SAVANNAH, Ga. — Due to the changing character of warfare, the unified network and the command and control, or C2, capabilities running on it remain top priorities for Army senior leaders.

For the Army programs developing and delivering these capabilities, the sense of urgency is real, as is their commitment to provide solutions attainable through partnerships with commercial industry.

Last month, the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, and Network (PEO C3N) and the Army Futures Command C2 Cross-Functional Team (CFT) hosted their semi-annual network-focused technical exchange meeting (TEM 13), returning to the Savannah Convention Center and a packed house of industry expertise seeking information and providing feedback on the Army’s current and future plans to modernize its communications network.

“We’re here to engage with our industry partners in a meaningful and transparent way,” said Mark Kitz, Program Executive Officer for C3N. “The journey to get to a unified network, transport diversity, zero trust, and Next Generation Command and Control rests on our continued transparency with industry to ensure we will be ready to fight in a multi-national, multi-domain environment. We want you to challenge us on how we get there.”

Combining keynote speeches, operational and technical panels, and government/industry strategic sessions, the event centered around the overarching topics of the Unified Network (UN) and Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2), the latter of which will be enabled by the UN to help organize and operationalize data for warfighting applications.

In addition to NGC2, the network underpins many of the capabilities discussed throughout TEM 13, including Transformation in Contact enabled by C2 Fix.

“Army senior leaders are fully committed to command and control transformation,” said Maj. Gen. Patrick Ellis, director of the C2 CFT, during TEM 13, referencing the chief of staff of the Army’s continued support for the network to be the number one priority to transform communications capabilities at echelon.

The CFT and PEO have spent the past year closely collaborating with commanders whose units are now leveraging C2 Fix and those who will take part in the future to ensure the network is enhancing command and control from the division down to the dismounted Soldier.

“The divisions are rolling up their sleeves and making sure they understand what is going on with the network,” Ellis said.

Maj. Gen. Jeth Rey, now a Lt. Gen. and the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6, set the stage for the December event during his keynote by outlining the Army’s vision for a unified, data-centric network that will support agile and adaptive C2.

“The network is for the data, and the data is for the warfighter,” he said, referring to having the right data in the right theater close to the point of need.

The data architecture and data security approaches — zero trust; identity, credential and access management; and attribute-based access control — will enable commanders to share information “at the speed of need,” and also improve their ability to interoperate and share data seamlessly with joint and coalition partners, across various classification levels, at multiple echelons, Rey said.

These advancements are part of the Army’s Unified Network effort, which merges the Army’s persistent, or fixed, enterprise network with the episodic, or mobile, tactical network and is a critical enabler of multi-domain operations

Panelists at TEM outlined the focus areas identified to achieve this unification, which when complete in the 2027 timeframe, will deliver solutions surrounding common network operations, common infrastructure, common transport and common cyber defense.

“The Army has one of the largest private networks in the world,” said Col. Jay Shell, project manager for Integrated Enterprise Network, the organization that manages enterprise network development. “The alignment of the enterprise and tactical network programs means the fielded tactical network now has a modernized, cyber-run and defended strategic infrastructure to plug into.”

Citing the advances achieved to date and pending milestones, panel members discussed the echelon-based enhancements a UN will bring to the fight, such as reduced complexity and greater tactical mobility.

“It’s important to understand that there is a significant amount of transport and networking equipment across the warfighting network,” said Col. Stu McMillan, PM for Tactical Network. “Division-centric warfighting at echelon pushes that complexity up from the lower echelons, bringing downward reinforcing capabilities to support those specified warfighting functions.”

Looking to the future, Joe Welch, Deputy to the Commanding General, Army Futures Command, opened day two of TEM 13 with a keynote addressing NGC2 high-level objectives, what NGC2 will bring to commanders, and the updated NGC2 Characteristics of Need — created by AFC, endorsed by the Chief of Staff of the Army, and released to industry in conjunction with the TEM.

NGC2 is a critical element of the Army’s network modernization effort, aiming to empower commanders with the agile and adaptive C2 architecture needed to make rapid decisions in a future operating environment. The Army has worked closely with commanders and Soldiers alike to identify deficiencies within existing systems and incorporate these needs into the framework for NGC2.

NGC2 represents a “clean-sheet” in the Army’s data-centric transformation efforts to maintain a decision advantage in a complex operating environment, Welch said.

He said the updated characteristics of need includes mission partner interoperability, operations in challenging tactical communications environments and an integrated “tech stack” approach that reaches from the communications transport layer through compute, integrated data and applications layers.

To address these needs and launch NGC2, the Army is using the software acquisition pathway to pursue a competitive strategy in which multiple vendors to compete to deliver prototypes in fiscal year 2026.

“Part of the characteristics of need that is really important for me as a PEO is that it is living and breathing, meaning we’re going to offer industry opportunities to innovate in our network,” said Kitz. “Our operating environment changes way too dynamically for us to think that we’re going to document every requirement in a static time now.”

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The U.S. Army Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, and Network (PEO C3N) develops, acquires, fields and supports the Army’s Unified Network (Tactical and Enterprise) to ensure force readiness in both current missions and potential future large scale combat operations. This critical Army modernization priority delivers resilient terrestrial and satellite communications capabilities to ensure commanders and Soldiers remain connected and informed at all times, even in the most austere and hostile environments. PEO C3N is delivering an integrated Unified Network to regions around the globe, enabling high-speed, high-capacity voice, data and video communications to an Army user base that includes joint, coalition and other mission partners.