The pending fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill would direct most geographic combatant commands (COCOMs) to develop plans to create commercial integration cells to help them work more closely with industry to provide capabilities for their respective operating areas.
In addition, the proposed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directs each COCOM to also plan to add a chief technology officer (CTO) to oversee the commercial integration cell and report directly to the combatant commander on the cell’s activities.
Democrat and Republican leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees on Thursday released their conference report for the FY ’24 NDAA, which still requires approval by Congress.
The provision for the commercial integration cells applies to U.S. Africa Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, and Southern Command. U.S. Central Command already has a CTO, Schuyler Moore, who has been in the position for a year after she worked at Naval Forces Central Command’s Task Force 59, which assesses and demonstrates the integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into maritime operations for the Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations.
The success of Task Force 59 led to the Navy 4th Fleet this year to establish Task Force 49 to conduct similar integrated unmanned system and AI evaluations in Southern Command’s operating area.
Once the NDAA is signed into law, Congress wants each COCOM to provide the Armed Services Committees with a briefing within 180 days on the “feasibility, costs, and benefits of establishing a commercial integration cell.”
U.S. Space Command, which is responsible for military operations in space, has a commercial integration cell that includes cooperative agreements with at least 10 companies, including SpaceX, Maxar, Viasat Inc. [VSAT] and others. In June, the command said it would significantly expand its commercial cell (Defense Daily, June 14).
Space Command’s integration cell at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., gives the member companies an opportunity to more intimately understand the command’s needs and it provides the command with insight on current and emerging commercial capabilities.