This is the second in a series of four papers examining how Command and Control (C2) will manifest in the future, and focuses on what will likely constitute the C2 enterprise. The findings of this paper set up further analysis and development of recommendations in the third and fourth papers.

Command and Control in the Future

Concept Paper 2: The Defence C2 Enterprise

Rebecca Lucas, Conlan Ellis, James Black, Peter Carlyon, Paul Kendall, John Kendall, Stephen Coulson, Louis Jeffries

ResearchPublished Jan 29, 2024

This is the second in a series of four papers examining how Command and Control (C2) will manifest in the future. This paper focuses on what will likely constitute the C2 enterprise: that is, understanding the current Defence C2 enterprise and likely changes to adapt to requirements of the future operating environment; the future organisational and technical attributes and processes which will be needed to facilitate C2 in the future; and the requirements that this will impose both for the C2 enterprise as a whole and for the individuals involved.  It then identifies likely barriers and opportunities to implementing change, including a selection of recurring dilemmas and trade-offs that Defence is likely to face in designing the C2 enterprise. The findings of this paper thus set up further analysis and development of recommendations in the third and fourth papers.

This publication was revised in February 2024 to correct minor errata.

Key Findings

  • The UK Defence enterprise already spans a wide and diverse ecosystem, with multiple different configurations of actors.
  • Ensuring that individuals with the necessary technical and soft skills are in place throughout Defence will be a key enabler for C2 in the future.
  • To enable C2 systems in the future, Defence as an organisation will also need to cultivate a number of characteristics and abilities.
  • The requirements anticipated for C2 systems in the future raise several trade-offs and dilemmas that Defence will have to resolve.
  • Integration across domains is anticipated to remain a key challenge for C2 in future, multi-domain operations.

Recommendation

  • Recommendations from across all four Concept Papers are included in Paper 4.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: Crown (under DEFCON 703)
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2024
  • Pages: 51
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA2476-2
  • Document Number: RR-A2476-2

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Lucas, Rebecca, Conlan Ellis, James Black, Peter Carlyon, Paul Kendall, John Kendall, Stephen Coulson, and Louis Jeffries, Command and Control in the Future: Concept Paper 2: The Defence C2 Enterprise, RAND Corporation, RR-A2476-2, 2024. As of September 10, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2476-2.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Lucas, Rebecca, Conlan Ellis, James Black, Peter Carlyon, Paul Kendall, John Kendall, Stephen Coulson, and Louis Jeffries, Command and Control in the Future: Concept Paper 2: The Defence C2 Enterprise. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2476-2.html.
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This research was prepared for the Development Concepts and Doctrine Centre and conducted within RAND Europe.

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