Battle Networks and the Future Force

As the first in a two-part series that explores the future of battle networks in the U.S. military—what has become known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)—this paper examines the importance of battle networks to modern military operations and presents a framework of five functional elements that make up a battle network.

Militaries use battle networks to detect what is happening on the battlefield, process that data into actionable information, decide on a course of action, communicate decisions among forces, act on those decisions, and assess the effectiveness of the actions taken. Battle networks are sometimes referred to as the “sensor-to-shooter kill chain” (or just the “kill chain”), and they are widely acknowledged as an increasingly important element of modern warfare.