The U.S. Army’s Next Generation Command and Control, or NGC2, has managed to integrate advanced capabilities into realistic scenarios at Project Convergence Capstone 5, a.k.a. PCC5, an experimentation event at the National Training Center.
What Is the Next Generation Command and Control?
NGC2 is an Army initiative designed to deliver an integrated information network that would enable commanders and soldiers to access more comprehensive battlefield data for rapid communication and enhanced decision-making, the Army said Monday.
The initiative aims to provide tactical units an advantage over enemy forces by utilizing a lighter and more mobile network and C2 equipment to operate more rapidly and more dispersed.
The results of a year-long PCC5 lab and field experimentation have allowed the Army to evaluate the initiative’s progress to move forward to the prototyping phase. Some of the technologies being experimented at PCC5 include the use of applications, data infrastructure, software and hardware like tablets and mobile phones. These experimental technologies were integrated into tactical vehicles and evaluated.
Those involved in PCC5 have stressed that the technologies showed promise as they provided faster communications, more complete data transition and smaller form factors.
“What we’re trying to do is take these emerging technologies where we can get this data better and faster to execute,” said Lt. Col. Tad Coleman, commander of the 2-37 Armor Battalion. “The technology in Next Generation C2 is the stuff a majority of people are seeing and already doing (in their daily lives). It’s just that now, it’s at the fingertips of the commander,” he added.
