Army Network Modernization
The Army’s fourth modernization priority, originally “mobile and expeditionary network,” has been effectively replaced by a single flagship: Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2). NGC2 is the most consequential post-ATI Army program because of what it is and how it is being bought. It is the Army’s clearest expression of the new acquisition model: prototype with non-traditional vendors, experiment at scale, then field continuously rather than in blocks.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Modernization priority area |
| Legacy owner | Network / C3I CFT, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
| Current acquisition home | PAE_C2_CC2 via CPE_C2_Information_Network and CPE_Intelligence_Spectrum_Warfare |
| ATI goal | AI-driven command and control at theater, corps, and division by 2027 |
Mission
Give Army formations a command and control system that survives contested electromagnetic conditions, moves with the formation, and presents one data layer rather than a stack of separate mission command applications. The legacy problem the Army is solving is that a division command post ran dozens of unintegrated programs of record, each with its own database, network requirement, and vendor.
Program Areas
| Effort | Role | Status as of mid-2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) | Integrated hardware and software C2 suite on a common data layer | Ten-month prototyping effort concluded at Project Convergence Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin. On July 29, 2026 the Army announced NGC2 was ready to scale, beginning with I Corps headquarters, enablers, and downtrace units later in 2026. |
| NGC2 prototype, 4th Infantry Division | Competing prototype | Awarded to “Team Anduril” in July 2025 at roughly $99.6 million. Team includes Anduril, Palantir, Striveworks, Govini, Instant Connect Enterprise, Research Innovations Inc., and Microsoft. |
| NGC2 prototype, 25th Infantry Division | Competing prototype | Led by Lockheed Martin. |
| NGC2 common data baseline | The data mesh underneath both prototypes | Anduril leads, partnered with Palantir, pairing Anduril’s Lattice with Palantir’s Foundry for an edge-to-cloud data mesh. |
| Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) and Capability Sets | The incremental network fielding construct that preceded NGC2 | Legacy construct; NGC2 supersedes its role as the organizing idea. |
| Unified Network Operations | Converging tactical and enterprise network management | Continues under CPE_C2_Information_Network. |
Why it matters
NGC2 is the acquisition template, not just a program. The sequence, competing division-level prototypes to non-traditional vendors, a single common data layer, a large experiment as the decision event, then continuous fielding, is the model the Army says it wants for software-defined capability. Anyone forecasting how the Army will buy software should study this sequence rather than the Defense_Acquisition_System milestone chart.
The data layer is the incumbency. Whoever owns the common data baseline owns the integration surface every other application has to cross. That is a structurally different position from owning an application, and it is why the data baseline award matters more than any individual prototype award.
The 2027 AI-enabled C2 goal is a hard date on a hard problem. The ATI commitment is AI-driven command and control at theater, corps, and division by 2027. That drives demand for edge compute, model deployment and monitoring tooling, data labeling and curation, transport that survives jamming, and the accreditation apparatus to run models on operational networks. It also drives demand for the unglamorous parts: power, cooling, and command post mobility.
Scaling exposes the hard problems. The Army’s own post-Project Convergence Capstone 6 messaging paired readiness to scale with acknowledged challenges. Fielding to a corps headquarters and its subordinate units is a materially different problem from a division prototype: more echelons, more coalition and joint interfaces, more legacy systems that must keep working.
This portfolio is where the electromagnetic goal lands too. The ATI goal of electromagnetic and air-littoral dominance by 2027 sits partly here, under CPE_Intelligence_Spectrum_Warfare, and partly in Air_and_Missile_Defense_Modernization. Electronic warfare, signals intelligence, and spectrum management are adjacent to NGC2 and share the same transport and data problems.
See Also
- Army_Modernization_Priorities | Army_Transformation_Initiative | ATI_Program_Cancellations | Cross_Functional_Teams
- PAE_C2_CC2 | CPE_C2_Information_Network | CPE_Intelligence_Spectrum_Warfare | ASAALT
- T2COM | Futures_and_Concepts_Command
- JADC2 | Multi_Domain_Operations | Kill_Chain | Artificial_Intelligence
- Anduril | Palantir | Maven
- Defense_Acquisition_System | JCIDS | PPBE_Process | Other_Transaction_Authority
- Program Elements | Appropriations | Budget Activities