Holistic Environment Generation and Multi-domain C2 Training
(Room S320E)
29 Nov 17
8:30 AM
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9:00 AM
Advancing command-and-control capabilities is one of the United States Air Force Chief of Staff’s top priorities, and has charged the U.S. Air Force with answering the question: “How do we get to a point where we are…operating at a speed of decision making and force movement that our enemies can’t counter?” Answering this question and preparing U.S. and coalition forces for tomorrow’s fight requires the ability to project power and create seamless effects in air, space, and cyberspace while denying the adversary the ability to do the same. In the challenging threat environment of the future, the U.S. may not enjoy the same asymmetric technological advantages it’s relied on in the past. Our ability to gain and maintain multi-domain superiority will depend less on stove-piped capability advantages and more on our ability to integrate capabilities across all domains though multi-domain command and control (MDC2). Training to fight against a 5th generation-capable adversary in any domain, let alone all, is not possible solely in a live training environment, rather, it requires live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) elements woven together into a realistic, holistic training context. Currently, there are no training ranges that blend LVC across all the domains in a truly comprehensive manner; however, future warfighter readiness demands progress towards this goal. Premier combat air forces exercises have begun to address MDC2 requirements; however, they still face limiting factors such as a lack of range-to-range integration and the need for tightly choreographed white force actions that are manpower intensive and prone to human error and effects latency. The purpose of this paper is to highlight gaps in technology and policy that impede progress in meeting CSAF’s intent and to provide recommendations for improving advanced readiness training that presents a holistic, integrated, realistic training environment—including LVC and MDC2—for US and coalition forces.