The Atlantic Council on Thursday released a report outlining nine recommendations on how the Department of Defense can advance the adoption of software-defined warfare to rapidly respond to emerging threats in a dynamic security environment.
The council said the recommendations are organized around technology, process and people pillars and propose actionable steps to modernize software development practices, establish a cohesive digital ecosystem, shape software investments and develop a skilled and sustainable workforce.
The first five recommendations outlined in the report are mandating an enterprise data repository and investing in artificial intelligence enablers; ensuring software interoperability and integration; modernizing test and evaluation infrastructure; enforcing commercial as the default approach for software; and transforming DOD software requirements.
The document also recommends that the department remove all restrictions on software funding; measure what matters for DOD software; enable software talent across the enterprise; and fully establish a DOD software cadre.
Mandating Enterprise Data & Investing in AI Enablers
To advance this initial recommendation, the report recommends that the deputy secretary of defense direct the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office to monitor enterprise-wide progress and suggest actions to the deputy secretary and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to expedite the adoption of data best practices across DOD.
DOD should resource CDAO to procure and sustain unified, shared platforms that advance the end-to-end development, governance and deployment of AI tools, the Council suggested. CDAO should also come up with a strategy to make the AI tools accessible to the end-user community to operationalize AI to address mission-critical problems.
The report calls for the department to support chief information officers at service branches to invest in AI enablers that are service- and domain-specific. CDAO and military branches should also maintain classified and unclassified datasets of highly relevant use cases that could be used by industry to demonstrate capability viability.
Embracing Software-Defined Warfare
According to the report, integrating advanced software upgrades to legacy platforms could enable DOD to realize efficiencies.
Software-defined capabilities could also help the Pentagon build the force of the future and deliver time and cost efficiencies to a range of operational and administrative processes.
Commission on Software-Defined Warfare
The Atlantic Council’s Commission on Software-Defined Warfare contributed to the report.
The commission was formed in December 2023 to help develop recommendations to improve the U.S. military’s production and integration of advanced software technologies.
The commission’s co-chairs are Mark Esper, former secretary of defense and a three-time Wash100 Award recipient; Christine Fox, former acting deputy secretary of defense and a previous Wash100 awardee; and Mung Chiang, president of Purdue University.
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