Could the recent simulator serve as a testbed for the advanced Joint All-Domain Command and Control system?
A fresh take on military simulation: The Rapid Campaign Analysis and Demonstration Environment (RCADE), developed by Raytheon, is a powerful tool designed to help military leaders and industry innovators assess the performance of platforms, weapons, and networks under fire, offering a platform to test out the systems powering Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), the Pentagon's ambitious plan to link sensors and shooters worldwide.
This cutting-edge simulator, operational from Raytheon's defense division, evaluates an architecture of current or future systems to achieve campaign objectives—such as thwarting an invasion by disabling a specified number of threats. Despite similar programs like the Air Force's Synthetic Theater Operations Research Model (STORM) and the more recent Joint Simulation Environment, RCADE excels by running simulations at unprecedented scale and delivering rapid results—foregoing the standard wait of weeks or months for hours instead.
"We crafted RCADE from the ground up to be adaptable, theater-scale, and flexible," says George Blaha, chief tech fellow at Raytheon, during a media event in August. "We could analyze airpower missions, Navy missions, and examine them all together in a joint, multi-domain battle."
Lightning-fast insights were key to RCADE's development, as Blaha elaborates, "Speed was an indispensable requirement...for us to gather insights speedily." The system casts a wide net, exploring countless concepts for architectures, orders of battle, strategies and more, ensuring it isn't limited to a monotonous, one-size-fits-all approach.
RCADE is also impressively large-scale, accommodating thousands of entities in a single scenario, making it an invaluable asset at the planning and programming level.
Blaha offers an example demonstrating RCADE's capabilities. In one simulation, defensive U.S. and Canadian fighter jets took off from military airfields alone, which limited their combat area presence and permitted numerous threats to reach the continental U.S. However, in a second run, the fighter jets refueled at nearby civilian airfields—reflecting the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept—extending their combat time and decreasing threats by 25 percent.
RCADE presents an appealing feature for side-by-side scenario comparison and analysis, plus the added benefit of evaluating upgrades like over-the-horizon radar, long-range air-to-air missiles, and improved command-and-control systems. With RCADE, hundreds of simulation runs can be showcased on a concise chart, displaying metrics like the percentage of cruise missiles destroyed on one axis and intercept distance from the continental U.S. on the other.
"Many variables can be adjusted in these simulations, from command and control behaviors to logistics behaviors and more," Blaha explains.
In today's climate, RTX—known until recently as Raytheon Technologies—is focusing on offering more than individual systems such as missiles and sensors. Instead, it wants to establish itself as the go-to source for analysis of system interactions.
"Our role as a tier one prime is to comprehend mission priorities and assess architectures and scenarios that inform the right decisions," explains Paul Ferraro, president of air power at Raytheon. This perspective aligns with the Air Force's mission to bolster its "kill chain"—the sequence of operations needed to spot, identify, track, and eliminate specific targets—which has been a focus since the 1991 Gulf War.
Brig. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey, the Air Force's integrating program executive officer for command, control, communications, and battle management, plays a pivotal role in the branch's response. As he stated at an industry event in August, "Architecture triumphs over products. In order to win long-term, you must have an architecture that's relatively agnostic to the individual nodes or agents within that architecture." Ferraro emphasizes that RCADE is not for sale but its development and operation rely on shared data between the company and the government through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.
RTX has already tapped RCADE for testing systems that could empower JADC2, as evidenced by a June 7 press release detailing a yearlong ground station data collection process in RCADE for the Army, followed by a three-month field test of the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node—another RTX product designed to enhance connectivity between space, sea, and land sensors to deliver longer-range precision fire.
Initially conceived in 2016 as the Cross-Domain Maritime Surveillance and Targeting Program to model long-range attack possibilities on enemy ships and submarines in contested environments, RCADE has since experienced massive growth and interest from the Army, Air Force, and Office of the Secretary of Defense. Blaha emphasizes that, despite ongoing improvements, RCADE has ultimately found its stride.
Although RCADE still has room for advancement—particularly in the space domain and AI/machine learning—it has proven itself as a powerful ally in the evolving landscape of military operations, providing real-time insights to bolster decision-making and adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape.
- RCADE, a tool developed by Raytheon, evaluates current or future systems to achieve campaign objectives, including those powering JADC2, the Pentagon's plan to link sensors and shooters worldwide.
- George Blaha, chief tech fellow at Raytheon, states that RCADE runs simulations at unprecedented scale, delivering rapid results, foregoing the standard wait of weeks or months for hours instead.
- RCADE is adaptable, theater-scale, and flexible, examining airpower missions, Navy missions, and encompassing thousands of entities in a single scenario.
- RCADE can assess the impact of upgrades like over-the-horizon radar, long-range air-to-air missiles, and improved command-and-control systems on military operations.
- Paul Ferraro, president of air power at Raytheon, explains that RTX's role is to comprehend mission priorities and assess architectures and scenarios that inform the right decisions, aligning with the Air Force's mission to enhance its "kill chain."
- RCADE has experienced massive growth and interest from the Army, Air Force, and Office of the Secretary of Defense, with RTX already tapping it for testing systems that could empower JADC2.
