NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Military leaders from across the world gathered at the Command and Control (C2) Summit, held here Jan. 13-14, to discuss how the Air Force works with joint and allied partners to improve C2 capabilities.
The annual summit, hosted by the Air Combat Command commander, is a key forum for discussing strategies within the USAF’s component structure and the broader C2 enterprise as they relate to challenges within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and other theaters.
“Forging U.S. and coalition partner relations is critical to our ability to leverage their capabilities and capacity as we collectively face fifth generation adversaries,” said Gen. Ken Wilsbach, ACC commander. “We must ensure we are ready to command and control an integrated fighting force to uphold our common shared values.”
Senior leaders from across the Air Force and Department of Defense participated in this year’s summit, representing U.S. combatant commands, USAF major commands and joint services. They were joined by allied and partner representatives from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and NATO to discuss the respective contributions to the joint and coalition all-domain effort.
U.S. and allied leaders reaffirmed their commitment to upholding core democratic values, individual liberty, human rights, and national sovereignty. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a coalition of U.S., Australia, India, and Japan, also reinforced its support for a rules-based international order, freedom of navigation, and democratic values in the Indo-Pacific.
“Should competition degrade into conflict, our ability to rapidly field weapons systems at the speed of relevancy, train multi-domain operators, and effectively command and control forces against a highly capable adversary will enable the U.S. and partner nations to increase combat effectiveness while reducing risk to mission force in a complex wartime environment,” said Maj. Gen. David Shoemaker, ACC’s director of Air and Space Operations.
DoD participants also discussed the available U.S. warfighting resources and capabilities that could support the different combatant commanders’ campaign plans, with an emphasis on identifying and addressing any gaps that might limit an integrated, all-domain response. Coalition partners added valuable insights into their own C2 and domain awareness capabilities and how they could integrate them into U.S.-led operations.