The nation-state hack of the networks of multiple federal agencies illustrates the growing importance of cyber as a critical warfighting domain. The U.S. Cyber Command’s Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA) is a concept to bring together existing cyber systems under development in the various military services into an integrated system of systems or unified platform.  Cyber forces can then go into one platform to perform a wide range of tasks from training to accessing command and control decision systems.  The JCWA is broken into five elements, which include common firing platforms for a comprehensive suite of cyber tools, a unified platform that will integrate and analyze data from offensive and defensive operations, joint command-and control mechanisms for situational awareness, sensors that support defense of the network and drive operational decisions, and a persistent cyber training environment.  However, according to an audit report released by the Government Accountability Office in November 2020, Cyber Command has not defined goals for the JCWA that would describe how current and future systems would interoperate.

Cyber Command has stood up an integration office and a capability management office to address both the integration and operability challenges. Meanwhile, CYBERCOM will have to define a governance structure to determine the roles and responsibilities of each office and what the military services are doing with their own acquisition programs.  All stakeholders must be clear on how their specific programs will fit into the larger cyber architecture. JCWA will play an integral role in driving the DoD toward “A Common Defense: Modern. Innovative. Joint,” AFCEA DC’s overarching theme for 2021.

Please join AFCEA DC for a virtual event on March 11, 2021 to hear DoD leaders and technology experts discuss how JCWA will be the catalyst for interoperability, coordination, and collaboration across the cyber warfighting domain.