Soldiers and network professionals with the U.S. Army’s 1st Signal Brigade, Eighth Army, completed a major modernization of the Korea Army Enterprise Network, delivering new Army Transport Edge capabilities that improve speed, reliability and scalability across more than 50 sites on the peninsula.
Funded by the Network Enterprise Technology Command, the approximately $40 million effort upgraded 52 Army Transport Edge sites and introduced software-defined networking capabilities to the U.S. Army enterprise network in Korea. The modernization replaces legacy, manually configured processes with tools that allow administrators to implement network changes through a centralized interface, reducing time-consuming “box-by-box” updates and enabling faster, more consistent network operations.
The upgrade also restructures the network’s architecture to better support day-to-day garrison requirements and contingency operations. The modernized design reduces inefficiencies associated with legacy configurations, including daisy-chained sites and rigid point-to-point wide area network circuits. The updated architecture improves scalability and better aligns bandwidth and connectivity to each site’s operational needs, including locations that surge during exercises or contingency response.
Software-defined networking enables greater automation and orchestration, strengthening network resilience and improving the brigade’s ability to adjust routing and maintain continuity. The modernized transport layer is designed to support current and future mission command and data-sharing requirements while enabling integration of emerging information technology.
The U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command served as the prime contractor and network architect for the effort. Implementation occurred from Jan. 6, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2025, with the system reaching full operational status as of Jan. 6, 2026. Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and Korea Government Service personnel across the brigade supported planning, installation, testing and the transition to sustained operations.
“Having an edge in your cyber warfare capabilities today is a critical factor, and this new network is a huge bolstering component in just that,” said Maj. Scott Tanaka, senior network engineer for 1st Signal Brigade. “This new network allows NETCOM and the United States Army to deliver information faster and more conveniently to key systems and their users; while also safeguarding them in the cyber realm.”
This modernization supports Eighth Army’s enduring themes of Ready and Modern priorities, ensuring Eighth Army remains trained and postured to deter conflict and, if necessary, defend both homelands. It also helps keep the force dominant and adaptable by leveraging emerging technology and modernizing the network that underpins mission command and operations across the peninsula.