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By Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY persistent experimentation For the Army to accelerate Project Odin’s transition from R&D to a capability ready for Soldiers, C5ISR Center subject-matter experts are working directly with multiple units during experimentation events, such as Project Convergence and Transformation in Contact rotations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) TECHNOLOGY operationally relevant environments and scenarios For the Army to accelerate Project Odin’s transition from R&D to a capability ready for Soldiers, C5ISR Center subject-matter experts are working directly with multiple units during experimentation events, such as Project Convergence and Transformation in Contact rotations. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) ❮ ❯ FORT BELVOIR, Va. (July 8, 2025) — Soldiers must quickly decipher an increasingly large amount of real-time battlefield data as they build and execute their mission plans. To enable better and faster battlefield decisions, U.S. Army researchers are developing a set of applications to analyze battlefield data to provide decision dominance and greater lethality. These new applications, known collectively as Project Odin, monitor live data feeds, unit locations, sensor coverage, fuel, maintenance and ammunition status, weather, terrain, and more. They synthesize all this real-time information to understand and predict adversary actions, and enable commanders and staff to outpace their adversaries’ maneuvers and decisions. The Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center leverages advances in artificial intelligence and real-time sensor data processing, according to Odin’s Project Lead Ben Rosen. C5ISR Center received feedback in July 2022 — the Army needed a Commanders decision tool to enable warfighting concepts and facilitate synchronization, lethality and flexibility. “We developed a proof of concept within a year and immediately began an aggressive experimentation campaign to inform our development cycles from then on out. Being focused on capability gaps, the plan was to insert ourselves and live directly in the problem space,” Rosen said. “The burden on staffs to process all this battlefield data can slow down decisions. Project Odin speeds up the process to a fraction of the time. “The program ingests battlefield information, analyzes it, and provides knowledge for Commanders to apply judgment, then decide and act faster than the adversary.” Senior Army leaders are recognizing the benefits of emerging AI tech in expanding the possibilities of next-generation battlefield command and control tools. Gen. James Rainey, Army Futures Command commanding general, said during an AI summit last year: “The real potential for military application of artificial intelligence is to empower our commanders — the men and women who lead our formations. And how do we bring the power of AI to bear to let them do three things: make more decisions, make better decisions and make faster decisions?” For the Army to accelerate Project Odin’s transition from R&D to a capability ready for Soldiers, C5ISR Center subject-matter experts are working directly with multiple units during experimentation events, such as Project Convergence and Transformation in Contact rotations. “The Center’s S&T expertise is essential to delivering these tools to units. We combine technical experience, ability to interact with Soldiers in the field, partner with other Army R&D organizations, and quickly incorporate operational feedback for further improvements,” Rosen said. Teaming the S&T community with units for persistent experimentation has been successful, as the Secretary of the Army wrote in the Army’s Posture Statement to Congress in May: “Feedback from TiC participants validated that our formations can evolve quickly when we pair the skill of developers with the warfighting ingenuity of soldiers. By adjusting how they organized and employed equipment, TiC units were able to more effectively see the battlespace, strike, and maneuver against opponent forces in training.” Project Odin capabilities are hosted as applications on mission-command platforms such as the Android Tactical Assault Kit, commonly known as ATAK. By leveraging existing infrastructure and the Next Generation Command and Control data layer, the need for standalone single-use software across the force is eliminated. “Odin is helping inform the Operational Modeling Tool annex to NGC2,” Rosen said. “We’re rapidly developing and experimenting to with NGC2 in mind, asking ourselves how we can leverage the NGC2 data layer to better understand the battlespace with a set of applications and services that work in concert with the overall NGC2 ecosystem.” C5ISR Center has partnered with Army Research Laboratory and Army Corps of Engineers to take advantage of their areas of expertise in artificial intelligence, terrain data and digital modeling. The Army team has transitioned the capabilities from a concept to a fielded system in the hands of units in two years. Experimentation with active-duty units continues to inform the program’s concepts and identify gaps. “Project Odin quickens tactical decision cycles by removing the cognitive burden of monitoring highly synchronized plans and increasingly complex battlefields,” said Maj. Aaron Phillips, who used Odin during a recent Joint Readiness Training Center rotation. “This allows Commanders and their staffs to focus on selecting their next action, rather than tracking their current and past actions.” Odin’s individual software components are at different levels of technical maturity, according to Steve Webster, the project’s technical lead at C5ISR Center. Some features are ready for Soldiers to use today during experimentation events like Project Convergence or Transformation in Contact rotations. “We also have more advanced software under development earlier in the technology readiness pipeline that needs more development but is actively being informed by the experimentation we’re doing with the more mature services,” Webster said. “All of these efforts help us both in delivering capability and informing the needs for NGC2’s Operational Modeling Tools.” One such capability in the R&D phase is Course of Action Generation, which continuously compares planned actions to real-time data — such as environmental conditions, available combat power and enemy position — to create new recommendations that guide staff to the best decisions. These Course of Action generation tools analyze information much faster than is possible for humans. “Project Odin delivers on the Army’s need for a more data-centric command and control platform during a time of rapid technology advancements. Smarter, faster decision-making delivers lethality for Soldiers,” Webster said. —————————— The U.S. Army

By Kyle Richardson, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY technical expertise A U.S. Soldier assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment guides a Stryker into concealment during Project Flytrap at Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany. The Soldiers mounted a counter-unmanned aircraft system above the Stryker, which detects frequencies of nearby drones providing ground-force Soldiers with real-time location data on their end-user devices. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elijah Magana) ❮ ❯ FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Today’s battlefield introduces unprecedented challenges and constantly changing technologies which require today’s Warfighters to face unique and ever-evolving threats. Soldiers have to navigate the complexities of threats evolving across a multi-domain landscape. Outmaneuvering these threats requires the continuous need for technological innovations. These innovations can provide more efficient data transfer and analysis supporting the decision-making process, along with equipment enhancements to increase Soldier lethality and overall survivability. Leading the way in addressing several of these challenges and navigating through critical threats is the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center — where scientists and engineers are dedicated to developing and delivering cutting-edge capabilities. “Warfare today remains an ever-evolving state due to the speeds at which our adversaries can develop and adapt to technology,” said Beth Ferry, C5ISR Center director. “Non-state actors are leveraging similar commercial technology to exploit our vulnerabilities. Some of the U.S. near-peer adversaries have increased their use of commercial drone technology, electromagnetic warfare systems, and cyberattacks.” “Fortunately, the Center and our industry partners understand this dynamic. We prioritize the science and technology development that directly counter these evolving threats.” The once innocuous unmanned aircraft system has now transformed into a persistent global threat. U.S. adversaries, to include peer, near-peer, asymmetric and others, have adapted UAS technologies to disrupt military operations and serve as a force multiplier to further their objectives, most recently seen in support of the Southern Border mission. While commercial off-the-shelf, or COTS, solutions exist to combat these threats, some solutions lack the necessary integration capability and scalability needed for the scope of military operations. “When it comes to counter-UAS, we are taking our intimate knowledge of the threat, the warfighter, and the operational environment to help optimize the effectiveness of counter systems and capabilities that the warfighter has at their disposal,” said Kevin White, C5ISR Center’s global operational support and threat chief. “This is all about improving their ability to ‘fight tonight’ against a threat that is evolving at rapid speed.” TECHNOLOGY “rapid capability deployment A technical expert with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), Soldier Center, tested an unmanned aircraft system during a Field-Based Risk Reduction Test exercise for unmanned system tools and collaborators in Virginia. The event included technical experts from Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center and Army Research Laboratory. The test event allowed subject matter experts to test equipment in a near-real world environment, to gain necessary data on emerging technology which may benefit warfighters in the future. (U.S. Army photo by Kyle J. Richardson) TECHNOLOGY maintain overmatch A technical expert with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), Soldier Center, tested an unmanned aircraft system during a Field-Based Risk Reduction Test exercise for unmanned system tools and collaborators in Virginia. The event included technical experts from Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center and Army Research Laboratory. The test event allowed subject matter experts to test equipment in a near-real world environment, to gain necessary data on emerging technology which may benefit warfighters in the future. (U.S. Army photo by Kyle Richardson) ❮ ❯ Additionally, the C5ISR Center is working to identify critical gaps between evolving threats and technology vulnerabilities to not only “fight tonight” but also “fight tomorrow.” “It’s crucial that we find the gaps between threats and our technology to feed them back into Army S&T and industry, to lead to rapidly developed and fielded technologies to improve the warfighters’ ability to “fight tomorrow,” White said. “What we don’t want, and what no one wants, are warfighters unprotected from the latest and greatest threat evolutions. We fulfill a unique wedge between the Army and industry to help warfighters get the most out of the technologies at their disposal, while also helping to ensure that their available technologies are keeping pace with the constantly evolving threats.” To offset the lack of viable commercial options and counteract U.S. adversaries’ activities, the C5ISR Center has enhanced its C-UAS capabilities to equip Soldiers with the necessary technology to out-pace in-theater threats. “What we are seeing is the rapid adaptability and the improvisation of the C-UAS threat evolving faster than our acquisition cycle,” said Bill Newmeyer, C5ISR Center’s response analysis and data extraction chief. “UAS have become proliferated on the battlefield.” A motivated adversary leveraging low-cost COTS technologies can make UAS a highly efficient weapon, Newmeyer said. “Across today’s battlefield, we’re seeing the use of COTS components integrated into the unmanned systems threats across all domains, as well as in improvised explosive devices,” said Miles Lambert, C5ISR Center’s Technical Information and Insight Branch chief. Although IEDs attacks surged in the mid-2000s, they are still considered to be a persistent threat. “IEDs are commonly seen as a threat of the past, when we were heavily on the ground throughout CENTCOM, specifically Iraq and Afghanistan,” Lambert said. “With the rise of UAS use becoming an everyday threat, much focus has been on countering the UAS threat going back to 2017, and more recently the UxS threats. Unfortunately, the IED threat and advancements in IED tactics, techniques, and procedures and technology advances have continued by our adversaries. We need to ensure that we are continuing to mature and advance our C-IED equipment sets and TTPs to outpace our adversaries, while we also focus on doing the same with our C-UxS equipment sets and TTPs.” Technical experts in the Center are also developing agile and adaptive technology in advanced EW systems to counter these rising threats. To maintain communication dominance, some of

By Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY direct operational feedback C5ISR Center researchers teamed up with several Army organizations as part of Cyber Quest 2025 at Fort Gordon, Georgia, in June 2025 to train together and demonstrate capabilities.(Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo) TECHNOLOGY greater speed and flexibility C5ISR Center researchers teamed up with several Army organizations as part of Cyber Quest 2025 at Fort Gordon, Georgia, in June 2025 to train together and demonstrate capabilities. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo) ❮ ❯ ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — To accelerate the pace of deploying electromagnetic warfare techniques to Soldiers, Army researchers are developing new methods to deliver capabilities with greater speed and flexibility. The Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center’s DynamIQ Electromagnetic Attack program improves how EW tools move rapidly across the battlefield to match the operational pace required in today’s warfare. The Center’s research supports the Army’s EW Arsenal — demonstrated this year at Project Convergence Capstone 5 and Cyber Quest 2025 — that enables Soldiers to view a repository of available EW techniques, systems and targets. Given the mission objective and threats, users can understand their tools and quickly engage the adversary. The key to C5ISR Center’s DynamIQ EA program is the ability to take validated EW techniques from the lab or from existing systems and transport them quickly to additional hardware platforms in a matter of hours, with no additional development time, according to a branch chief Shane Snyder. The Army saves time, money and resources by advancing from legacy EW systems to portable solutions. “The Army is building a flexible foundation for evolving threats by creating a modular mission payload,” Snyder said. “Developing EW techniques in a modular fashion creates platform independence. Soldiers now have the freedom to choose which tools they need for a mission.” The C5ISR Center has a long history of science and technology investments in Army EW systems, Snyder said. Multiple C5ISR Center R&D teams continue to invest in both offensive and force protection EW systems to ensure the Army can protect Soldiers from EW threats while impacting the threat decision cycles through offensive EW techniques. C5ISR Center scientists and engineers working with Soldiers, specifically the 11th Cyber Battalion since its activation in 2019, during field testing and experimentation events has provided valuable operational input, said Yaakov Gorlin, a C5ISR Center EW subject matter expert. Testing events like Project Convergence and Cyber Quest provide the C5ISR Center with venues to test out both emerging concepts and maturing technologies, while getting direct operational feedback through their employment by the Soldiers. The C5ISR Center values these types of events as it allows the engineers and scientists to get first-hand insight into the capabilities being developed by the Center and provide the Soldier with relevant technology faster. “Soldiers giving us direct feedback and talking about implementation during the development phase enables the Army to move faster,” Gorlin said. “Researchers need to understand what their work in the lab means from an operational perspective. These interactions with Soldiers help C5ISR Center achieve goals of improving ease of use and decreasing the cognitive burden. Software capabilities are tailored to the user.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery — DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil.

By Kyle Richardson, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY strengthen network resilience Technical experts with the C5ISR Center collaborated with industry partners to research and adapt commercial 5G technology for tactical use to provide a high-bandwidth low-latency private network during Network Modernization Experiment 25, held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Improved 5G capabilities will strengthen network resilience across a theater of operations—ensuring continuous operations with minimal disruptions or failures. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine/Released) (Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (June 2025)—In the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative, released May 1, Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Army, and Gen. Randy George, Chief of Staff of the Army, mentioned how battlefields were rapidly changing and how “adaptation is no longer an advantage — it’s a requirement for survival.” Army researchers and technical experts at the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center, are dedicated to developing technology and equipment to increase those odds of survivability. The Center’s goal is to ensure U.S. military forces have the capability to see, sense, communicate, and move faster than near-peer adversaries. In line with our military forces having the capability to “see and communicate,” the Center has adapted and enhanced Fifth-Generation wireless network technology, more commonly known as 5G. Improved 5G capabilities will strengthen network resilience across a theater of operations—ensuring continuous operations with minimal disruptions or failures. Additionally, 5G is significantly faster than its predecessors, more stable, and secure. 5G also has a shorter data-processing delay across networks—this delay is known as latency. TECHNOLOGY faster real-time data processing Technical experts with the C5ISR Center collaborated with industry partners to adapt commercial 5G technology for tactical use to provide a high-bandwidth low-latency private network during Network Modernization Experiment 25, held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The Center can securely leverage existing global cellular networks or provide their own if needed. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine/Released) (Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ “On today’s battlefield, Soldiers, vehicles, and equipment are often spread out across great distances,” said Beth Ferry, C5ISR Center Director. “The Army has to ensure its units remain interconnected despite austere conditions, environmental and geographical challenges, or interference from enemy forces. The low-latency and high reliability of 5G networks would ensure that combat and support teams stay connected and can communicate without delays or dropped signals.” 5G technology has had widespread commercial availability since 2019. The C5ISR Center has been at the leading edge of adapting 5G technology for tactical use, while working alongside industry, since 2020. The enhanced 5G wireless technology that the C5ISR Center is adapting, gives the Army and its warfighters a needed boost in its cellular capacity. The C5ISR Center’s amplified 5G testing will help the Army reach its next level of network connectivity. With the increased number of service members heading to the U.S.-Mexico border, and the rise in global conflicts, advanced connectivity becomes a necessity. “Our goal is to improve the network by leveraging commercial technology,” said Mike Piesen, C5ISR Center 5G Lead. “Where cellular really shines is through its scalability and latency. As we bring in more robotics and autonomous platforms into the same area, and spectrum gets more congested, the high spectral efficiency of 5G becomes critical.” To keep up with emerging technology and stay ahead of the Army’s adversaries, scientists and engineers with the C5ISR Center’s Mobile and Survivable Command Post team began experimenting with 5G technologies to improve its secured command post systems and to remain less detectable. “We can use the commercial networks in place when we feel the network is trusted,” said Piesen. “There’s an important concept of ‘hiding in plain sight’ when it comes to 5G. As cellular networks become more and more ubiquitous, commercial signals in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum become more common and modified military signals can become more noticeable.” The C5ISR Center implemented additional security features and network protection to allow Army users to be less susceptible to adversaries on the commercial networks. Throughout the next few months, the C5ISR Center will experiment, test, and refine its 5G capabilities during Network Modernization Experiment 25. The Center will work to utilize current infrastructures to minimize costs. Once the Center establishes a mature 5G capability, this enhancement would allow for more connected devices with faster real-time data processing. “What we want to do is to try to use existing infrastructure wherever we go, if we can do it safely and securely,” said Piesen. “So, it helps if we can leverage what’s already there, but we’ll also bring our own private cellular network. By doing this, it provides the best of both worlds where you can get the universal coverage that people expect.” By incorporating more 5G technology into Army operations, this upgrade could increase communication reliability and potentially reduce limitations in bandwidth, speed, and security—establishing network resilience across the Army. Additionally, 5G enhancements would enable real-time collaboration between ground units, improving situational awareness, and ensure near-instantaneous, secure transmission of critical data across long distances—which in turn can improve Soldier-lethality. TECHNOLOGY leverage commercial technology Technical experts with the C5ISR Center collaborated with industry to research and test commercial 5G technology for tactical use to provide a high-bandwidth low-latency private network during Network Modernization Experiment 25, held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The Center can securely leverage existing global cellular networks or provide their own if needed. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine/Released) (Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ “Certain technology allows us to link-up together, and not just cell phones. We can have vehicles, drones, sensors, or even Soldiers on the move,” said Piesen. “There’s a lot you can do with 5G and cellular, in terms of the economy of scale for the handhelds that you might not be able to do with more traditional tactical systems.” If an infrastructure doesn’t exist, don’t worry, the Center has that covered too. The organization can bring its own. “We can leverage the same base-station technology to bring that seamless wireless capability where it’s needed most at the tactical edge,” said

By Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY rigorous testing and evaluation Army C5ISR Center engineers research batteries at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — As the military continues to equip Soldiers with the world’s most advanced electronics, U.S. Army researchers play a critical role in independently verifying the performance and safety of the next-generation batteries needed by these systems. Ensuring the batteries, sourced from a global network of suppliers, can meet the performance and reliability required for these advanced electronics is a vital function of the Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center. Soldiers using C5ISR hardware, including night-vision goggles, radios, augmented reality headsets and range finders need power solutions that work safely in extreme conditions over long mission durations to maintain their lethality, according to Dr. Ashley Ruth, a senior electrochemist at the center. Army C5ISR scientists and engineers maintain this technological edge by regularly assessing America’s commercial next-generation battery and cell technology. TECHNOLOGY ensure supply resilience Army C5ISR Center engineers show batteries under research and development at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ C5ISR Center’s rigorous testing and evaluation are crucial for DoD applications and benefit numerous government agencies as the United States seeks to leverage advanced battery chemistries for enhanced performance. This work is also vital for reducing reliance on potentially vulnerable foreign supply chains, said Marnie Bailey, Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Power and Energy at C5ISR Center. “The 2025 presidential executive order on processed critical minerals and derivative products specifically addresses the need to reduce reliance on foreign nations for battery development and production,” Bailey said. “C5ISR Center has the labs, technical expertise and industry relationships to lead the Army. We’re able to understand the status of the industrial base and share this data with our partners across the joint services and government agencies.” Over the past six years the C5ISR Center has assessed more than 60 different rechargeable and non-rechargeable battery cell and pack technology sets from 46 companies and universities. The batteries range from near-commercial cells and packs to those at lower technology levels requiring additional research. These evaluations of prototype batteries occur in parallel to regular production lot battery testing the Center performs for DoD program offices. “Being able to test these commercial and emerging battery chemistries across a wide range of environmental and load conditions in C5ISR Center labs gives us a significant advantage,” Ruth said. “We are able to use this performance information to help our DoD and government agency partners buy the best commercial technology to meet their operational use cases. Our scientists and engineers also identify where commercial tech is not meeting the military’s needs, which informs Army investment priorities.” TECHNOLOGY establish energy dominance An Army C5ISR Center engineer researches batteries at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine) TECHNOLOGY establish energy dominance An Army C5ISR Center engineer researches batteries at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in June 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ Even seemingly identical commercial batteries can have significant variations in performance and safety characteristics, Ruth said. These inconsistencies can directly impact mission success, affecting equipment performance such as reduced runtimes in radios or failures of range finder lasers or imaging systems in cold weather. Because of the cross-cutting nature of battery technology, C5ISR Center participates in data-sharing discussions among groups, such as Interagency Advanced Power Group and Federal Consortium of Advanced Batteries, to establish energy dominance and ensure supply resilience. These partnerships and the C5ISR Center’s decades-long contributions to batteries are critical to future development, said C5ISR Center Director Beth Ferry. “The C5ISR Center has been working in this space and providing institutional knowledge in battery chemistry development since before the invention of the lithium-ion battery,” Ferry said. “The Center’s trusted expertise will continue to shape the Army’s battery efforts for years to come.” For more information on Army batteries, relevant information for system developers, and how to get in contact with C5ISR Center engineers, go to: https://battery.army.mil. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil.

By Justin Eimers, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY response to urgent operational need U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division utilize the Starshield for connectivity during command post operations during Combined Resolve 25-01 at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels Training Area, Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 15, 2025. The Starshield utilizes a satellite constellation designed to provide secure and reliable communication services in contested environments. During Combined Resolve 25-1, the U.S. Army is implementing its Transforming in Contact initiative, utilizing new technologies and systems designed to enhance its warfighting readiness and ability to respond to crisis or conflict. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Thomas McCarty) (Capt. Thomas McCarty) ❮ ❯ ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Through the Transformation in Contact initiative, the Army is rapidly equipping Soldiers with the latest commercial and military technologies to accelerate fielding and bridge to the next generation of warfighting capabilities. Thanks to a tactical communications system developed by the Army’s S&T experts and being delivered as part of TiC 2.0, some of those “next gen” capabilities are already in Soldiers’ hands. Over the past nine months, the Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, C5ISR, Center has designed, developed and deployed its tactical communication and video-teleconferencing capability, or TCVC, in response to an urgent operational need for secure, reliable communications in a challenging, high-mobility and dynamic environment. TCVC provides tactical classified video-teleconferencing communications that is multi-modal, transport agnostic, and provides primary, alternate, contingency and emergency, or PACE, network options for Soldiers in contested and congested environments. “Existing communication infrastructure is either insufficient, immobile, or both, and commercially available solutions lack the necessary security protocols and adaptability to meet specific mission requirements,” said Chad Nash, division chief within the C5ISR Center. “TCVC supports mission readiness, rapid capability delivery, and support for critical priorities in multiple theaters.” After quickly identifying an industry partner capable of establishing a production line, the Center’s TCVC team leveraged its multifaceted expertise across component procurement, Classified Communications Item requirements approval, complex system integration, and rigorous validation and testing to deploy the first TCVC systems last month. Headquarters, Department of the Army, G-2, which nominated TCVC for TiC 2.0, plans to field more than 80 systems in the near future. The system is also informing the Army’s future classified point of presence capabilities, which will look to leverage a similarly accelerated timeline to move away from traditional requirements generation and procurement. “What Transformation in Contact has done for us is it gave us lessons from the actual Soldiers using the equipment that we thought might work,” said Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll during a brief to the House Armed Services Committee on June 4, 2025. “What had happened historically to contrast with that was long procurement documents were created with hundreds and hundreds of requirements that then by the time the document was signed it was already outdated technology, and then by the time it was actually fielded it was even worse, and just what we’re seeing on the battlefield, that will no longer work.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil/.

By Kyle Richardson, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY foster innovation and recruit talent Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center Program Managers for the Army Strategic Program for Innovation, Research, and Employment, also known as ASPIRE, hosted its fourth iteration and culminating expo at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The program engages faculty and students at various colleges and universities across the country to foster innovation, helping the Army solve current and future problems to give Warfighters an advantage against near-peer adversaries. ASPIRE initially stood up in 2021. (U.S. Army photo by John Martinez/Released) (U.S. Army Photo by John Martinez, C5ISR Center) ❮ ❯ FORT BELVOIR, Va. (June 2025)—There’s a theory that modern warfare will start on the battlefield but end in a lab – meaning whichever military force can refine their technologies, tactics, and strategies in the lab the fastest can potentially gain an advantage on the battlefield. The Army’s research and development pipeline, specifically the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center, is leveraging a homegrown mentorship program to provide its Soldiers that advantage. The Army Strategic Program for Innovation, Research, and Employment, known as ASPIRE, stood up in 2021. The program, which recently hosted its fourth iteration and culminating expo at Fort Belvoir, engages faculty and students at various colleges and universities across the country to foster innovation, helping the Army solve current and future problems to give Warfighters an advantage against near-peer adversaries. “One of the main goals of ASPIRE is to introduce undergraduate students to areas of science and technology that are of mutual interests to the Army,” said Alicia Miller, ASPIRE program manager. Additionally, the program prepares students to enter the workforce, who may one day help guide research in these areas of interests for the Army.” ASPIRE also has an employment recruiting function integrated into the program to help find top-tier student talent. Since ASPIRE’s inception, the Center has executed more than 75 projects. All projects span the course of two semesters and comprised of a team of undergraduate students [U.S. citizens], supervised by university faculty members, and guided by C5ISR Center technical experts. While the ASPIRE program is open to any college or university, there were 10 institutions that participated in this year’s capstone: Auburn University, Christopher Newport University, City College of New York, Old Dominion University, Penn State Harrisburg, University of Alabama, University of Arizona, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Tech. The Army benefits from programs like ASPIRE because it has the potential to foster innovation and solve real-world challenges through young academic perspectives, advance critical research, and strengthen ties with the local community. “The ASPIRE program plays a vital role in strengthening connections between the C5ISR Center and students before formal employment, fostering early engagement and collaboration,” said Kaitlyn Mccullough, program support specialist. “It provides both parties with a valuable trial period to assess fit while enabling students to gain hands-on experience solving real-world challenges.” Each year, the capstone program sets out to tackle specific Army topics. This year, student projects centered around hazard and target detection; positioning, navigation, and timing; advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning; advanced sensor development; and power advancement, to name a few. This year, students presented their capstone projects virtually due to ongoing travel restrictions. In addition to solving real-world problems, the ASPIRE program pairs students with Army civilian subject matter experts, creating an opportunity for close mentorship by experts in STEM. “Mentoring the next generation of engineers is paramount as it helps establish interest in the C5ISR Center organization and helps to pass the torch of technical expertise to a new generation of engineers,” said Brian Kellermeyer, an optical engineer and ASPIRE mentor. “As new hires join the organization, programs like ASPIRE help cultivate a technically competent workforce in our domain of C5ISR technology.” During the capstone projects, the mentors guide the students in addressing complex challenges while fostering innovation and critical thinking. The mentors also help students develop professional skills and build connections that can lead to future career opportunities. “The ASPIRE program provides young engineers with the knowledge and experience of developing a technical product for a customer,” said Kellermeyer. “Regardless of whether they decide to work at the C5ISR Center, the experience of the program will help enable their ability to successfully support the science and technology efforts early within their career, benefitting the S&T community as a whole.” The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation.

By Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY persistent experimentation U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center conducts R&D in the Mobile and Survivable Command Posts project during Network Modernization Experiment 24 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in August 2024. (Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) TECHNOLOGY operationally relevant environments and scenarios U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center conducts R&D in the 5G for Command Post project during Network Modernization Experiment 24 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in August 2024. (Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) ❮ ❯ JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. — The U.S. Army is launching its annual Network Modernization Experiment, known as NetModX, as the service’s senior leadership emphasizes the acceleration of cutting-edge technology from R&D into the hands of Soldiers. This year, which marks the seventh iteration of NetModX, represents a critical transition as the Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center moves to a dedicated environment for persistent experimentation to rapidly mature C5ISR capabilities. Transforming NetModX into a persistent resource facilitates accelerated delivery of capability to Soldiers, according to the event’s lead strategic planner, Joe Saldiveri. “The ‘at the ready’ experimentation posture aligns with current Army and DoD guidance focused on delivering emergent lethality and mobility technologies to the Soldier at a faster pace,” Saldiveri said. TECHNOLOGY persistent experimentation U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center conducts R&D in the Mobile and Survivable Command Posts project during Network Modernization Experiment 24 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in July 2024. (Sam Brooks, C5ISR Center Public Affair). TECHNOLOGY operationally relevant environments and scenarios U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center conducts R&D in the Mobile and Survivable Command Posts project during Network Modernization Experiment 24 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in August 2024. (Dan Lafontaine, C5ISR Center Public Affairs) ❮ ❯ NetModX focuses on the challenges Soldiers confront as they face contested battlefield network environments from adversary threats that include cyber, electromagnetic warfare, and tactical communications. Throughout the summer and fall, C5ISR Center scientists, engineers and Soldiers partner with industry and Army program executive offices to explore how technologies operate when they are subjected to operationally relevant environments and scenarios. The experimentation provides data to inform decisions for both programs of record and S&T projects earlier in the technology pipeline. NetModX 25 serves as a transformational event, establishing the persistent experimentation concept that will continue into 2026 with key benefits to the Army, Saldiveri said. Persistent experimentation enables projects to experiment-refine-demonstrate-adapt before going to large-scale Army events for further integration. In addition, the C5ISR Center is leveraging a cyclical process in line with Army Futures Command’s continuous transformation efforts. “NetModX facilitates the maturation and delivery of transformative C5ISR capabilities that enable Soldiers to see the battlespace and effectively make decisions,” C5ISR Center Director Beth Ferry said. “Doing that in a persistent fashion rapidly accelerates capability development to combat an ever-changing threat environment.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery — DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil.

By Justin Eimers, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY vast knowledge and expertise Soldier touchpoints, including live fire events, provide critical input from users which system developers can rapidly integrate into emerging capabilities. The C5ISR Center, alongside partners from Armaments Center, recently conducted a demonstration of enhanced lethality for Counter UAS capabilities. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sam Brooks) TECHNOLOGY vast knowledge and expertise The C5ISR Center-hosted Network Modernization Experiment (NetModX) is the Army’s premier science and technology (S&T) experimentation event to explore, advance, demonstrate and validate transformative C5ISR concepts and technologies. Through lab-based risk reduction at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and field-based experimentation at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, NetModX drives Army S&T development and investments and provides maneuver space for acquisition decision makers to facilitate the transition of network-enabled C5ISR capabilities from the “art of the possible” to the “achievable.” (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Dan Lafontaine) ❮ ❯ ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — “Adaptation is no longer an advantage — it’s a requirement for survival.” These words from the Army’s seniormost leaders — included as part of a letter to the force sent May 1, 2025, from Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy George — underscore a fundamental tenet of the recently announced Army Transformation Initiative, or ATI. To put it bluntly: go fast, leverage commercial innovation, or get out of the way. But how can the Army leverage the speed of commercial innovation while applying the tactical fine-tuning necessary for operational use? This is something that the service’s science and technology backbone, specifically the Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, C5ISR, Center, has been laser focused on throughout its decades-long mission of providing cutting-edge capabilities to Soldiers and value to industrial base partners through a robust lab infrastructure and deep subject matter expertise. “The C5ISR Center is uniquely positioned to be an entry point for future iterations of next-generation capabilities,” said Beth Ferry, C5ISR Center director. “New industry technologies need a way to be measured against operational use cases, and the Center is ensuring best-of-breed industry solutions are paired with Army [Science and Technology] investments to deliver exactly what Soldiers need.” In many cases, industry’s access to a real-world tactical ecosystem is limited, meaning capabilities that are often affordable and developed quickly may not perform adequately in conditions facing Soldiers on the battlefield, or when used with specific networks, vehicles and applications not available in the commercial space. This is not to say that the Army is forging its own path to deliver technological advancements but rather that it must work collaboratively with industry while ensuring capability development within the defense industrial base is persistently underpinned by tactical applicability. To get after this, the C5ISR Center offers several ways for industry to integrate emerging and mature capabilities, be it a software application into a tactical cloud environment, hardware system onto a ground vehicle platform, or something in between. But this is only part of what’s needed to adequately adapt industry solutions. Through lab and field-based risk reductions, Army Science and Technology also provides a realistic threat picture and can replicate real-world conditions to push the limits of industry’s latest offerings. TECHNOLOGY vast knowledge and expertise The C5ISR Center’s Prototype Integration Facility (PIF) designs, develops, fabricates and integrates C5ISR technologies onto tactical platforms, from Soldier-portable transit cases to fully-integrated shelter and vehicle assemblies. The PIF is aligned around various technical disciplines including project engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering design, manufacturing, quality assurance, and test and evaluation, and supports customer efforts across the Center’s core competencies. (U.S. Army photo by Sam Brooks) ❮ ❯ These risk reduction environments and Soldier touchpoints, coupled with vast institutional knowledge and expertise, span the Center’s portfolio and its core competencies, including efforts across counter unmanned systems, electronic warfare, tactical power and energy, configurable command and control, network resiliency, aided target detection and recognition, contested logistics and more. “There is no denying that industry innovation is moving fast in some of these areas, but the role of Army Science and Technology and the collective knowledge of government experts in these domains cannot be overstated,” said Ferry. “Collaboration is essential to meet the unique demands of Soldiers.” In the current environment, collaboration between the Army and industry cannot be business as usual. Driscoll has acknowledged the Army has been locked into inefficient agreements with large defense contractors in the past, which is something that ATI will eliminate. “The Army has been a bad customer for itself oftentimes. So, as an example, we’ve given away our right to repair our own equipment some of the time, which basically, what that means for Soldiers is, we will have exquisite pieces of equipment sitting on the sidelines for 8 to 12 months,” said Driscoll earlier this month during a War on the Rocks podcast alongside George. “That is a sin, and we’ve done it to ourselves.” George added that relying on the government’s slow-moving procurement process is also not an option. “We are not in a world anymore where we can wait for seven years for something to come to production,” he said. “There’s obviously areas that we’re just going to have to develop a little bit more, but we can also work with industry. So, we’re right now in a lot of discussions about how we kind of streamline that as we’re moving forward.” This is exactly what Army science and technology, and the C5ISR Center, are all about. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific

By Kyle Richardson, C5ISR Center Public Affairs TECHNOLOGY align efforts across dod JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST—C5ISR Center’s scientists and engineers demonstrated some of the organization’s latest Next Generation Command and Control technology during the Network Modernization Experiment 2024 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Sep. 25, 2024. NETMODX is the Army’s premier science and technology experimentation event which provides an operationally realistic, threat-informed environment to prove out disruptive and transformative C5ISR technologies. (U.S. Army photo by Kyle Richardson) ❮ ❯ FORT BELVOIR, Va. — While the U.S. Army continues to enhance its support and build-up resources along the southern border, the Department of Defense warned service members about the increased weaponization of uncrewed aerial systems, UAS, and surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border by cartel members. The emergence of UAS and uncrewed system, UxS, threats drove the need for the DoD and Army to innovate quickly across a tactical and technical spectrum of operations. In support of this priority, the U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance — C5ISR — Center has partnered with the 10th Mountain Division, providing cutting-edge technology and technical expertise to support the division with border operations. C5ISR Center scientists and engineers have developed a Counter-UAS architecture designed to reduce the number of warfighters in harm’s way on the battlefield and across unknown terrain. The new platform leverages a government-developed, government-owned family of systems and sensors that has the adaptability and capability of supporting multiple C-UAS variants, all integrated into a single vehicle platform. “The architecture allows the Army to rapidly integrate best-of-breed sensor technology from each of our sensing modalities to stay ahead of an ever-evolving threat — through big and small businesses, non-traditional contractors, academia and defense research and development laboratories,” said Bill Newmeyer, C5ISR Center, Response Analysis and Data Extraction Branch chief. The C5ISR Center began developing a C-UAS system in 2018 with the goal of delivering a technology capable of detecting the characteristics of what makes a drone a drone. From the data gathered, the team built specific technology around those data-points to have a high probability of detection and low false alarms. “The development of technologies which limits the number of Soldiers in harm’s way is critical to all Army missions, especially C-UAS,” said Dr. Brandon Dodd, C5ISR Center, C-UAS production team lead. “In recent years, the UAS threat has drastically increased which has driven the need for innovative approaches to C-UAS, which the DoD research centers have done a good job of responding to.” To address the threat, C5ISR Center leaders anticipated the organization’s need for a modular solution. “We need to leverage government-owned modular open architecture to allow for near-term and continuous transition of science and technology as technology matures to meet rapidly evolving and emerging threats,” said Dodd. “Modularity will enable rapid implementation of extended range, lower cost and lower collateral defeat solutions.” According to the Director of C5ISR Center, Beth Ferry, the scale of the current threat requires a team of teams’ approach. “No one service, center or company can solve this [UxS threat] on their own. We need an integrated teaming approach,” said Ferry. “The C5ISR Center is synchronizing across DEVCOM [U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command], the U.S. Army, DoD, other government agencies, industry, academia and other stakeholders to ensure efforts are aligned.” As C-UAS technology matures, its adaptability and ability to use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies has become prominent, said Newmeyer. “The use of AI and ML quickly provided users with critical information, allowing them to make informed decisions. Additionally, the C-UAS technology is equipped with multiple detect, track and defeat capabilities,” he said. “The government-owned software in our C-UAS technology was developed to integrate all the independent sensors together in a way that reduces the cognitive load on the user to expedite decision-making at machine speed versus human speed,” said Dodd. By design, integrating the technologies into a single vehicle gives the current C-UAS platform an added advantage. “The advantage comes from the ability to rapidly deploy the system where it’s needed most and quickly set up,” said Dodd, “enabling teams to use the system on missions rather than only having this level of protection restricted to installations.” With the technology’s adaptability, commanders can configure the system to work in a way that maximizes each organization’s goals. “Based on the flexibility of the integrated software, our C-UAS technology can be implemented differently at each echelon of the Army — based on the needs at each level,” said Dodd. “This implementation would lead to a common baseline of C-UAS throughout the Army that would further enable coordination of air defense at all echelons.” With cartels threatening to deploy weaponized UAS, it is essential to get combat-tested C-UAS in the hands of trained operators. “One of the main objectives for our C-UAS program is to make decisions at machine speed leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities,” said Newmeyer. “As a result, the training is designed to be minimal. C5ISR Center, through PEO Missiles and Space, will eventually deliver these modular C-UAS systems for operational use — to pace with rapidly evolving threats through continuous iterations in a persistent experimentation environment, which will help us understand both the threats and Soldiers’ needs.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation. DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat