The U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) played a critical role in evaluating the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) capabilities during Project Convergence Capstone 6 (PC-C6) at Fort Irwin, California in July.
The large-scale event put Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division on the ground, alongside international allied forces, to test next-generation capabilities under realistic scenarios and environmental conditions.
For NGC2, PC-C6 built upon the momentum of previous exercises — including Lightning Surge events, Ivy Sting events, and Ivy Mass — as part of the Army’s continuous assessment approach to refine NGC2 components and its broader ecosystem.
A new approach to command and control
NGC2 is the Army’s unified, data-centric command-and-control framework that integrates data, software applications, infrastructure, and hardware to link commanders directly with their tactical formations and allow for real-time data flow. The architecture is designed to increase lethality, maximize survivability, and provide commanders with decisive decision advantage over adversaries.
Through NGC2, Soldiers can share position data, operational graphics, fires information, and sustainment data across echelons, providing commanders with more rapid data and a more complete operational picture.
NGC2 is a commercial-first effort that has brought capabilities from more than 60 companies, further necessitating the need for ATEC’s innovative approach to leverage continuous feedback loops and real-time unit synchronization.
ATEC’s continuous evaluation campaign
Serving as the independent evaluator for NGC2 during PC-C6, ATEC deployed personnel onsite to collect and analyze NGC2 operational and system data. The purpose of the independent evaluation was to characterize NGC2's capabilities and limitations under realistic operational conditions, providing Army senior leaders with crucial, objective performance data.
PC-C6 is a vital component of ATEC’s broader continuous evaluation campaign, which has been continually assessing NGC2's performance across the sequential prototyping operational events rather than relying on a single test.
“Continuous evaluation allows us to build on what we learned at each event,” said Maj. Travis Miner, ATEC’s NGC2 Integration Lead. “We can observe how the capability has adapted, determine whether previously identified limitations were addressed, and identify new challenges as the architecture scales.”
This approach is proving to shorten learning cycles by identifying issues earlier, fixing them quickly, and carrying any unresolved questions into subsequent events for further evaluation. It provides Army leaders with more timely evidence as they consider future development and acquisition decisions.
Safety as top priority
ATEC’s U.S. Army Operational Evaluation Command (OEC) evaluated and delivered a comprehensive safety release of all NGC2-equipped vehicles ahead of PC-C6 execution. OEC personnel also compiled safety releases for other participating technologies, significantly reducing operational risks for the Soldiers involved in the capstone event.
"Typically, it could take up to two months to compile a safety release, but we streamlined our processes and completed it in a single week," said Danny Vest, the OEC test manager who authored the NGC2 safety release.
The compact turnaround compared to traditional processes reflects recent reforms ATEC has made to accelerate the safety release process. These include creating an ATEC safety release repository, issuing safety releases with extended or no expiration dates, and publishing group safety releases and graphical training aids, among other efforts.
Way ahead
Throughout the entire NGC2 prototyping process, ATEC has provided the continuous testing and evaluation needed to validate NGC2 at division scale during PC-C6 and demonstrate it is faster, more lethal, and ready to be fielded to additional formations.
As the Army moves forward with continuous delivery, I Corps will be the next unit to receive capability. ATEC will continue to execute the NGC2 evaluation campaign as the architecture scales to the Corps level.
Just as it was in PC-C6, ATEC’s role in evaluation will continue to be paramount as the Army refines NGC2 capabilities and makes future acquisition decisions.
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