C O R P O R A T I O N MIRANDA PRIEBE, DOUGLAS C. LIGOR, BRUCE MCCLINTOCK, MICHAEL SPIRTAS, KAREN SCHWINDT, CAITLIN LEE, ASHLEY L. RHOADES, DEREK EATON, QUENTIN E. HODGSON, BRYAN ROONEY Multiple Dilemmas Challenges and Options for All-Domain Command and Control For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RRA381-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0628-6 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2020 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover: Jets: Marine Corps Air Station Miramar; Satellite: Getty Images/iStockphoto; Ships: Jarrod A. Schad; Tanks: Spc. Marcus Floyd; Cyber screen: J.M. Eddins Jr. Cover design: Rick Penn-Kraus Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. 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Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface In order to counter increasingly capable near-peer competitors, the services have been developing new concepts for multidomain operations (MDOs), which aspire to better integrate operations in the air, land, maritime, space, and cyber domains as well as in the electromagnetic spectrum and information environment. The U.S. Air Force asked the RAND Corporation to identify potential changes to command-and-control (C2) doctrine, authorities, and systems to enable MDOs. The research reported here was commissioned by Major General Charles Corcoran, who was then Director of Air and Space Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa and conducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE as part of a fiscal year 2019 project Multi/ All-Domain Command and Control Doctrine, Authorities, and Information Systems. RAND Project AIR FORCE RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corporation, is the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF’s) federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses, supporting both the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force. PAF provides the DAF with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future air, space, and cyber forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Strategy and Doctrine; Force Modernization and Employment; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; and Resource Management. The research reported here was prepared under contract FA7014-16-D-1000. Additional information about PAF is available on our website: www.rand.org/paf/ This report documents work originally shared with the DAF on September 20, 2019. The draft report, issued on September 27, 2019, was reviewed by formal peer reviewers and DAF subject-matter experts. iii Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iii Figures............................................................................................................................................ vi Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vii Summary ...................................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... x Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. xi 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Emerging Concepts for Multidomain Operations ....................................................................... 2 Scope and Assumptions .............................................................................................................. 7 Organization of This Report ....................................................................................................... 8 2. Potential Command-and-Control Impediments to Multidomain Operations ............................ 10 Aspirations for Joint All-Domain Command and Control ........................................................ 10 Command-and-Control Characteristics That Could Impede Multidomain Operation ............. 11 Sources of Information ............................................................................................................. 13 3. Potential Legal and Regulatory Impediments to Multidomain Operations .............................. 16 Laws, Regulations, and Doctrine .............................................................................................. 17 Key Elements of the Current Legal Framework ....................................................................... 19 Potential Impediments .............................................................................................................. 22 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 34 4. Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses: Challenges to Planning and Executing Multidomain Operations ......................................................................................................... 36 Multidomain Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses .................................................................. 37 Planning for a Contingency ...................................................................................................... 38 Planning During a Contingency ................................................................................................ 41 Execution and Assessment ........................................................................................................ 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 48 5. Integrating Offensive Cyber Operations into Multidomain Operations ................................... 49 Planning for a Contingency ...................................................................................................... 49 Planning During a Contingency ................................................................................................ 56 Execution and Assessment ........................................................................................................ 58 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 59 6. Integrating Offensive Space Control Operations into Multidomain Operations ...................... 61 Planning for a Contingency ...................................................................................................... 61 Planning During a Contingency ................................................................................................ 63 iv Execution and Assessment ........................................................................................................ 65 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 65 7. Air and Missile Defense: Command-and-Control Enablers of Multidomain Operations ........ 67 Notional Multidomain Air-and-Missile-Defense Scenario ....................................................... 68 Planning for a Contingency ...................................................................................................... 69 Planning During a Contingency ................................................................................................ 71 Execution and Assessment ........................................................................................................ 73 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 75 8. Summary of Findings on Potential Command-and-Control Impediments to Multidomain Operations ......................................................................................................... 77 9. Alternative Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control Constructs ........................................... 80 Other Command-and-Control Challenges in a Conflict with a Near-Peer Adversary ............. 80 Generating Alternative Command-and-Control