Can the DIB Deliver on its CJADC2 Promises to the Military?
In my last article on Government Technology Insider, I discussed my experience as a participant and attendee at the recent AFCEA West Conference in San Diego. I also shared three incredibly important CJADC2 questions that dominated many of my discussions at this year’s event.
Those questions were:
- Is the right data getting to the right place at the right time and in a way that benefits the warfighter?
- Can we connect everything together to generate and disseminate actionable intelligence?
- Is the defense industrial base (DIB) meeting its promise to the military to provide effective solutions to the warfighter that deliver technological overmatch?
I discussed the first two questions in depth in my previous article – looking at the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain to be overcome before the military could answer “yes” to both of them.
However, I’d now like to pivot to the third and final question, which could be the most important question in determining how quickly and successfully the military can enable next-generation, advanced capabilities for the warfighter.
Question Three: Is the DIB Delivering on its Promises?
At the risk of providing an oversimplified answer to this question, no. The DIB is not delivering on the CJADC2 promises it has made to the military. And for one very good and simple reason – companies that are not innovators are bidding on innovative technology contracts that they have no business competing for. Those innovative network, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) contracts are outside their expertise, and they’re distracting them from the larger jobs they should be doing for the military.
Shipbuilders can’t build ships because they’re distracted responding to RFPs for $10 Million AI and ML contracts. These are shipbuilders, not technology leaders or innovators. They have no business competing for AI and ML contracts, especially ones that will distract them from executing the bigger job of building next-generation military vehicles and weapons platforms. Also, since contracts for weapons systems and vehicles tend to be larger than R&D contracts for AI and ML technologies, they will often be the focus of the company’s top performers and leading technologists. This leaves the proverbial “B-Team” working on important AI and ML applications.
But the fault doesn’t lie entirely with the defense contractors. There are also legitimate deficiencies in the way the military acquires technology that make it particularly challenging to implement CJADC2 requirements and capabilities.
In my previous article, I explained how simply connecting every sensor with every shooter is complex and difficult – and it’s not even enough to deliver on the true promise of CJADC2. For warfighters to truly benefit from immediate access to timely battlefield data in a way that gives them a strategic advantage, the military needs integrated solutions that incorporate resilient networks, advanced sensors, edge computing capabilities, and AI/ML software solutions.
Unfortunately, military acquisitions are not conducted in a way that is conducive to the acquisition of integrated solutions.
The military’s acquisition system operates in silos. The individuals responsible for comms and networks acquire comms and network hardware. Satellite professionals acquire satellite services and equipment. Software factories and IT departments acquire or develop important applications.
Each acquisition process is conducted by different people that don’t always talk or coordinate on activities and requirements. This creates a scenario where three different buyers are responsible for acquiring three different things, and disparate, stove-piped solutions are implemented when comprehensive, integrated solutions are more appropriate.
Unfortunately, this is not a problem that will be solved overnight. This is how budgeting and contracting works within the military. The same culture and approach that lends itself to the acquisition of large, siloed systems isn’t going away. We can attempt to fix the policies that give rise to this problem, but this is a systemic, cultural problem that could take decades to remedy.
Simultaneously, while working to fix the underlying culture and policies, we need to work around this challenge by partnering with companies that can fix the current problem. This means choosing industry partners with a culture of agile integration that are laser focused on getting systems to talk and share data.
While the acquisition processes inherent in the military preclude them from building comprehensive CJADC2 systems internally, a new generation of industry partners is ready to help them solve their CJADC2 challenges.
Building a CJADC2 juggernaut
Understanding that the CJADC2 solution is not any one component, system, or solution, industry partners like Sigma Defense are working to create tools that facilitate agile integration, enable systems to interoperate, and make rapid integration lower risk. These tools can help deliver the data sharing and speed of decision-making that the military is looking to enable.
Half a decade ago, Sigma Defense decided that CJADC2 would be the underlying pillar upon which our company would be constructed. We then worked to build a company architecture, organizational structure, and portfolio of core competencies that align directly with CJADC2 requirements.
We began the process by acquiring a company specializing in airborne ISR and tactical data relay. We then recognized that our new product portfolio needed more innovation and technology capabilities, which led us to acquire our second company, Solute Consulting. The acquisition of Solute brought the company high-end, world-class software engineering capabilities and the ability to virtualize hardware, deploy software forward to the edge, and integrate systems.
But we still weren’t done. We needed a vehicle to get these capabilities into disadvantaged platforms, which required the capability to conduct bespoke hardware design. This led to our third acquisition, which allowed us to deploy software into miniaturized and other bespoke form factors for smaller platforms at the tactical edge. A fourth acquisition gave Sigma Defense onboard processing automation capabilities enabling us to deploy software forward to major DoD platforms.
These disparate capabilities are now integrated within Sigma Defense and working together to meet the military’s CJADC2 requirements. This is incredibly unique in the DIB, where any of those four capabilities would be its own company or its own division in any other company. Instead, Sigma Defense has unified them into a single company capable of rapidly integrating existing systems together and to new systems without requiring modifications to existing systems. This minimizes the risk of disrupting existing capabilities while trying to deliver new ones.
The dedicated and disciplined approach to building Sigma Defense and its portfolio of capabilities paid dividends at this year’s AFCEA West, when we made two incredibly exciting announcements that will help the military embrace its CJADC2 goal and the advanced capabilities it will enable.
Sigma Software Studio and Juno
At this year’s AFCEA West 2024, Sigma Defense launched Sigma Software Studio – a cutting-edge DevSecOps platform that is now available to a wide government and military audience. This DevSecOps baseline was based on lessons learned from the development of Black Pearl, the platform developed for and granted an Authority to Operate (ATO) by the U.S. Navy.
By implementing the Sigma Software Studio, military organizations gain access to a trusted, established DevSecOps baseline that will enable them to deploy mission-critical software applications more quickly and securely to those who need them. The Sigma Software Studio enables these agencies to aggregate, integrate, and build a continuous integration, continuous deployment pipeline. It enables them to rapidly certify code and push that code into deployment at the speed of warfare.
And that ATO and the ability to rapidly iterate and deploy is what is truly essential for the military.
The battlefield has become increasingly dynamic. In this ever-changing environment, the military might need to be agile and shift from full-motion video processing to electronic warfare and then to ELINT. Applications can enable that, but only if we can develop and deploy quickly and securely, and if deploying a new application forward can be done without creating new vulnerabilities or breaking other mission-critical applications and capabilities. This is exactly what Sigma Software Studio enables.
The second exciting announcement by Sigma Defense at AFCEA West involved the company’s acquisition of Juno Technologies, which has a rich history of system modernization within NAVWAR, Military Sealift Command, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Juno Technologies has a deep understanding of shipboard systems from its experience working with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. They have helped these organizations extensively in the past with developing and adopting new applications, deploying applications to the tactical tip of the spear, and establishing secure communications in some of the world’s most austere and remote places.
The company’s mobile network Flyaway Kits (FAK) are integral in delivering mission-critical connectivity to ships at sea and at shore. When leveraged in connection with the Sigma Software Studio, the FAK will enable military users to develop new capabilities and applications rapidly and then autonomously deploy them to the edge where warfighters can use them for tactical overmatch and advancement of their mission.
Bringing it All Together
CJADC2 is not just one system, solution, application, or capability. Meeting the DoD’s CJADC2 vision requires an integrated and holistic approach that involves building resilient and redundant, multi-modal networks.
It requires the ability to develop secure software and applications quickly and then deploy them in a rapid, autonomous way so that they can be used to advance the mission. It requires sensor fusion and the use of advanced AI and ML capabilities to ensure that the warfighter is not only getting the right data when and where they need it but that the data, they receive is actionable and timely.
Most of all, it requires working with industry partners that not only focus on innovation but have been built from the bottom-up to meet CJADC2 requirements.
The author, Matt Jones, is President and CEO of Sigma Defense.