The Pentagon’s official watchdog is now focusing its investigative efforts on the military’s capacity to defend against hypersonic threats and the current progress of the Department of Defense in developing the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) system, often referred to as the next-generation uber-battle management system.
On July 8 and July 15, the Defense Department Inspector General announced these new reviews, alongside other ongoing review projects. One of these projects includes evaluating US Cyber Command’s relationship with the National Security Agency and assessing the Pentagon’s capability to maintain command and control (C2) in the event of a nuclear attack.
The evaluation concerning hypersonics defense aims to assess the DoD’s ability, using existing US weapon systems, to defend against a hypersonic missile attack. The Missile Defense Agency has been actively developing plans for a Next-Generation Interceptor to counter this emerging threat, aided by new space-based missile trackers being developed by the Space Force.
Regarding CJADC2, the Inspector General’s objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the DoD’s development and implementation of the CJADC2 initiative to modernize mission partner information sharing. CJADC2 is considered a DoD priority and is a key focus in the agency’s oversight plans for 2024.
The program aims to enable efficient sharing of information from various sensors globally to the appropriate shooters for timely action. It emphasizes collaboration not only within US military services (referred to as „Joint”) but also with allied militaries (referred to as „Combined”), adding complexity to information sharing efforts.
CJADC2, given its extensive scope and the diverse lines of effort undertaken by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, can be challenging to articulate in detail even for Pentagon officials.
