The U.S. Army has identified about $3.3 billion in requested fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding for its Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) battlefield network modernization, but it lacks the long-term cost and schedule information needed to determine whether it can scale the effort across the service within available resources, according to an Aug. 20 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
The Army has a tentative goal of fielding NGC2’s full technology stack across 11 divisions and four corps by the end of FY 2032. However, GAO found that the service has not developed a detailed schedule identifying which specific units will receive the modernized capabilities by fiscal year, and it has not developed a life-cycle cost estimate for the overall effort.
The Army has developed specific short-term schedules through FY 2027. Those plans include fielding NGC2’s full technology stack at the 4th Infantry Division, partially fielding it at the 25th Infantry Division, and fielding equipment to I Corps and the 7th Infantry Division during FY 2027.
Army officials told GAO that the estimated cost of NGC2’s full technology stack for the 4th Infantry Division is more than $1 billion, including hardware, software, and licensing costs. Officials also said potential NGC2 costs could exceed several billion dollars per fiscal year depending on the number and types of units fielded, the Army’s 30-month replacement strategy, and software licensing costs.
NGC2 is the Army’s long-term battlefield network modernization effort and is intended to provide information to users more quickly to support decision-making. Its full technology stack consists of four layers – application, data, infrastructure, and transport – and includes both software prototypes and hardware technologies.
The effort follows the Army’s nearer-term Command and Control Fix (C2 Fix), which Army officials described to GAO as a precursor and “down payment” for NGC2. The Army fielded C2 Fix to three divisions and part of another division in FY 2026.
GAO found that the Army’s modernization approach incorporates some elements of an iterative business case, including collecting user feedback and responding to changing technologies and market conditions. The Army is also using flexible procurement authorities and multiple acquisition pathways, which GAO said may help the service respond to evolving technologies and operational needs.
For NGC2 software prototypes, the Army awarded other transaction agreements to Anduril Industries and Lockheed Martin in August 2025. Army officials told GAO that the multi-vendor approach helps increase innovation and allows the service to reconsider technology choices as needs change or new technologies become available.
The Army also plans to divest some legacy systems under NGC2’s transport and infrastructure layers through a 30-month replacement strategy.
GAO recommended that the Army develop a detailed fielding schedule that identifies specific units that will receive NGC2 capabilities by fiscal year. It also recommended that the Army determine preliminary life-cycle costs for the overall NGC2 effort, regularly update those estimates, and provide an initial estimate as part of the Army’s FY 2028 budget request.
The Department of Defense (DOD) concurred with both recommendations and provided GAO with information on steps the Army plans to take to implement them.
Under the Trump administration, the DOD was rebranded as the Department of War.