DECEMBER 2024
Does Ukraine Already
Have Functional
CJADC2 Technoloy?
By Kateryna Bondar
Introduction
For decades, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has struggled to make meaningful progress toward
realizing the vision of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2). Meanwhile, in
Ukraine, the Delta situational awareness system has rapidly evolved into a platform that closely
resembles the CJADC2 concept. Delta exemplies software-dened warfare and provides a practical
and agile approach to battleeld management. Unlike the DOD’s top-down vision for CJADC2, which
involves a centrally managed stratey of integrating data ows and operations across all services and
international partners, Delta originated as a bottom-up solution, initially focused on a single, highly
eective application: a digital map for situational awareness. This initial capability has expanded into a
comprehensive ecosystem of software applications that supports nearly the entire Ukrainian military,
from frontline personnel to senior commanders.
The development of Delta can be compared to the approach used by Amazon. Je Bezos’s initial goal
was to create what has been called “the everything store,” but he began by selling only books. Over
time, Amazon gradually expanded its oerings to include a wide range of products. Similarly, Delta
began with a single focused application and progressively added capabilities.
This paper provides analysis of Delta’s technological evolution and capabilities, and it concludes
with lessons that the DOD could apply to CJADC2 and to its broader articial intelligence (AI)
transformation eorts.
Modern warfare has become increasingly complex, requiring commanders to maintain situational
awareness of numerous factors across extensive geographical areas, ideally in real time. The scale of
military operations being conducted by Ukraine is unprecedented for a nation of that size.
