Army's NGC2 integration test reveals technical hurdles as it scales beyond pilot unit
The U.S. Army tested Anduril's Lattice command system with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and encountered integration challenges with legacy communications equipment, though officials called the difficulties expected growing pains.
What happened
In September, the Army's 25th Infantry Division attempted to use Anduril's Lattice platform during Lightning Surge 5, a training exercise in Hawaii designed to test the NGC2 command-and-control system. The test revealed integration issues when Lattice was paired with older communications radios and equipment different from those used in the 4th Infantry Division's successful pilot program in Colorado.
Lockheed Martin, serving as the integrator, and Anduril officials acknowledged the challenges. Lockheed's Chandra Marshall noted that data passing through the system "is not at the state it should be right now." Anduril's James Craven said the team encountered different radio waveforms, new mission types, and environmental factors: the 25th ID operates in Hawaii's dense jungle terrain with lighter Infantry Squad Vehicles, whereas the 4th ID in Colorado used Strykers on open plains.
Brigadier General Shane Taylor, the Army's C2IN portfolio manager, characterized the issues as "normal growing pains" when integrating systems that have not worked together before. Officials said the 25th ID's architecture is more representative of what most Army units will face, since unlike the 4th ID's fresh fielding, other units will have to blend Lattice with legacy systems. Anduril and the Army are now addressing technical optimizations, including scaling down edge computing to tablets and coordinating radio channel configurations before broader fielding across I Corps begins within fiscal year 2027.
Background
NGC2 is the Army's program to replace a patchwork of legacy command-and-control systems with a unified data layer and applications. Anduril, founded in 2017, leads the NGC2 prototype team alongside Palantir and others. In May 2026, the Army awarded Anduril a $1.8 billion contract to expand NGC2 from the 4th Infantry Division pilot to the entire I Corps. The 4th ID test in Colorado was successful but used new commercial hardware and software. The 25th ID test marks the first attempt to integrate Lattice with existing Army communications infrastructure, a more representative scenario for nationwide rollout.
What to watch next
The Army plans to baseline and field NGC2 to other I Corps divisions within fiscal year 2027. Officials said they will continue refining configurations and validations based on lessons from the 25th ID test before broader rollout. The continuing resolution and logistics across geographically dispersed units—including Alaska and the Pacific—may affect pacing and timelines.
Sources
- Original report: Army feels ‘growing pains’ as it integrates Anduril NGC2 tech with older comms (Breaking Defense, Oct 19, 2026) Defense media
- Breaking Defense: Army feels ‘growing pains’ as it integrates Anduril NGC2 tech with older comms Defense media
Written by Anduril News with AI assistance from the original report and other coverage, in plain English. It can contain mistakes; check the original for anything important. How we write these.
