Mission Engineering & Integration (ME&I)

The Mission Engineering and Integration (ME&I) program, managed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, is a strategically driven, mission-focused framework designed to synchronize resources and integrate cross-service capabilities to achieve timely and accurate mission effects. The program fulfills mandates from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY17, Section 855, by prioritizing investments in capabilities that address warfighting needs, interoperability, and capability gaps.

ME&I achieves its objectives through rigorous mission engineering activities, Joint Force Integration studies, and advanced modeling and simulation (M&S) analyses that inform technology investment decisions for Department of Defense (DoD) leadership.

Mission Engineering and Integration focuses on conducting Joint Force Integration Mission Engineering studies aligned with National Defense Strategic Guidance, Defense Planning Scenarios, and Key Operational Problems. These studies assess the impact of integrating new technologies and capabilities into critical warfighter missions, with an emphasis on developing digital, reusable, enterprise-level Joint Mission Engineering Threads (METs), also known as Kill Webs. The project leverages advanced M&S tools to analyze system-of-systems dependencies and risks, supporting DoD leaders in making informed technology and capability design decisions.

Key objectives include maintaining the Mission Engineering Guide, leading the Mission Engineering Practitioners Forum, and increasing collaboration with industry to identify material solutions that address operational gaps. In FY 2026, mission engineering analyses will continue to guide the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering's portfolio of investments and inform joint experimentation series. Focus areas for these studies include Battlespace Management, Joint Command and Control, counter-C5ISRT (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting), counter-unmanned systems, Sensors and Non-Kinetic Effects, Joint Fires, and Unmanned/Multi-Domain Autonomous operations.

The project also aims to maintain and develop new Joint METs to inform broad, joint-level capability, concept, and technology design, as well as guide broader force-level systems integration.

Advanced Analysis and Capability Development continues work transitioned from DARPA's Assault Breaker II program, now designated as Joint Lethality Engineering (JLE), to accelerate delivery of capabilities to the warfighter. This effort supports a key National Defense Strategy (NDS) goal of building on enduring advantages by integrating data, tools, and techniques for rapid capability development and fielding. The project encompasses advanced analysis across all security levels, domains, and Service warfighting architectures, with activities including fully informed analysis, experimentation, and process improvement to support capability investment decisions.

Within this effort, the Joint Capability Development Environment (JCDE) is a major initiative that provides a hardware, software, and TS/SCI/SAP network architecture to enable rapid capability development and fielding. JCDE offers industry, DoD, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), and international partners access to advanced M&S tools and a multi-level security (MLS) enabled data/knowledge repository. The environment supports rigorous, rapid analysis and experimentation, enabling advancements in analytic processing, capability development, and transition of joint capabilities. JCDE also enhances collaboration and data sharing across government, academia, industry, and partner nations.

Other key objectives include sustaining and operating infrastructure for advanced M&S tool development, extending the knowledge repository for cooperative analysis, and developing new analytic processes through experimentation. The project aims to provide enduring analytic support at all classification levels, ensuring the continuous improvement of M&S tools and processes based on user feedback. In FY 2026, efforts will focus on establishing technical processes for JCDE operations, expanding connectivity to additional users, and maturing multi-level security capabilities throughout the ecosystem.