Army holding Project Convergence industry day this month

The Army is holding an industry day this month for participants interested in the service's Project Convergence exercise, according to a notice posted Thursday.

The Army has held Project Convergence, the service’s campaign of learning and experimentation with the joint and multinational force, since 2020. The next event is scheduled for the spring of 2024.

According to the notice, the industry day is scheduled for Aug. 22, and will focus on addressing challenges such as “reconnoitering and securing far side of wet gap crossing,” autonomous delivery of large quantities of supplies, management of autonomous systems, erosion control in wet gap crossing and the ability to defeat targeting and delivery capabilities of precision munitions.

Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo said earlier this week at a Potomac Officers Club meeting that the next Project Convergence will take place at the theater level and will include ballistic missile defense. The exercise, he said, will feature more participants than in prior years including with joint services and more partners and allies.

“And it will incorporate the ability to experiment with emerging technology in really fundamentally creative and innovative ways,” he said.

Camarillo said the Army wants to experiment with technology in a way that is more collaborative with industry going forward, saying this is a campaign of learning that is not a “discreet, standalone, isolated Army effort.”

Camarillo added that Army Futures Command is expected to deliver drafts either by the end of this year or early next year “to facilitate more of what they refer to as a campaign of deep learning and experimentation across the Army.” Going forward, requirements will need to be written in a way that focuses more on how technology evolves, and more feedback from soldier touchpoints will need to be incorporated, he said.

“All of this to say, rather than starting programs, we want to experiment with technology, we want to learn, we want to iterate on concepts, and most importantly we want to do it as part of the joint force,” he said.