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Command and Control

US President Donald Trump leaves after announcing the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. President Donald Trump on December 22 announced a new class of heavily armed warships that will be named after himself — an honor usually reserved for US leaders who have left office. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump, Navy leaders reveal plans for new battleships armed with nukes, lasers, railguns and hypersonic missiles. Analysts anticipate problems.

Their ambitious vision for the platform could run into a variety of technological and budgetary challenges, analysts say.
Airmen with the 752nd Operations Support Squadron setup the Tactical Operations Center – Light it during exercise Resolute Force Pacific 2025, July 25, 2025. The multi-week exercise, involving more than 12,000 U.S. and coalition personnel and approximately 300 aircraft operating across 50 locations and 3,000 miles in the Indo-Pacific, tested the Air Force’s joint and allied partners ability to rapidly deploy to a dynamic, contested environment. (Courtesy Photo)

Air Force tests logistics of next-gen C2 during huge REFORPAC exercise

The program manager for Tactical Operations Center - Light (TOC-L) and other Air Force officials talked to DefenseScoop about how things played out at the inaugural Resolute…
A second B-21 Raider, the nation’s sixth-generation stealth bomber, joins flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Sept. 11, 2025. (Courtesy photo)

The new airpower advantage

The U.S. Air Force cannot solve its problems by expanding today’s force or chasing game-changing technologies. It needs to return to the core of military advantage —…
U.S. Marines with Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct Lightning Strike 25 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Oct. 1-30, 2024. Lightning Strike 25 exemplifies MWCS-38’s ability to establish and maintain up to 15 communication nodes supporting Force Design initiatives by enabling distributed command and control in contested environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Luc Boatman)

Marines looking for capability portfolio approach to command and control

To be more flexible and adaptable to changes, the Corps is breaking down some of the silos between systems and funding lines.
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U.S. Army Sgt. Christian Claros, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, trains on identifying a target with a laser target locator during Project Convergence-Capstone 5 (PC-C5) on Fort Irwin, Calif, in March 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Karla N. Guerrero)

What will the Army’s Next-Gen C2 contract look like?

As the Army establishes its baseline for what Next-Gen C2 will be, the acquisition community will look to move that into contract awards for the program of…
PACIFIC OCEAN (June 23, 2022) In route to Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, ships of Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (ABECSG) sail in formation with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Navy ships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Aleksandr Freutel)

Navy looking to fuse data and sensors to fight better from maritime operations centers

"This battlespace is just bigger and bigger across a larger amount of sea space,” Vice Adm. Karl Thomas said at the annual WEST conference this week.
The national colors of Australia, Japan, and the U.S. posted outside the Ground Component Command headquarters during the opening ceremony rehearsal at Camp Asaka, Japan, Dec. 5, 2024. The exercise serves as a cornerstone of Operation Pathways, the U.S. Army Pacific’s premier series of exercises demonstrating America’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region. This marks the 44th iteration of this annual Japan-based exercise that began in 1982. This is the second year Australia is participating in the exercise and is a testament to its value. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Samarion Hicks)

Army used pair of concurrent exercises to test distributed command and control nodes

The Army concurrently ran its Warfighter Exercise with Yama Sakura, a first in the Japanese-American annual event's 40-year history.
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