C2PC Enables JADC2

The Command and Control Personal Computer (C2PC) was developed to maintain situational awareness and deconflict the battlespace in near real-time fashion for battlespace users, decision makers and commanders, demonstrating that Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) is possible. On today’s battlefield, moments can seem like a lifetime when troops seek to maintain situational awareness and close the information-to-decision-making timelines that are critical in a contested environment.

Marines use C2PC to plot with precision and provide a near real-time common operational picture (COP) that can be shared among commanders to understand the situation. This is a critical component in the information management chain for combat troops, to make decisions faster and give them a strategic advantage on the battlefield.

Today, the battlespace data is collected and coordinated using a service-oriented enterprise infrastructure. Northrop Grumman has been the main developer for the Tactical Services Oriented Architecture (TSOA) since 2017. This publish-and-subscribe data hub allows for the dissemination of tactical information quickly to the users that need it most – like the distribution of information from the Marine at the tactical edge of the battlespace to the command operations centre.

“Getting a chance to be the program manager for C2PC and TSOA is incredible because they are tools I used when I was in the military and I believe in them,” commented Marcus Hinckley, C2PC/TSOA program manager, Northrop Grumman and a 25-year USMC veteran. “We used C2PC while I was deployed for training exercises and combat, and we were able to share near real-time information across the entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and across joint forces to deconflict the battlespace and ultimately, deliver fires faster to defeat the enemy”. This is a task, he says, that would have taken significantly longer without having access to C2PC.

For two decades, Northrop Grumman’s support of C2PC software has improved C2 for operational forces in over 40 countries. The company was recently awarded an IDIQ follow-on contract to continue its previous work with the Marine Corps for C2PC and TSOA. As the future of JADC2 continues to evolve, mature and cyber-secure programmes such as C2PC and TSOA will play a significant role in expanding the capabilities for the US DoD in its journey to connect the joint forces.