The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the C4ISR Industry for the US Department of Defense

Geopolitical Chaos

• Why:
  • Potential US adversaries are advancing their political, economic, and military goals in regional conflicts.
  • These nations are also demonstrating effective C4ISR capabilities and continue to make impressive gains in surveillance and targeting technologies.
• Frost Perspective:
  • The US DoD is working with the defense industry to maintain a military technological advantage and develop countermeasures to adversary weapons.
  • Funding will continue for advanced C4ISR systems because they are an essential part of US situational awareness and battlefield success.

Internal Challenges

• Why:
  • C4ISR system developers face several supply chain, acquisition, and operational challenges as they improve current systems and develop new ones.
  • An important operational problem is how to deal with adversary drone strikes, especially when several weapons are launched simultaneously.
• Frost Perspective:
  • Improving the defense of fixed sites and empowered edge mobile forces from drone attack is a high priority for the US DoD.
  • Effective systems are being deployed, but integrating them across networks, regions, and organizations remains a difficult challenge.

Transformative Megatrends

• Why:
  • Big data analytics is an important trend that impacts commercial businesses of all kinds and military forces.
  • The ability to collect, standardize, visualize, and interpret data from varied sources is essential.
• Frost Perspective:
  • The US DoD is working to leverage data collected from multiple domains and bring it together so that commanders can make fast and accurate decisions.
  • C4ISR systems, empowered by commercial IT trends such as embedded sensors, cloud computing, and AI are transforming battlefield tactics and practices.

Competitive Environment

Growth Drivers

• At-scale counter unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) are now essential for operational success. Recent combat experience from several regions shows marked increases in targeting effectiveness and lethality provided by unmanned systems. CUAS embodies several C4ISR technologies that must be integrated and expanded.
• All branches of the armed forces need to greatly improve the speed and accuracy of operational decisions. Continuing data modernization efforts are driving many aspects of C4ISR to ensure that available information can be visualized and acted on. The DoD is building joint network environments and tools that can be used across each department and at all echelons.

Growth Restraints

• Sporadic IT supply chain problems and technology gaps remain across the DoD, restraining some C4ISR program modernization. Overreliance on foreign products in the past has led defense officials and Congress to emphasize the need to produce more microelectronics and software in the United States.
• Over the last few years, defense budgets have not passed soon after they are requested. Though political differences are expected, the process of adopting continuing resolutions negatively impacts some C4ISR program spending, contract awards, product pipelines, and operational flexibility. New programs that are essential for modernization are delayed because of budget impasses.

Other Key Competitors

Air Force/Space Force

• Solid State Scientific
• Boeing
• Blue Ivy Partners
• InDyne
• BAE
• Palantir
• Assured Info Security
• BrainGu
• SAIC
• Long Wave
• Carahsoft
• ITSC Secure Solutions
• Intelligent Waves
• Logistics Mgmt. Institute
• Second Front Systems
• Rise8
• DarkHive
• Optima
• Johns Hopkins Univ.
• Cmd. Cyber Solutions
• Apogee Engineering
• EMESEC
• Peraton
• Motorola
• Texas A&M Univ.

Army

• L3Harris Technologies
• SRC
• BAE
• Longbow
• Leonardo
• BAH
• LinTech Pragmatics JV
• Danbury Mission Tech.
• Micros Technologies
• ECS Federal
• CAI
• SAIC
• Kratos
• Teledyne FLIR
• QinetiQ
• Telephonics
• Hewlett Packard
• Applied Research
• Seed Innovations
• Boeing
• CACI
• Plateau Software
• TRX
• Intuitive Research
• CWU

Joint Services

• Verato
• Array USA
• Deloitte Consulting
• Peraton
• Cape Fox Facilities
• Sierra Nevada
• SecuriGene
• Cherokee Insights
• Akiak NS
• BlackWatch Int.
• SAIC
• Leonardo
• nTSI LLC
• Akima Data Mgt.
• Agile Decision Sciences
• Systems Planning
• University of Maryland
• Red River Technology
• Tyto Govt. Solutions
• MCP Compute
• Barbaricum
• iGov Technologies
• NextTech Solutions
• CCS Lintech JV

Navy/Marine Corps

• Charles Stark Draper
• American EW Assoc.
• General Dynamics
• SRC
• Serco
• Sierra Nevada
• CNF Technologies
• General Atomics
• Argon ST
• Saab
• Textron
• Innovative Defense
• GovCi
• Great Hills Solutions
• Katmai Mgt. Services
• Fortier Electronic Sys.
• Kratos
• Leidos
• Applied Technology
• Viasat
• INDUS Technology
• SACI
• University of Texas
• Cobham
• Assurance Technology