According to the US Defense News website on December 11th, two US military officials involved in the project said that the US Army plans to conduct stress testing on the next-generation command and control integrated data layer on classified networks for the first time in its large-scale "Fusion Program - Keystone 5" experiment. According to reports, the US military demonstrated its ability to integrate data layers during an exercise in New Jersey in September this year, but fusion testing will be a bigger challenge. Matt Skaggs, Director of Tactical Applications and Architecture at the Army Future Command, said on the 10th, "Our most recent demonstration was in New Jersey, but that was more about driving data in tactical transport mode. But this will be our first time testing data on a classified network. We will extract real-time data and integrate it into various combat modes. Therefore, this will be a very big push. Frankly speaking, this is unprecedented." The integrated data layer is a user interface where sensors from multiple fields can work together to provide enemy target information and other data needed by combat personnel. Since the introduction of the concept of joint global command and control, the Pentagon has been pursuing the ability to share critical data. The integrated data layer creates an architecture that allows various echelons, including artillery, aviation, and frontline troops, to communicate with each other, eliminating the need for individual combat personnel to digest and analyze various data within the system. Skaggs said, "Our original intention is to establish an integrated ecosystem that allows data that typically runs on different data models to run on the same basis. This way, everyone can have a global view of the combat environment." He said that without interfaces such as integrated data layers, the process of integrating data is much more complex. What we are doing now is combining all of this data and integrating it into one system, which allows us to cover all relevant fields simultaneously, "Skaggs added. Mike Kalustian, Director of Transportation and Cybersecurity at the Army Future Command, stated that the integrated data layer will be an "absolute priority" for the Army's next-generation command and control program. He said that through this data layer, combat personnel can focus more on interpreting data rather than collecting it. He added that the new data layer will enable us to focus more on three areas of research: edge computing, diversified data transmission and software defined networks. Kalustian said, "These are the three areas we should truly focus on, ensuring the collection of as much data as possible and ensuring the horizontal and vertical flow of data between tiers." Skaggs believes that data transmission will go beyond that, and it will also have artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to calibrate and standardize data. (New Society)