entities (AI agents and machines)[Douglas Scot]
(6 August 2019) New wearable authentication more than a "token" gesture
Tactical Identity and Access Management (TIDAM) ''see Army AI task force (A-AI TF)''
** DCS G-2 will coordinate with CG AFC, and director of A-AI TF, to provide intelligence for Long-Range Precision Fires
** CG AMC will provide functional expertise and systems for maintenance of materiel with AI
** AFC and A-AI TF will establish an AI test bed for experimentation, training, deployment, and testing of machine learning capabilities and workflows.[U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affair]
(27 February 2020) Army researchers enhance AI critical to Soldier-machine teamwork
Explainability & tellability: coalition situational understanding (CSU) & human-agent knowledge fusion (HAKF)
*Alun Preece, Dave Braines, Federico Cerutti, Tien Pha
(16 Oct 2019) Explainable AI for Intelligence Augmentation in Multi-Domain Operations
/ref>[RDECOM Research Laboratory Public Affair]
(18 December 2018) Black Hawk helicopter pilot interns with Army researchers
/ref> Funding will be assured for the Fiscal Year 2019.[Sydney J. Freedberg, Jr]
(11 September 2020) JAIC Wants AI ‘Victory Gardens’ Across DoD
/ref>
***A Global Network to counter cyber attack
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted ...
s, much like Five Eyes
The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sig ...
, is the recommendation for multi-domain operations (MDO), which is unified to present a synoptic view of any cyber operation to all the combatant commands simultaneously.[Theresa Hitchen]
(25 September 2019) IC Must Embrace Public Data to Use AI Effectively: Sue Gordon
IC is the Intelligence Community[ Mezher, Chyrine ][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(12 August 2019) Big Data For Big Wars: JEDI vs. China & Russia
/ref>[ 'Decision dominance' is a tenet of the 'Joint warfighting concept'.][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.]
(22 November 2019) SecArmy's Multi-Domain Kill Chain: Space-Cloud-AI
Army Multi-Domain Operations Concept, December 2018 slide from TRADOC pam 525-3-1[TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1 (6 December 2018) The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028]
"describes how US Army forces, as part of the Joint Force, will militarily compete, penetrate, dis-integrate, and exploit our adversaries in the future.
Link moved here
/ref>[DAISHI ABE and RIEKO MIK]
(14 Aug 2020) Japan wants de facto 'Six Eyes' intelligence status: defense chief
*MASAYA KAT
(13 Aug 2020) Japan's deeper ties with Five Eyes hinge on how it keeps secrets
/ref>
**** Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) AlphaDogfight: Trials of eight AI teams, which began learning how to fly in September 2019. In August 2020 the eight AI agents faced each other, in a series of simulated fights. The simulations included the g-forces which limit a human (accelerations greater than 9 g's will cause most forward-facing human pilots to black out— AI agents are not subject to these human constraints). The champion AI agent eventually met a human General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter pilot in simulated combat on 20 August 2020.[Andrew Eversde]
(7 August 2020) A human F-16 pilot will fight against AI in an upcoming contest
/ref> On 20 August 2020, the champion AI agent consistently defeated a human F-16 pilot in a series of dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...
s.[Theresa Hitchen]
(20 August 2020) AI Slays Top F-16 Pilot In DARPA Dogfight Simulation
The AI systems are eventually to serve as wingmen for human commanders.
*Eric Tegle
(20 August 2020) AI Just Won A Series Of Simulated Dogfights Against A Human F-16 Pilot, 5-0. What Does That Mean?
*DARPAt
(20 August 2020) AlphaDogfight Trials Final Event
5 hour live stream.
**** DoD's Joint AI Center ( JAIC) is providing a Joint Common Foundation, a cloud-based AI toolkit for any DoD organization (viz., Futures Command) to use.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(12 August 2020) Deloitte Wins $106M JAIC Contract To Build AI Toolkit
/ref> JAIC is seeking to curate the flood of data at DoD[Aaron Meht]
(23 Sep 2020) Hyten to issue new joint requirements on handling data
by using JROC-specified Capabilities stated in high-level natural language rather than relying on traditional item-by-item Requirements documents to allow systematic, reliable datasets which are usable for machine learning.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(3 Sep 2020) AI's Data Hunger Will Drive Intelligence Collection
Army's Chief data officer: In the Future, "every Soldier is a Chief data officer"
*Sydney J. Freedberg Jr
(10 Sep 2020) China Is Not Ahead Of US On AI: JAIC Chief & Gen. Hyten
/ref>
**** Adaptive Distributed Allocation of Probabilistic Tasks (ADAPT) is a DARPA model for testing AI-to-human communication in a toy environment.[ Kelsey Atherto]
(14 August 2020) DARPA Trains AI To Understand Humans – In Minecraft
/ref>
*In 2021 DoD is requesting 600 separate AI efforts for FY2022 ($874 million) as opposed to 400 AI efforts for FY2021.[Andrew Eversde]
(28 May 2021) Pentagon wants to spend big on joint war-fighting systems
/ref> The Army is using machine learning
Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence.
Machine ...
to extract targeting data from satellite sensors for its JADC2 effort.[Andrew Eversde]
(12 Aug 2021) Army Futures Command outlines next five years of AI needs
/ref>
**In 2022 DEVCOM Analysis Center (DAC) signed a cooperative agreement with Northeastern University's Kostas Research Institute (KRI) to build on KRI's analytic framework, with six other universities on artificial intelligence and assistive automation (AI/AA), to further Army sub-goals ("mission effectiveness analysis, ontology for decision making, automatic target recognition, human systems integration, cyber resilience/electronic warfare threat defense, and assessing autonomous maneuver/mobility").[Kaylan Hutchison, DAC Strategic Communication]
(22 Jun 2022) Collaborative agreement propels Army analysis of artificial intelligence
; Software
Futures Command will stand up Army Software Factory in August 2021, to immerse Soldiers and Army civilians of all ranks in modern software development, in Austin.[Eversden, Andrew ][Army Futures Command Army Software Factory][USAF Assistant Secretary of Acquisition, Chief Software Offic]
(19 Dec 2019) SpaceCAMP
USAF Software Factory Similar in spirit to the Training with industry program, participants are expected to take these practices back with them, to influence other Army people in their future assignments, and to build up the Army's capability in software development. The training program lasts three years, and will produce skill sets for trainees as product managers, user experience and user interface designers, software engineers, or platform engineers.[ The Al Work Force Development program and this Software Factory will complement the Artificial Intelligence Task Force.][AI TF Artificial Intelligence Task Force ]
*US Arm
Army Artificial Intelligence Task Force (31 August 2020) AFC: Growing an AI-ready workforce
*U.S. ARMY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TASK FORCE
(Nov 2019) U.S. ARMY FUTURES COMMAND, AREAS OF INTEREST
* Tapping in to its personnel system, the Army has identified soldiers who can already code at Ph.D.-level, but who are in unexpected MOSs.[Colin Clar]
(8 Aug 2021) Wormuth Hints At Cuts To 35 Core Army Modernization Programs
/ref>
AFC is seeking to design signature systems in a relevant time frame according to priorities of the Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA).[ AFC will partner with other organizations such as Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) as needed.][
If a team from industry presents a viable program idea to a CFT, that CFT connects to the Army's requirements developers, Secretary Esper said, and the program prototype is then put on a fast track.][
The Secretary of the Army has approved an Intellectual Property Management Policy, to protect both the Army and the entrepreneur or innovator.][Devon L. Suit]
(11 December 2018) Army secretary approves new Intellectual Property Management Policy
/ref>[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(15 March 2019) IP Rights For Robot Tanks: NGCV To Test-Drive New Policy
/ref>
; Data
For example, the Network CFT and the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications—Tactical (PEO C3T) hosted a forum on 1 August 2018 for vendors to learn what might function as a testable/deployable[ in the near future.][US Arm]
(27 June 2018) U.S. Army to host tactical Cloud computing industry forum
army.mil[Kathryn Bailey, PEO C3T Public Affair]
(26 November 2019) The Army gathers industry to inspire network modernization
Network Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT) and PEO C3T hosted 670 industry partners at the Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) 4, Capability Set (CS) 23. www.army.mil[ Nathan Strou]
(30 Nov 2019) Can hundreds of unrelated satellites create a GPS backup?
/ref> A few of the hundreds of white papers from the vendors, adjudged to be 'very mature ideas', were passed to the Army's acquisition community, while many others were passed to United States Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) for continuation in the Army's effort to modernize the network for combat. Although some test requirements were inappropriately applied, the Command post computing environment (CPCE) has passed a hurdle.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(21 June 2019) Army Wrestles With Testers Over Network Upgrades
breakingdefense.com[Colin Clar]
(11 Aug 2021) Army Command Posts Getting Mobile, Dispersed, Quieter; Division Exercise In October
/ref>
While seeking information, the Army is especially interested in ideas that accelerate an acquisition program —in for example the Future Vertical Lift
Future Vertical Lift (FVL) is a plan to develop a family of military helicopters for the United States Armed Forces. Five different sizes of aircraft are to be developed, sharing common hardware such as sensors, avionics, engines, and counterm ...
Requests for Information (RFIs): "provide a detailed description of tailored, alternative or innovative approaches that streamlines the acquisition process to accelerate the program as much as possible" (4 April 2019);[ in January 2020 the current Optionally manned fighting vehicle (OMFV) solicitation was cancelled when the OMFV's requirements added up to an unobtainable project;][ in February 2020 Futures command was soliciting the industry for do-able ideas for an OMFV,][ whereas in August 2022 Army Network modernization was the target for being speeded-up.][JASPREET GILL and ANDREW EVERSDE]
(24 Aug 2022) Army undersecretary reviewing network modernization portfolio, wants 'big bets'
;Search for capabilities
In the Army's search for capabilities, 6th ASA(ALT) Bruce Jette initiated xTechsearch to reward private innovators.[Futures Comman]
(2022) xTechSearch
The Army's ongoing search for capabilities The program is ongoing.
The COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
triggered the Army to run an Ventilator
A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...
Challenge; entrants can submit their ideas online for immediate consideration and a possible cash prize to encourage participation for a $100,000 prize and possible Army contract.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. (13 April 2020)]
COVID-19: Army Tries Prizes To Get Ventilator Tech ASAP
breakingdefense.com In 1964 Henrik H. Straub of Harry Diamond Labs, a predecessor to CCDC Army Research Laboratory, invented the Army Emergency Respirator (now termed a 'ventilator' in current terminology).[ This ventilator is one application of the fluidic amplifier (a 1957 Harry Diamond Labs invention), which allows the labored breathing of the patient to control the flow from an externally purified air stream, to augment the air flow into a patient's lungs.][U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs (13 April 2020]
Redditors revive interest in 1960s Army emergency ventilator invention
/ref>
TRX Systems won an award for technology which allows navigation in a GPS-denied environment, an A-PNT priority. The award was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the company more time for business development.[Michael Howar]
(11 September 2020) Technology Providing Navigation in GPS-Denied Environment wins Grand Prize in xTechSearch Competition
/ref>
;Air-launched effects (ALEs)
Air-launched effects (ALEs) are drones which are launched from the Army's helicopters.[Andrew Eversde]
(2 May 2022) Army stretches little wings with desert mini-drone swarm tests
/ref> In swarms, ALEs promise to multiply the combat effectiveness of the Army's helicopters;[ single ground-launched drones have already been used in combat during the ]2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...
. ALEs have been used as munitions, as in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts.[Brenden Devereau]
(22 Apr 2022) LOITERING MUNITIONS IN UKRAINE AND BEYOND
/ref>[
;Robotic combat vehicles (RCVs)
In 2021 candidate Robotic combat vehicles (RCVs), both medium and light RCVs, along with surrogate heavy RCVs (modified M-113s) and proxy manned control vehicles (MET-Ds) were to marshal at Camp Grayling MI to test a company-sized tele-operated / unmanned formation.][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(19 Mar 2021) Army Outlines Ambitious Schedule For Robots, Armor
/ref> The light RCVs had their autonomous driving software installed in November and December 2020.[ The robotic vehicle formation begins a shakeout in April 2021. The RCVs (and the software, which is common to all 18 vehicles) enters ATEC (Army Test and Evaluation Command) safety testing through May 2022.][ Live-fire drills are scheduled to conclude in August 2022.][ By October 2021 experiments with RCVs, in concert with drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), were underway.][Andrew Eversde]
(22 Nov 2021) Robotic vehicles, drones coordinate recon at Army’s Project Convergence 21
/ref>[Andrew Eversde]
(21 Oct 2022) 'Lightning in a bottle': Inside the ‘Origin’ of the Army’s future robotic fleet
[Ben Watson]
(6 May 2022) Defense One Radio, Ep. 99: The role of drones in Russia’s Ukraine invasion
By June 2022 Army RCVs had demonstrated some of their disruptive capabilities,[ in preparation for Project Convergence 2022. Autonomous capabilities, for example in resupply by ]unmanned helicopters
An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be under telerobotic control—remote controlled or remote guided vehicles—or they can be autonomously controlled—autonomous vehicl ...
, by the US, Australia, and UK will be demonstrated at PC22.[Defense One staf]
(9 Sep 2022) The Army's top officer discusses the future of the force and how the six-month-old Ukraine invasion is evolving.
LTG Scott McKean [Army Futures Comman]
(19 Sep 2022) Project Convergence 2022 to demonstrate futuristic joint, multinational warfighting technologies
inaugural PC22 Technology Gateway[Joe Lacdan, Army News Service]
(21 Sep 2022) Army to test robotic vehicles on land and sea during PC 22
AFC's McKean: JADC2 experiment to reach from continental US to Pacific: 1) establish an IAMD; 2) use Joint offensive fires; 3) examine which authorities and policies hinder the mission
AFC events
By 13 October 2021 the 40th Chief of Staff of the Army could announce that the majority of the Army's Futures Command's 31 signature systems,[Grinston, McConville, and McCarthy (2019) 2019 Army Modernization Strategy: Investing in the future]
7 —Figure 3. Current Cross Functional Teams and Signature Efforts and the four rapid capability projects of the § Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office would be fielded by fiscal year 2023 (FY2023).
By 2022, Futures Command was conducting the third annual iteration of Project Convergence (PC22), experiments and joint tests of 300 technologies by the Department of Defense and its allies and partners.[ ][Jason Cutsha]
(5 Dec 2022) Experiment demos Army space capabilities
to test 300 technologies[Megan Eckstein and Colin Demares]
(8 Dec 2022) Project Overmatch: US Navy preps to deploy secretive multidomain tech
Acquisition
:''See United States Army Acquisition Corps
The United States Army Acquisition Corps (AAC) is the officer / NCO corps of the United States Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW), a branch which includes civilians, officers, and NCOs.Weapon Systems Handbook 2018Page 32 lists how this handbook is o ...
''
Futures Command partners with the ASA(ALT),[Ms. Karen Diane Kurtz (ASA (ALT)) and Steven Y. Lusher (JPEO CBRND PAO]
(8 October 2018) ASA(ALT) Participates in U.S. Army Futures Command Panel at AUSA
/ref>[ who, in the role of the Army Acquisition Executive (AAE),][ has milestone decision authority (MDA)][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.]
(13 Sep 2018) Futures Command Won't Hurt Oversight, Army Tells Congress
/ref>[Jaspreet Gil]
(4 May 2022) EXCLUSIVE: New Army directive shakes up modernization enterprise
/ref> at multiple points in a Materiel development decision (MDD).[ Thus, from the perspective of AFC, which seeks to modernize, they consolidate the relevant expertise into the relevant CFT. The CFT balances the constraints needed to realize a prototype, beginning with realizable requirements, science and technology, test, etc. before entering the acquisition process (typically the Army prototypes on its own and, as of 2019, initiates acquisition at Milestone B in order to have the Acquisition Executive, with the concurrence of the Army Chief of Staff, decide on production as a ]Program of Record
The processes of government procurement in the United States enable federal, state and local government bodies in the country to acquire goods, services (including construction), and interests in real property.
In fiscal year 2019, the US Feder ...
at Milestone C).[ Next, refine the prototype to address the factors needed to pass the Milestone decisions A, B, and C which require Milestone decision authority (MDA) in an acquisition process.][Acquisition process: Materiel development decision (MDD)]
/ref> This consolidation of expertise thus reduces the risks in a Materiel development decision (MDD), for the Army to admit a prototype into a program of record.) The existing processes (as of April 2018) for a Materiel development decision (MDD) have been updated to clarify their place in the Life Cycle of a program of record:[Richard Simonetti (23 April 2018]
"US Army turns to new technologies"
linkedin.com[ over 1200 programs/projects were reviewed;][ by October 2019, over 600 programs of record have been moved from the acquisition (development for modernization) phase to the sustainment phase (for mature projects, to continue their manufacture and fielding to the brigades).][(24 October 2019) Army Pushes 600 Programs From Acquisition To Sustainment]
/ref> An additional life cycle management action is underway, to re-examine which of these projects/programs should be divested.[ (Surplus materiel might well go to the Security Assistance Command, perhaps to ]Foreign Military Sales
The United States Department of Defense's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program facilitates sales of U.S. arms, defense equipment, defense services, and military training to foreign governments. The purchaser does not deal directly with the defens ...
.)
The emphasis remains with Futures Command, which selects programs to develop.[ In order to achieve its mission of achieving overmatch,][USArmy tweet: Futures Command will have the overarching objective to achieve clear overmatch in future conflicts, making Soldiers and units more lethal to win the nation's wars, then return home safely.]
/ref>[ each Futures Command CFT partners with the acquisition community.][Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology]
ASA(ALT)
Org Chart as of May 2020
see als
February 2020
and
11/5/19
as well a
Org Chart as of 11/26/18
/ref> This community (the Army acquisition workforce (AAW)) includes an entire Army branch (the Acquisition Corps),[Jacqueline M. Hames, U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (31 January 2020) TWI: worth it]
Training with Industry: a work-experience program for Army Acquisition officers (from captain to lieutenant colonel). "After their TWI rotation, officers are expected to identify industry best practices and implement them at their next duty station" U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC), Army Contracting Command, .[ The Principal Military Deputy to the ASA(ALT) is also deputy commanding general for Combat Systems, Army Futures Command,][ and leads the ]Program Executive Officer
A program executive officer, or PEO, is one of a few key individuals in the United States military acquisition process. As can be seen from the examples below, a program executive officer may be responsible for a specific program (e.g., the Joi ...
s (PEO); he has directed each PEO who does not have a CFT to coordinate with, to immediately form one, at least informally.[ Ms. Audra Calloway (Picatinny]
(19 September 2018) With new Army Futures Command, senior acquisition leader discusses role of Program Executive Offices
/ref>
The PEOs work closely with their respective CFTs.[ The list of CFTs and PEOs below is incomplete.][
Operationally, the CFTs offer "de-layering" (fewer degrees of separation between the echelons of the Army—Rugen estimates two degrees of separation),][ and provide a point of contact (POC) for Army reformers][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(25 October 2017) Can The Pentagon Protect Young Innovators?
Fixing the 'up or out' culture, which favors generalists interested in adding value in the midst of constraints to be balanced while modernizing.[ "... and if we're really good, we'll continue to adapt. Year over year over year." —Secretary Esper][ (''See ]Value stream
A value stream is the set of actions that take place to add value to a customer from the initial request through realization of value by the customer. The value stream begins with the initial concept, moves through various stages of development and ...
''.)
Prototyping and experimentation
"Our new approach is really to prototype as much as we can to help us identify requirements, so our reach doesn't exceed our grasp. ... A good example is Future Vertical Lift
Future Vertical Lift (FVL) is a plan to develop a family of military helicopters for the United States Armed Forces. Five different sizes of aircraft are to be developed, sharing common hardware such as sensors, avionics, engines, and counterm ...
: The prototyping has been exceptional." —Secretary of the Army Mark Esper.[ The development process will be cyclic,][ consisting of prototype, demonstration/testing, and evaluation,][Gary Sheftick, Army News Servic]
(3 April 2019) Army 'Shark Tank' enabling quick prototyping of new systems
/ref> in an iterative process designed to unearth unrealistic requirements early, before prematurely including that requirement in a program of record.[
AFC activities include at least one Cross-functional team, its Capability development integration directorate (CDID),][ and the associated Battle Lab,][ for each ( Army Center of Excellence (CoE)) respectively. Each CDID and associated Battle Lab work with their CFT][ to develop operational experiments and prototypes to test.
ASA(ALT), in coordination with AFC, has dotted-line relationships between its PEOs and the CFTs. In particular, the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office of ASA(ALT) has a PEO who is charged with developing experimental prototype 'units of action' for rapid fielding to the Soldiers. The prototypes are currently for Long range hypersonic weapons, High energy laser defense, and Space, as of June 2019,][Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Offic]
(14 June 2019) Partnering for speed: Army rapid prototyping office hosts industry open house
/ref>[ Speed and range are the Army capabilities which are being augmented,][ with spending on these capabilities tripling between 2017 and 2019.
Tests are run by JMC and ]White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...
, which hosts ATEC. As United States Army Test and Evaluation Command
U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, or ATEC, is a direct reporting unit of the United States Army responsible for developmental testing, independent operational testing, independent evaluations, assessments, and experiments of Army equipment. (ATEC) reports directly to the Army Chief of Staff,[''Army Commands, Army Service Component Commands, and Direct Reporting Units'' ARN2541_AR10-87_WEB_Final.pdf section 20-2a, p.27] the test support level from ATEC is to be specified by the CFT,[ or PEO.][(January 2011) Implementing Acquisition Reform: The Decker-Wagner Army Acquisition Review]
/ref> Fort Bliss and WSMR together cover 3.06 million acres, large enough to test every non-nuclear weapon system in the Army inventory.[DoD (16 May 2018) Army Officials Testify on FY 2019 Budget Request]
/ref>
JMC runs live developmental experiments to test and assess MDO concepts or capabilities that support the Army's six modernization priorities which are then analyzed by The Research and Analysis Center, denoted TRAC based out of Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
,[ or ]AMSAA
United States Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA) is an analysis organization of the United States Army. AMSAA's overall goal is to provide soldiers with the best U.S. Army materiel possible. AMSAA supports the U.S. Army by conducting ...
, denoted the Data Analysis Center at APG. CCDC, now called DEVCOM (formerly RDECOM, at APG) includes the several Army research laboratory locations (ARLs),[U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (4 February 2019) CCDC Research Laboratory]
/ref> as well as research, development and engineering centers (RDECs) listed:[Secretary of the Army, Mark T. Esper, ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES ARMY FUTURES COMMAN]
Army General order G.O.2018-10
/ref>[Army Directive 2017-33 (Enabling the Army Modernization Task Force) (7 November 2017)]
References Decker-Wagner 2011
In internal partnerships, CCDC, now called DEVCOM (formerly RDECOM) has taken Long range precision fires (LRPF) as its focus in aligning its organizations (the six research, development and engineering centers (RDECs), and the Army Research Laboratory
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) is the U.S. Army's foundational research laboratory. ARL is headquartered at the Adelphi Laboratory Center (ALC) in Adelphi, Maryland. Its largest sing ...
(ARL)); as of September 2018, RDECOM's 'concept of operation' is first to support the LRPF CFT,[Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, CG RDECO]
(25 September 2018) RDECOM's road map to modernizing the Army: Long-range precision fires
First in a series with ARDEC. AMRDEC is looking to improve the energetics and efficiency of projectiles. TARDEC Ground Vehicle Center is working on high-voltage components for Extended range cannon artillery (ERCA) that save on size and weight.[ Two dedicated RDECOM people support the LRPF CFT, with reachback support from two dozen more at RDECOM. In January 2019 RDECOM was reflagged as CCDC; General Mike Murray noted that CCDC will have to support more Soldier feedback, and that prototyping and testing will have to begin before a project ever becomes a program of record.][
Although the Army Research Laboratory has not changed its name, Secretary Esper notes that the CCDC ''objectives'' supersede the ''activities'' of the Laboratory;][ the Laboratory remains in its support role for the top-six priorities for modernizing combat capabilities.]
Acquisition specialists are being encouraged to accept lateral transfers to the several research, development and engineering centers (RDECs), where their skills are needed: Ground vehicle systems center (formerly TARDEC, at Detroit Arsenal. Michigan), Aviation and missile center (formerly AMRDEC, at Redstone Arsenal), C5ISR center (formerly CERDEC, at Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...
), Soldier center (formerly NSRDEC, Natick, MA), and Armaments center (formerly ARDEC, at Picatinny Arsenal
The Picatinny Arsenal ( or ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The Ar ...
) listed below.
AFC branch locations
The following activities for Futures Command are at 23 locations. (A US Army center of excellence (CoE), or TRADOC Center of Excellence, can be co-located near a CFT, along with the associated Capability Development Integration Directorate (CDID) and "Battle Lab") The interrelation between AFC and TRADOC can be seen by the role of a TRADOC Capability manager, who is responsible for DOTMLPF, and reports to the TRADOC commander.
* AFC HQ, Austin TX[David A. Vergun ][Anthony Small ]
* AFSG Army Future Studies Group, 2530 Crystal Dr, Arlington, VA 22202
* Futures and Concepts Center of AFC, formerly ARCIC Fort Eustis
Fort Eustis is a United States Army installation in Newport News, Virginia. In 2010, it was combined with nearby Langley Air Force Base to form Joint Base Langley–Eustis.
The post is the home to the United States Army Training and Doctrine ...
VA
* JMC Joint Modernization Command, Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...
, which is contiguous to WSMR
* White Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...
NM, also houses ARL, TRAC, and Army Test and Evaluation Command.
* FT LVN Operations research: Mission Command Battle Lab,[Maj. Chris Parker, Dr. Paul Reese, Director, Fielded Force Integration Division, COL E.J. Karlberg, Director, Combined Arms Integration Directorate, and Mr. Rich Creed, Director, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, ''Breaking Doctrine'' podcast at Fort Leavenwort]
(2020) Breaking Doctrine: Episode 14 - Transitioning the Army to MDO
1:02:44 How a Concept becomes Doctrine at TRADOC Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
DOTMLPF
DOTMLPF (pronounced "dot-mil-p-f") is an acronym for doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities. It is used by the United States Department of Defense and was defined in the Joint Capabilit ...
-P Capability development integration directorate (CDID), The Research Analysis Center (TRAC), formerly TRADOC Analysis Center,[TRADOC Analysis Center]
Combined Arms training center. Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
KS
** CFT: Synthetic Training Environment (STE):[Army ALT Magazine (29 January 2019) THEN AND NOW: TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE](_blank)
critique The HQ for STE has opened in Orlando (28 January 2019).
* CCOE Cyber CoE - (its CDID and Battle Lab), Fort Gordon GA
** CFT: Mobile and Expeditionary Network[David Vergu]
(29 March 2018) Army network modernization efforts spearheaded by new Cross-Functional Teams. The Army conducts a network demonstration at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Army is pursuing network modernization through Cross-Functional Teams.
/ref>
* MCOE Maneuver CoE - (its CDID and Battle Lab), Fort Benning GA
** CFT: Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)[Bob Purtiman, NGCV Cross-Functional Team (17 September 2018) Preparing for future battlefields: The Next Generation Combat Vehicle](_blank)
/ref>
** CFT: Soldier Lethality
* AVNCOE Aviation CoE - (its CDID), at Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...
** CFT: Future Vertical Lift (FVL)
* FCOE Fires CoE - (its CDID and Battle Lab),[ Col. Yi Se Gwon, Fort Sill ''Fires Bulletin'' (September–October 2018) The Army Multi-Domain Targeting Center][Army Multi-Domain Targeting Center (16 July 2019) Target Mensuration Only](_blank)
TMO[ Maj. Anthony Clas, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Public Affairs: (SEPTEMBER 4, 2019) Target Mensuration course: Bulldog Brigade trains target acquisition with precision Target Mensuration Only (TMO) Including TMO in a unit training plan]
Maj. Anthony Clas (28 August 2019) Bulldog Brigade Trains Target Acquisition with Precision
/ref> Doctrine updates to support strategic fires[Karen Flowers, Fort Sill Tribune (4 September 2020) Air defense Army Capability Manager gets new director](_blank)
/ref> Fort Sill OK
** CFT: Long Range Precision Fires (LRPF)
** CFT: Air and Missile Defense
* ICOE Intelligence CoE - (its CDID), Fort Huachuca AZ
* MSCOE Maneuver Support CoE - (its CDID and Battle Lab), Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard W ...
MO
* SCOE Sustainment CoE - (its CDID), Fort Lee VA
* APG[APG Guide (12 January 2019) Aberdeen Proving Ground 2019 Your road map to the ‘Home of Innovation’](_blank)
with more than 90 tenant organizations[PEO Command Control Communications - Tactical (PEO C3T]
(12 September 2018) ASA(ALT) MilDep talks APG's role in Futures Command
Paul Ostrowski is PMILDEP to ASA(ALT) Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work a ...
, Aberdeen MD, also houses Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC, now called DEVCOM), formerly RDECOM, Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA
United States Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity (AMSAA) is an analysis organization of the United States Army. AMSAA's overall goal is to provide soldiers with the best U.S. Army materiel possible. AMSAA supports the U.S. Army by conducting ...
), and C5ISR center[Caitlin O'Neill, PM PNT staff write]
(17 November 2017) Army's PNT programs transition to PEO IEW&S
/ref>[Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affair]
(19 November 2019) C5ISR Center hosts CCDC commander for town hall, lab tours
"a renewed emphasis on collaboration across CCDC's eight research centers" (the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center was formerly CERDEC)
** CFT: Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (A-PNT)[Andrew Eversde]
(25 Oct 2021) Army Seeks ‘Cutting Edge’ Network-Aided PNT Technologies For Battle
*Army Applications La
(19 Oct 2021) Broad Agency Announcement Special Notice W911NF-19-S-0004 Network Aided Position Navigation and Timing solutions for dismounted Soldiers
/ref>[Theresa Hitchen]
(1 Nov 2021) Sandia's Atomic ‘Avocado’ Could Allow GPS-Free PNT
/ref>[Tobias Naegel]
(27 Nov 2022) Q&A: The New Chief of Space Operations on Empowering the Force
"one B-2 hits 80 independent targets because of GPS".—Gen. B.Chance Saltzman, Space Force
** CFT: Network CFT (N-CFT)
** CFT: Long Range Precision Fires,
* CCDC Armaments Center (formerly Armament research, development and engineering center—ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal
The Picatinny Arsenal ( or ) is an American military research and manufacturing facility located on of land in Jefferson and Rockaway Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, encompassing Picatinny Lake and Lake Denmark. The Ar ...
, PEO AMMO, and the Cross Functional Team for Long Range Precision Fires
** CFT: Long Range Precision Fires
* CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center (formerly Tank Automotive research, development and engineering center—TARDEC), Detroit Arsenal (Warren, Michigan)
Detroit Arsenal (DTA), formerly Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (DATP) was the first manufacturing plant ever built for the mass production of tanks in the United States. Established in 1940 under Chrysler, the plant was owned by the U.S. government ...
** CFT: Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV)
* Army Aviation and Missile Center (formerly Aviation and Missile research, development and engineering center—AMRDEC), Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville AL[RCCTO is located in Huntsville (26 August 2019)]
RCCTO- About us
*
*Lee Roo
/ref>
** CFT: Air and Missile Defense
* CCDC Soldier Center[Thomas Brading, Army News Servic]
(23 August 2019) Soldiers 'at the heart of' modernizing warfighter gear
/ref> (formerly Natick Soldier research, development and engineering center—NSRDEC), General Greene Ave, Natick, MA
* Army Research Laboratory (ARL),[Army Research Laboratory Public Affair]
(25 February 2019) Army-funded researcher wins Nobel Prize
/ref>[Argie Sarantinos-Perrin, CCD]
(21 August 2019) Army develops cold spray technology to repair Bradley gun mounts
/ref>[Army Research Laboratory (ARL) ][U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affair]
(3 February 2020) Army develops big data approach to neuroscience
Dr. Jonathan Touryan, co-author
*The Cognition and Neuroergonomics Collaborative Technology Alliance
Automated EEG mega-analysis I: Spectral and amplitude characteristics across studies
''NeuroImage'' Volume 20, 15 February 2020, 116361
(19 Sep 2018) Automated EEG mega-analysis II: Cognitive aspects of event related features
/ref> Adelphi MD
* ARL-Orlando Army Research Laboratory, Orlando FL
* ARL West, Playa Vista
Playa Vista is a neighborhood in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California. The area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company from 1941 to 1985 and the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" aircraft. The ...
CA
* ARL-RTP Army Research Laboratory, Raleigh-Durham
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to th ...
NC
* AI task force at Carnegie-Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
Need for modernization reform
Between 1995 and 2009, $32 billion was expended on programs such as the Future Combat System
Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...
[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(8 August 2014) Pentagon Struggles To Get Small-Biz Tech
FCS misuse of OTA, other acquisition issues. (2003-2009), with no harvestable content by the time of its cancellation. As of 2021, the Army had not fielded a new combat system in decades.[Thomas E. Ricks (MARCH 2, 2015)Why hasn't the Army's regular acquisition process produced anything in decades? --Future of War conference. ]
/ref>[Arpi Dilanian and Matthew Howard Army.mi]
/ref>["US edge has eroded to a dangerous degree"]
/ref>[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]
(14 March 2019) Army ‘Big Six’ Ramp Up in 2021: Learning From FCS
/ref>[
23rd Secretary of the Army Mark Esper has remarked that AFC will provide the unity of command and purpose needed to reduce the requirements definition phase from 60 months to 12 months.][
A simple statement of a problem (rather than a full-blown requirements definition) that the Army is trying to address may suffice for a surprising, usable solution. —General Mike Murray, paraphrasing Trae Stephens][AUSA 2018 CMF #1: Army Futures Command Unifies Force Modernization]
DVIDS video of panelists Gen. Murray, Sec. McCarthy, Dr. Jette, and Trae Stephens[Trae Stephens]
(6 Jun 2022) Rebooting the arsenal of democracy
4 principles for the new defense companies (One task will be to quantify the lead time for identifying a requirement; the next task would then be to learn how to reduce that lead time.—Gap analysis
In management literature, gap analysis involves the comparison of actual performance with potential or desired performance. If an organization does not make the best use of current resources, or forgoes investment in capital or technology, it ...
)Association of the United States Army
The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the professional association of the United States Army. Founded in 1950, it has 121 chapters worldwide. Membership is open to everyone, not ju ...
(AUSA)
Scott R. Gourley (Friday, 13 January 2017) CLOSING THE CAPABILITIES GAP: SEVEN THINGS THE ARMY NEEDS FOR A WINNING FUTURE
/ref>[ Process changes are expected.][ The development process will be cyclic, consisting of prototype, demonstration/testing, and evaluation, in an iterative process designed to unearth unrealistic requirements early, before prematurely including that requirement in a program of record. The 6th ASA(ALT) Bruce Jette][ has cautioned the acquisition community to 'call-out' unrealistic processes which commit a program to a drawn-out failure,][ rather than failing early, and seeking another solution.
Secretary Esper scrubbed through 800][Hannah Wile]
(6 April 2018) Program cuts likely under Army secretary's new Futures Command
/ref> modernization programs to reprioritize funding[Jen Judso]
(17 July 2018) US Army asks Congress to shift millions in FY18 dollars. What's behind the request?
/ref> for the top six modernization priorities,[ which will consume 80% of the modernization funding,][David Vergu]
(5 September 2018) Richardson confirmed as Futures Command deputy commander
/ref> of eighteen systems.[ IVAS was slowed during the ]2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
in March 2022. Secretary McCarthy had cautioned that a stopgap 2019 Continuing resolution (CR) would halt development of some of the critical modernization projects.[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.]
24 October 2019) Sec. Army Interview: ‘We Have To Get This Budget Deal’
/ref>[(22 November 2019) SecArmy looks toward FY21 budget as continuing resolution impacts priorities]
CR avoids shutdown until 20 December 2019. Realistically, budget considerations will restrict the fielding of new materiel to one Armor BCT per year;[ at that rate, updates would take decades.][Sydney J. Freedberg Jr]