Modern military operations are increasinglydefined not by the movement of people and equipment alone, but by the abilityto move, protect and exploit data.
In a thought-provoking Royal SignalsInstitution talk, Guy Bewsher and Rob Wright of Nexor argued that Defencestands at a pivotal moment in the evolution of command and control, wheretraditional network-centric approaches must give way to a more agile andresilient data-centric model.
The speakers began by examining the historicalfoundations of command and control. Drawing parallels with the Royal AirForce’s integrated air defence system during the Second World War, they notedthat many contemporary military architectures remain fundamentallyhierarchical, with information flowing vertically through command structuresbefore decisions are made and disseminated.
While such approaches have servedmilitary forces well for decades, they are increasingly challenged by the pace,complexity and scale of modern warfare.
Today’s operational environment ischaracterised by an unprecedented volume of information generated by sensorsacross every domain. As military formations seek to operate at greater speed,traditional processes struggle to transform this data into actionable insightquickly enough.
The emergence of Multi-Domain Operations, supported byartificial intelligence and distributed decision-making, demands afundamentally different approach. Future command and control systems mustenable data to move rapidly between formations, services and coalitionpartners, reducing the time between observation, decision and action.
Lessons from Ukraine: operating in contested environments
The conflict in Ukraine provides a compellingillustration of these challenges. The war has demonstrated the intensity ofcontemporary electromagnetic contestation, with communications, navigationsystems, satellite links and unmanned systems all subjected to persistentelectronic attack.
The speakers highlighted how both sides have adapted throughtechniques such as bearer hopping, software-defined communications and the useof alternative communications pathways. The lesson for Western militaries is clear:future operations should be expected to occur in denied, degraded, intermittentand limited (DDIL) environments where assured connectivity cannot be taken forgranted.
Alongside operational challenges, the cyberthreat continues to accelerate. Artificial intelligence is significantlyreducing the time required for hostile actors to identify vulnerabilities,penetrate systems and exfiltrate data.
The speakers cited evidence that attackswhich previously required days or weeks can now be conducted in hours throughthe use of autonomous AI-enabled tools. In this environment, traditionalperimeter-based security models become increasingly insufficient.
Securing the data, not just the network
Central to the presentation was the concept ofData-Centric Security (DCS). Rather than relying solely on trusted networks toprotect information, DCS embeds security directly within the data itself.Information is encrypted and accompanied by metadata specifying who can accessit, under what conditions and for what purpose.
These controls travel with thedata regardless of where it is stored or transmitted, ensuring security remainsintact even when information crosses organisational or network boundaries. Thisapproach aligns closely with Zero Trust principles and NATO’s evolvingstandards for information sharing.
The speakers explained that DCS offers severaladvantages over traditional network-centric architectures. By protecting theinformation itself, data can be transported over multiple networks and bearerswithout requiring every system to be integrated into the same trustedenvironment.
This supports greater interoperability while maintaining security,reducing the need for expensive segregation of physical infrastructure andenabling information exchange across coalition, governmental and commercialpartners.
However, the transition is not withoutchallenges. Data-centric security introduces additional complexity in areassuch as metadata management, identity assurance, cryptographic key distributionand standards compliance.
The approach also relies upon some level ofcommunications connectivity and can introduce overheads in constrained tacticalenvironments. Consequently, implementation across Defence will require agradual and carefully managed evolution rather than wholesale replacement ofexisting systems.
Building interoperability across Defence
The discussion then broadened to data-centricinteroperability. The presenters argued that Defence has historically focusedon system integration rather than interoperability, creating expensive andoften inflexible solutions. Modern operational requirements demand a differentapproach. Instead of integrating systems directly, organisations shouldexchange data through common standards and architectures, allowing informationto be shared irrespective of the platform that generated it.
To support this vision, Nexor has been workingwith the Ministry of Defence and other stakeholders on the development of the All-DomainData Interoperability (ADDI) capability. Intended to underpin initiatives suchas the Digital Targeting Web and Maritime Fighting Web, ADDI seeks to establisha Defence-owned interoperability architecture that enables data exchangebetween diverse systems without requiring extensive bespoke integration.
Demonstrations have shown data flowing successfully between strategic,operational and NATO systems, illustrating the potential for a more flexibleand scalable approach.
Accelerating innovation through data sharing
A particularly important theme was therelationship between interoperability and innovation. The speakers observedthat technological adaptation in Ukraine is now occurring at a pace measured inweeks or months rather than years.
By reducing dependency on platform-specificintegration, data-centric architectures could enable Defence to incorporate newtechnologies more rapidly, including solutions developed by smaller companies,academic institutions and start-ups. In turn, this would broaden the defence innovationecosystem and accelerate the deployment of operationally relevant capabilities.
Data as a critical operational asset
In conclusion, the lecture argued that successin future warfare will depend upon the ability to treat data as the criticaloperational asset. Command and control architectures designed for an era ofassured connectivity and trusted networks are becoming increasingly vulnerableto cyber-attack, electronic warfare and operational complexity. A shift towardsdata-centric security and interoperability offers a pathway to greaterresilience, agility and collaborative advantage.
As Defence seeks to exploitartificial intelligence, support distributed operations and maintain decisionsuperiority against sophisticated adversaries, the ability to secure and sharedata effectively may become one of the defining challenges of the digitalwarfighting era.
