The U.S. Army awarded Anduril Industries a contract on Sept. 30 worth up to $1.8 billion over five years to help transition its Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) battlefield software from experimentation to fielding, the company and service announced.
The initial award is $162.8 million for Anduril to continue work on NGC2’s common data baseline—the software foundation that allows different systems to share data—as the Army begins implementing it across I Corps, which commands forces in the Indo-Pacific. The contract includes options that could increase its total value to $1.8 billion.
Anduril previously helped develop the NGC2 prototype for the 4th Infantry Division using its AI-powered operating system Lattice. The company worked alongside Palantir, Raft, and Striveworks to build the baseline.
“A common data layer allows the Army to integrate new systems without rebuilding the underlying architecture for every sensor, application, or weapon, so new capabilities can be fielded on the same foundation as those already in use,” Anduril said in a statement.
NGC2 is designed to let technologies, weapons, sensors, devices, and applications from across the force operate on the same network, increasing decision-making speed on the battlefield. Expanding it to I Corps means systems separated by thousands of miles and facing interrupted or degraded connectivity will need to connect to the same network, testing how information flows across diverse environments.
During a July 2026 ten-day exercise at Fort Irwin, California, called Project Convergence-Capstone 6, the Army tested NGC2 software with 10,000 participants from U.S. and allied forces and industry partners using 90 technologies. Afterward, the Army awarded Anduril the contract to develop the NGC2 prototype for the 4th Infantry Division.
In May, Anduril deployed NGC2 at Fort Carson and Pinon Canyon, using over 160 tactical edge computers, over 2,500 devices, and 40 applications while navigating simulated cyber and electromagnetic attacks. Two months later, after a joint force exercise at Fort Irwin, the service said the system was ready to scale.
NGC2 is set to replace the Army’s first-generation command-and-control system, which helps control fire, logistics, and airspace on the battlefield.
“We know the biggest risk to our national security and our national defense is not moving too fast. It’s not moving fast enough,” said former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. “The side that can sense a target, process the data, and deliver a kinetic effect the fastest, wins. That is the decisive advantage this capability provides.”
Sources: DVIDS News · DVIDS News