The U.S. Army’s capability development process plays a critical role in ensuring military readiness and technological superiority. Over the years, this process has evolved, particularly with the establishment of Army Futures Command (AFC) in 2018. AFC is focused on delivering the Army of 2030 and designing the Army of 2040 by amplifying transformation efforts across the Army. However, even with these advancements, challenges persist, especially with the rapid pace of technological change and evolving global threats. Dcode’s expertise in technology integration, agile acquisition, and workforce development plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges, ensuring the Army remains agile and adaptable to future needs.
Army Capability Development: Where We Are Today
AFC plays a central role in the Army’s continuous transformation, tasked with transforming the force to meet future challenges. While AFC focuses on emerging threats, operational gaps, and long-term modernization strategies, the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) (ASA(ALT)) oversees acquisition, logistics, and technology development. Together, these entities work to streamline the development and integration of new capabilities across the Army. However, with multiple organizations involved, from Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to Army Materiel Command (AMC), the process can become complicated, leading to organizational and bureaucratic challenges that slow the integration of new technologies. Dcode is helping the Army navigate these complexities, using our proprietary Win™ Framework and structured, human-centered methodology.
The Role of Technology Integration in Future-Proofing the Army
One of the Army’s greatest challenges in the capability development process is keeping up with the rapid pace of technological advancements. Conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war have shown how quickly the battlefield can shift, especially with the integration of technologies like drones, cyber warfare, and artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, the widespread use of drones in Ukraine heightened the urgency for the Army to accelerate the fielding and upgrades of counter-drone systems and related emerging technologies.
Being uniquely connected across federal innovators, emerging tech companies, and venture capital, Dcode helps create resilience in the face of rapid change in several ways.
First, by working with AFC and collaborating on other cross-cutting initiatives to perform horizon scanning and tech scouting, Dcode helps identify emerging technologies that the Army can leverage to maintain its edge in the future battlespace, helping ensure that the Army is constantly exposed to the latest innovations and trends, whether it’s in AI, machine learning, or autonomous systems.
But while it’s easy to make the tech the only focus, outdated systems and structures also impact the integration of new technologies. If you’re a warfighter, or at TRADOC, or even in AFC, and you’ve identified a need, how do you leverage the complexities of the organization and processes to get the technology or capability you need – even if the specific solution is known? That’s where Dcode comes in. Our Methodology and Framework consider all the key functional areas we know to be the enablers for success with technology integration.
Our goal is to provide decision-making frameworks that can adapt to whatever new technology arrives, ensuring the Army can maintain alignment between its mission needs, stakeholders, and leadership, no matter how the tech landscape changes.
Creating a More Agile Acquisition Process
Second, Dcode uses our extensive knowledge of government acquisition and the world of tech to increase “fiscal agility” – future-proofing the budget process to both keep pace with the best emerging technology and avoid being locked into outdated hardware and software.
Critics have called the traditional acquisition process slow and bureaucratic, but leaders can build flexibility into it to future-proof the Army’s capability development. By implementing agile contracting mechanisms, the Army can continuously upgrade systems based on real-time feedback from soldiers and commanders. This iterative approach ensures that systems remain relevant and adaptable to the changing needs of the battlefield. By uncovering the hidden roadblocks to agile and flexible acquisition, Dcode helps the Army adopt new technologies faster.
Preparing the Workforce for the Future
Finally, in addition to improving technology integration and bringing fiscal agility to acquisition, the Army must also make its workforce future-ready to stay competitive. This means not only equipping personnel with technical skills but also fostering a culture of innovation. Dcode promotes innovative culture through its expertise on data literacy and workforce development, ensuring that the Army has a tech-savvy workforce capable of integrating emerging technologies into day-to-day operations. As AI and data technologies become more critical to decision-making, logistics, and combat operations, having a workforce that can effectively leverage these tools will be key to future success; the tech itself isn’t enough.
Looking Ahead: Shaping a Future-Ready Army
The U.S. Army’s capability development process is at a turning point. With the rapid pace of technological change and the evolving nature of global conflicts, there is an urgent need for faster, more flexible responses. Dcode uniquely helps the Army navigate this transformation. By offering expertise in technology integration, agile acquisition, and workforce development, we can help future-proof the Army’s ability to maintain its technological edge. Through our work with AFC and other key Army stakeholders, we ensure that the Army can not only meet today’s challenges, but prepare for the future battlefield, today.
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Bringing it All Together: Next Generation C2
Contemporary Army modernization priorities require a new approach to navigating the Army’s capability development process, sometimes referred to as the transformation ecosystem. The Army’s current focus on command and control (C2) technology is a prime example. Next Generation C2 (NGC2) envisions an integrated data layer, open architecture, interoperability, and edge power providing the warfighter at all echelons a common operating picture and decision advantage over the enemy. Past approaches to capability development fail to continually deliver the latest C2 technology to the warfighter. Dcode’s position at the nexus of the defense industrial base, emerging technology investment, and government transformation is helping the Army chart a new approach for C2, one that will leverage the software pathway and effectively integrate concepts, experimentation, requirements, and program management to ensure NGC2 stays in front of warfighter needs.
