DOD maps out plan for new enterprise command-and-control program office

The Pentagon is looking to launch a new Enterprise Command and Control Program Office in a move that would consolidate and refresh its long-standing efforts to provide common operating panes and user-specific AI tools to track and target enemies in real time. This envisioned hub would combine and expand the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s Maven Smart System (MSS) and Edge Data Mesh capabilities into the “Enterprise C2 Suite” — a new platform and program of record for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control and Al-enabled warfighting options, according to sources familiar with the plan who requested anonymity to discuss it ahead of a forthcoming, official announcement. Internal guidance regarding a new EC2 Program Office suggests that its establishment would ensure that the Defense Department has the “authority, resources, and accountability to deliver capability at the speed of relevance.” DOD’s undersecretariats for Intelligence and Security (I&S) and Research and Engineering (R&E) would be directed to deliver a plan for “the expedient transition of MSS authorities, infrastructure, support activities, and responsibilities” from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the EC2 Program Office. This new program office would essentially fuse multiple Pentagon elements that have come to fruition since the late 2010s, and are associated with digitizing command-and-control processes and deploying AI across the joint force.

The Defense Department is soliciting ideas for how artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities can assist in the zero-trust assessment process as the deadline to reach target-level compliance approaches. According to a request for information posted Tuesday, the DOD’s Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office is interested in leveraging “automation, AI and ML to accelerate and scale [zero trust] assessments” across the entire department — specifically for “purple team assessments.” The technologies will help the Pentagon mitigate its limited capacity to validate initial compliance and conduct continuous assessments, the RFI noted. Zero trust is a cybersecurity concept that assumes IT networks and systems are constantly under attack by adversaries, requiring the Pentagon to continuously monitor and authenticate users and their devices as they move through the network. The department’s Zero Trust Strategy mandates all DOD components to achieve “target levels” of zero trust by the end of fiscal 2027. Validating compliance requires a combination of internal and third-party assessments. A key part of the Pentagon’s independent evaluation process is a method called purple teaming, which analyzes and tests both how “red team” adversaries and “blue force” cyber defenders move and interact in an IT network. However, officials have previously noted that conducting comprehensive purple teaming can be a time-consuming process that can take warfighters away from other important missions.

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