As the global security landscape rapidly evolves, the need for cutting-edge solutions in Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and cyber capabilities is greater than ever. The AFCEA TechNet Transatlantic 2024 Conference, held Dec. 4-5, 2024, in Frankfurt, Germany, brought together stakeholders from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) national governments, defense, and security agencies, as well as industry and academia, to discuss some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities in C4ISR and Cyber.
“The adversary is changing and the amount of data and technology available to the warfighter has increased exponentially.” Said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Pete Andrysiak, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) chief of staff. “We at USEUCOM recognized our current C2 technologies made it harder for us to coordinate and disseminate data in the kinetic environment and we have begun to modernize within the bounds of current resourcing across people, processes and networks.”
Andrysiak, providing formal remarks at the conference, went further to highlight the lessons learned in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the need to improve command and control among Allies and partners. His comments complemented representatives from the U.S. Department of Defense, USEUCOM and component commands, each of whom provided insights and recommendations on interoperability across the U.S. joint force in concert with NATO Allies and Partners. The importance of NATO’s dominance in a multi-dimensional battlefield was also emphasized.
“Events like these open communication between industry and the warfighters to make meaningful progress towards C2 modernization and decision dominance,” said Andrysiak.
U.S. military efforts in Europe since the end of the Cold War have primarily been focused on security cooperation, military partnership programs, and supporting new NATO members. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the operational landscape and the transformation back into a warfighting command. Andrysiak’s underscoring of the importance of focusing on the warfighter and a holistic approach to C2 solutions, including people, processes, networks and data, and infrastructure, mirrors the transformation already underway at USEUCOM to increase capabilities alongside Allies and partners.
The AFCEA TechNet Transatlantic Conference is a critical forum for bringing together warfighting stakeholders across USEUCOM and Components, our NATO Allies and Partners, and industry experts to solve some of the most pressing challenges.