JADC2 is not a single entity or service or program. JADC2 integrates data and derived intelligence from all levels and phases of war, across all domains, and with designated partners. JADC2 spans all capabilities of not only the US Department of Defense (DoD), but also all mission coalition partners. The goal of JADC2 is to create intelligence for all mission assets to deliver a decisive information advantage to the operational and tactical commander to deliver coordinated, converged, and optimized multi-domain effects at the “speed of relevance”.

It is a combined strategy with our coalition partners based upon the democratization of data through all echelons that creates a posture of deterrence against all adversaries, where soldiers outside of the command center will have the same data as the leaders inside the command center. This pan-echelon data strategy enables a mission command that endures attacks against the command chain.

JADC2 not only links together military platforms, it also integrates and protects entities and industries underpinning a country’s existence, including food/fisheries/grain, climate change, global supply chains, energy/oil/gas, and other natural and national resources.

The Joint All-Domain Strategy document, published 2023, strategy describes the “urgent need for a focused Departmental push on actions to empower our Joint Force Commanders with the capabilities needed to command the Joint Force across all warfighting domains and throughout the electromagnetic spectrum to deter, and, if necessary, defeat any adversary at any time and in any place around the globe”.

In addition, the JADC2 Strategy document describes “a vision and an approach for identifying, organizing and delivering improved Joint Force C2 capabilities, and accounts for adversaries who have closed many of the capability and methodology advantages we depend upon for operational success. As an approach, JADC2 supports the development of materiel and non-materiel solution options using innovative technologies coupled with a willingness to modify existing policies, authorities, organizational constructs, and operational procedures to deliver information and decision advantage to Joint Force Commanders”.

JADC2 provides an “approach for developing the warfighting capability to Sense, Make Sense, and Act at all levels and phases of war, across all domains, and with partners, to deliver information advantage at the speed of relevance.

The JADC2 Placement graphic above describes the complexity of achieving all-domain Command and Control (C2). The Joint Force Commander will need to “rely upon guidance, technologies, procedures, and capabilities that are the result of many years of capability development and implementation in order to employ effective C2 in performing real-world mission tasks.”

The JADC2 Approach improves the Joint Force Command and Control (C2) by

Joint Force Commanders to ‘Sense,’ ‘Make Sense,’ and ‘Act’ in the operational environment
Use five functional areas of focus, or Lines of Effort (LOEs), to guide the development and implementation of improved C2 Joint Force capabilities.

1. Sense - Integrate Information Across All Domains and the Electromagnetic Spectrum – increases the amount of data and relevant information in all domains to provide the Joint Force and mission partners with faster, more reliable intelligence to achieve information and decision advantage.
2. Make Sense - Understand the Operational Environment – is based upon rapid analysis of information to better understand and predict the operational environment and the actions and intentions of an adversary, as well as the actions of our own and friendly forces. This is where sensor data is transformed into information and information transforms into knowledge and stronger situational awareness. The developed capabilities will leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to help accelerate decision cycle and will significantly enhance the Joint Force’s ability to operate in a C2 degraded environment.
3. Act - Decide and Disseminate – is the make and disseminate decisions to the Joint Force and its mission partners. It combines the human elements of decision-making with the technical means to perceive, understand, and predict the actions and intentions of adversaries, and take action. Act also means that subordinate commanders at all levels within the Joint Force are properly trained in and empowered with the tenets of Mission Command, enabling commanders to act with confidence and authority, and retaining the ability to act when communications linkages are broken or when the urgency of operations precludes the time necessary to seek guidance.

See more information in the following blogs:

JADC2 and the U.S. DoD: Mapping Out the Future of Situational Awareness

ADC2: Accelerating the OODA Loop With AI and Autonomy

OODA Loop: A Blueprint for the Evolution of Military Decisions

1. A JADC2 Federated Data Fabric is a distributed information sensor ecosystem that exploits remote sensors, intelligence assets, and open data sources to sense and simultaneously integrate information from and within all domains. This data fabric will enable the instantaneous sharing of information and intelligence through interfaces and services to discover, understand and exchange data with partners across all domains, echelons and security levels.

1. The JADC2 strategy is organized around five Lines of Effort LOEs to guide actions for delivering JADC2 capabilities:1. Data Enterprise2. Human Enterprise3. Technology Enterprise4. Integrating with Nuclear C2 and C3

   5. Modernizing Mission Partner Information Sharing.

See more details of each LOE in Joint All-Domain Strategy document

S5 Intelligence JADC2 FAQ References

• Joint All-Domain Strategy document
• JADC2 and the U.S. DoD: Mapping Out the Future of Situational Awareness
• Accelerating the OODA Loop With AI and Autonomy
• OODA Loop: A Blueprint for the Evolution of Military Decisions
• US DOD Data Strategy