Future warfare will be fast-paced and chaotic. That’s forcing the US Army to rethink the field posts that are increasingly in their enemy’s crosshairs.
The problem for the US is straightforward: Command posts send and receive a high volume of transmissions on battlefield information that an advanced adversary, like Russia or China, could detect and target.
Ukraine has shown this vulnerability by strikes on Russian command posts and killing more than a dozen generals.
These threats have shifted the US Army’s thinking on its new warfighting system, Next Generation Command and Control. The technology, also called NGC2, is a total revamp of how the Army communicates and fights. Most of the capabilities have only been built over the last few months.
Last month at Fort Carson, Colorado, the Army ran a division-level drill with NGC2. The scenario involved a blue and red team fighting alongside many of the capabilities, like electronic warfare, cyber systems, and space-based effects, that the Army anticipates it could face in a potential conflict. It was the most complex testing of NGC2 thus far, with troops wargaming the system in a realistic combat scenario.
“We learned a lot about how to employ that technology and what it feels like when that technology is employed against you,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Ellis, commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, told reporters.
On the ground at Fort Carson, various camouflage tents were spread far out across miles, each concealing vehicles with computers running NGC2. These vehicles make up the command posts for NGC2, designed to be further away from one another and, most importantly, mobile and potentially more survivable.
Anduril Industries was the prime contractor that built the 4th ID’s command system under a $100 million contract awarded in 2025.
Photo by Chris Panella/Business Insider
With the computers in the vehicles themselves, the post can rapidly move to another location. All that needs to be done is breaking down the tent and some other logistics equipment.
“I’d say at the most, like about 30 minutes for us to set up, tear down,” Maj. Dan Hickox told Business Insider outside the command post where soldiers identified enemy targets. The netting that covers the post takes the most time. At other posts, the timeframe was similar. Soldiers could pack up, load the vehicle, and get on the move in half an hour or less.
The posts themselves being dispersed across areas, sometimes miles, and not within visual contact, was initially jarring. “If you were to tell me about eight months ago that I would be by myself” not near complimentary teams, Hickox said, “I probably would have a heart attack. I need to get in there in person, sit down next to people, be able to talk. But now there is chat architecture and everything else, it doesn’t make any difference.”
Command posts are relay points for information and communication regarding every aspect of warfighting, from targeting to medical support, tracking enemy movements, and monitoring how the fight is going. Inside these posts, Army leaders and specialists act as the hubs of intelligence and situational awareness that inform battlefield decisions.
Since these posts are vital to a force’s ability to fight, they are prime targets. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that command posts with large and static footprints can be found, targeted, and destroyed quickly. Ukraine’s success in attacking Russian commanders has shown the US that its command posts are too big and noticeable, and the Army has been rethinking how to shrink and disperse posts to become smaller nodes that are more survivable.
While the vehicle is on the move to another location, soldiers can still communicate, run through data, and keep connected to other posts. There may be a drop in loading or sending time, but it’s not too much to notice. And each command post has built-in redundancy, meaning its functions — like finding targets — can be done by another post if the post is offline or is damaged.
“The fact that we have the ability to maintain communications with folks and it’s not just exclusive to chat” but also voice call, Hickox said, “is really impressive.” It reduces the downtime between an order and reports as it’s executed, small delays that can add up.
Photo by Chris Panella/Business Insider
Having the posts be mobile and easy to set up gives soldiers more options for keeping their signatures obscured on the electromagnetic spectrum. Soldiers said the vehicle could be driven to a number of locations that would help it hide or reduce its chances of being electronically detected, such as a ditch or within trees. In an urban environment, the post could be moved to a built-up area.
And while on the move, the vehicle can more blend into the noise, whether by operating on the same frequencies or connections as other systems or vehicles, or by looking similar on the spectrum to other Army assets so it’s difficult for the enemy to tell who’s who.
Soldiers follow guidelines from command on how to hide in the spectrum, crank up the noise to overwhelm frequencies, or which networks to use. If they lose connection or get jammed, there are backup ways to send data on NGC2.
“I think a lot of it comes down to what we think the enemy is going to be able to monitor and then adjusting from there,” Lt. Col. Tim Chess told Business Insider.
The exercise more broadly ramped up the use of electronic warfare effects on soldiers, including interference and jamming. Some electronic warfare objectives were what Ellis described as learning opportunities, like soldiers identifying the source of jamming and then destroying it in order to resume connection.
“So they also feel the effects of what happens when you destroy it or why you should focus on it because then your radio communications and your digital communications all get better,” he said. “We’re balancing some learning objectives with also reinforcing some good behaviors.”
