BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- As the Air Force gets after developing the technologies and tactics necessary for the Department of Defense’s latest warfighting concept, Joint All Domain Command and Control, resources are also being invested into the development of the Advanced Battle Management System.
The Advance Battle Management System (ABMS) is an “internet of things” that connects sensors, assets and the nation’s decision makers via a secure data network across the five domains (JADC2), thus allowing decisions to be made more efficiently and cohesively.
While ABMS is a Department of the Air Force level program, participation in its development and testing is happening at every level, Air Force Global Strike Command included.
In recent remarks, Gen. Tim Ray, AFGSC commander, touched on ABMS and how its technology folds Strikers into the JADC2 warfighting concept.
“ABMS is a collection of things that help us power JADC2,” Ray said. “It is about moving data, connecting sensors and shooters, and moving at machine speed to enable our most valuable resource - our people - to make incredibly good decisions.”
There have already been a number of experiments testing the ABMS technology and according to Maj. Gen. Andrew Gebara, Director of Strategic Plans, Programs, and Requirements, Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen have been there all along.
“Striker Airmen are integral and have been involved from the very beginning,” Gebara said. “We have tested new resilient communications for our bombers, nuclear security command and control procedures, as well as new abilities to morph data in our missile fields, all through the ABMS process.”
The Airmen of AFGSC have not only been heavily involved in the development of this program, but will continue to play a great role in ABMS and how it fits into the Air Force’s vision of tomorrow.
“When Chief Brown says ’accelerate change or lose’ what he is saying is we need to get the information to the people who need it, and that is Airmen,” Gebara said. “When we work to fuse information or get it to the person who needs it, whether it be a 1st lieutenant on console all the way up to the President of the United States through nuclear command and control [...], connecting those human elements is absolutely key.”
As an emerging communication and networking technology, ABMS is a prime example of how the Air Force is modernizing to fight the battles of tomorrow by getting after the production of advanced technology today.