INDO-PACIFIC REGION — The Defense Information Systems Agency is deploying network capabilities within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command to create a secure information-sharing space for the U.S. military and international allies. The agency will demonstrate Coalition Information Environment technology during the Olympus Fires joint force exercise.
The Coalition Information Environment provides the network infrastructure for the Mission Partner Environment program. This framework creates a single digital workspace for the U.S. and its international partners to share intelligence and plan operations. The Mission Partner Environment focuses on removing information technology silos between allied nations. The environment uses data-centric security and zero-trust cyber principles to protect information.
DISA has conducted months of testing for the network. The agency plans to release a minimum viable capability for the network by January 2027. DISA is establishing a continuous-integration and continuous-deployment pipeline to deliver initial code for the network environment.
The agency also plans to establish a global network operations and security center to manage, secure, and defend the network. This center will expand to multiple regional centers in the future. Lt. Col. David Courter, DISA chief of combatant command plan integration, said, "We need to simplify the environment in order for us to defend it as optimally as we can. We cannot continue to have 11 different [Secret Internet Protocol Router] Networks on the island of Oahu and five different versions of [Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System]."
The agency plans to deploy Coalition Information Environment capabilities iteratively within Indo-Pacific Command and then scale the architecture to U.S. European Command. DISA is using a software acquisition pathway to field the environment, which allows for iterative purchasing, deployment, and continuous upgrading. The program conducts real-world operational testing and assessments to evaluate system functionality and collect warfighter feedback. Nick Cresswell, MPE portfolio acquisition executive, said, "If you're looking or expecting a large monolithic program to take us five or six years to be able to bring to fruition, then all of a sudden it's just magically in the environment the operator is using it — that is absolutely not the approach that we're taking here."
No independent assessment was available for this report.