The U.S. Army has assembled a team that will gather and analyze data from the next iteration of the branch’s annual experiment campaign to assess modern defense technologies. 

The Data Collection and Analysis Team for Project Convergence 21 aims to generate information for military leaders to plan future technology development and modernization efforts, the Army said Tuesday. 

DC&A members, which come from Army Futures Command and other service components, consider their work as key to determining whether systems that are part of PC21 demonstrations worked as intended or not. 

In preparation for the event, the group’s experiment evaluators completed virtual, on-site and on-the-job observer-analyst training to familiarize themselves with the procedures and objectives of their data-related responsibilities. 

The nearly 300 DC&A staff members are based at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Gen. John “Mike” Murray, head of Army Futures Command and two-time Wash100 Award winner, said at the Potomac Officers Club’s Aug. 16 virtual forum that PC21 data could help military personnel explore ways to manage the future Joint All-Domain Command and Control process.

Gillian Bussey, director of the joint hypersonics transition office within the Department of Defense’s office of the undersecretary for research and engineering, said her office aims to accelerate the transition of hypersonic technologies to warfighters by driving community collaboration, facilitating the involvement of universities and allies, ensuring that investments are linked to soldiers’ requirements and establishing a systems engineering field activity to help monitor tech transition efforts, Government Matters reported Tuesday.

Bussey told GovMatters in an interview that JHTO is excited about several developments, including the Hawk missile system test from Raytheon Technologies, strong support from Congress as it works through the budget process and the Army’s battery with the long-range hypersonic weapon.

“Hawk is an air-breathing scramjet engine. It’s more of a tactical system so it’s a very nice complement to the conventional prompt strike program,” she said.

Bussey noted that collaborating with universities allows DOD to gain access to new ideas and technologies and build up its workforce.

She also highlighted the need for cyber protections and improved vetting process to safeguard U.S. hypersonic technology from near-peer competitors such as Russia and China.