Army leaders: Next Generation Command and Control ‘ready to scale’

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army announced July 29 it is ready to scale Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) across the force during a media roundtable at the end of Project Convergence-Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin, California.

NGC2 replaces legacy, fragmented Army C2 systems - which focused on single functions like fires, logistics, or airspace management - with unified data across all functions to vastly increase the speed of commanders' decision-making and operational maneuver. It enables every echelon from Soldier to Corps to run modern warfighting apps and artificial intelligence to support their mission, while providing resilient communications across vast distances for greater dispersion and survivability.

"The speed of the fight has changed. The fundamentals have not," said Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve, vice chief of staff of the Army. "Command and control is still about a commander understanding the fight and acting on it - NGC2 is helping us close the gap between the two. That is what we are testing here: decision speed at the operational level, at scale."

The Army has rapidly scaled the NGC2 prototype since September 2025, executing a series of operational training events and hands-on development with the 4th and 25th Infantry Divisions to continuously expand and improve the capabilities NGC2 provides at echelon and by warfighting function. These Ivy Sting, Ivy Mass and Lightning Surge events allowed commanders and Soldiers to employ and stress-test NGC2 hardware and software in realistic operations and contested environments, and provide feedback to industry partners to make in-stride improvements.

"We know the biggest risk to our national security and our national defense is not moving too fast. It's not moving fast enough," said Dan Driscoll, secretary of the Army. "The side that can sense a target, process the data, and deliver a kinetic effect the fastest, wins. That is the decisive advantage this capability provides."

At PC-C6, which wrapped up this week, the Army continued to validating NGC2, scaling to a division level, in intense desert heat and against a relentless opposing force. Leaders said the execution of PC-C6 marks the end of the 10-month NGC2 prototyping effort, and the start of rapid and continuous delivery across Army formations, beginning with I Corps headquarters later this year.

"Events like Project Convergence are important because our Soldiers and units are able to use prospective technologies in a realistic and harsh environment, over challenging terrain and at scale," said Lt. Gen. Michael McCurry, commanding general of the Army's Futures and Concepts Command and PC-C6 director. "This reinforces that technology speeds decision-making but does not change how we fight. The speed of modern warfare has changed; the fundamentals have not."

Operational benefits

NGC2 increases lethality and decision advantage by eliminating disconnected systems and providing integrated data across all warfighting functions. It has been demonstrated to shorten the digital kill chain - increasing the number of targets Soldiers and systems can prosecute in less time - and enhance operational effectiveness.

To support the rapid flow of information on the modern battlefield, NGC2 provides diverse and resilient communications options such as private 5G, satellite communications, and terrestrial links, increasing survivability.

"NGC2 is functional but not optimized." said Maj. Gen. Patrick Ellis, commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division. "The dedicated opposing force and the unrelenting Fort Irwin conditions afforded us a great opportunity to stress the full NGC2 stack at PC-C6. The Ivy Division is proud to have delivered a prototype at the division scale, and we'll spend the next year refining how we fight using the technology to share our lessons learned across the Army."

Rapid acquisition

The Army's approach for NGC2 also has been a model for acquisition reform, aligning requirements, resourcing, and contracting to change legacy processes, break down stovepipes and provide best-of-breed capabilities.

"NGC2 is aligned with the need to act with speed and acceptable risk to keep pace with emerging technologies and evolving threats," said Brent Ingraham, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. "The Army got here in less than a year by leveraging commercial-first technology, Soldier-driven design and teaming across the industrial base to move at the speed of relevance."

There are currently more than 60 companies contributing to the NGC2 ecosystem, and the Army will continue to on and off ramp vendors and provide additional industry opportunities as NGC2 scales to additional formations.

"The marketplace is continually changing, so our message to industry is: if you show up, integrate, and your capability delivers value - and continues to deliver value as we move through iterations - then you're going to do well," said Joe Welch, portfolio acquisition executive for C2 and Counter C2. "The ecosystem environment we have created enables companies to solve problems collectively rather than individually and improve the quality and speed of product delivery to our formations."

Next steps

Looking ahead, the Army will move to continuous delivery of NGC2 capabilities, enabled by the recent establishment of a common data layer baseline with industry to support rapid scaling. The data layer is the heart of NGC2, and it allows the Army to continue to tailor and refine other elements - including applications, infrastructure and transport - by formation.

The next units slated to receive the capability will include I Corps headquarters, enablers and several downtrace units. The Army NGC2 team is already working closely with I Corps leaders to align software and hardware deliveries to key training events, technical priorities, and operational needs, leveraging lessons learned from the 4th and 25th Infantry Divisions.