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The Department of the Air Force, in partnership with US Northern Command and US Space Command, held a second, more complex and rigorous field test of an innovative and evolving approach to joint warfighting known as the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS).
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In the latest exercise, known as an 'on ramp', operators used ABMS to detect and defeat efforts to disrupt US operations in space in addition to countering attacks against the US homeland, including shooting down a cruise missile 'surrogate' with a hypervelocity weapon.
The ABMS allows a joint force to use cutting-edge methods and technologies to rapidly collect, analyse, and share information and make decisions in real time.
Dr Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, said, "Future battlefields will be characterised by information saturation. One of the key objectives of this on ramp was to present a dizzying array of information for participants to synthesise, just like they would see in a real operation."
ABMS collected and fused information in new ways by also making the information available instantaneously across geographically-separated forces spanning the operational to tactical levels of combat.
The week long on ramp further tested and refined technologies necessary for ABMS, which is building the 'internet of things' (IoT) of the military that collects and makes sense of vast amounts of data supported by artificial intelligence.
ABMS links weapon systems and personnel in the air, on the ground, at sea as well as space and cyber domains in a seamless manner that has not yet been available to today’s warfighters.
"This compelled commanders and operators to trust data analytics and artificial intelligence to understand the battle. Valuing data as an essential warfighting resource, one no less vital than jet fuel or satellites, is the key to next-gen warfare," Roper explained.
ABMS, which is the top modernisation priority for the Department of the Air Force with a budget of US$3.3 billion over five years, will be the backbone of a network-centric approach in partnership with all the services across the Department of Defense.
That broader effort is known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). When fully realised, senior leaders say JADC2 will allow US forces from all services as well as allies – to receive, fuse and act upon a vast array of data and information in all domains at the speed of relevance.
Aside from the system’s embrace of a different warfighting philosophy and practice, ABMS is utilizing an approach to developing the complex system that breaks with traditional defense approaches and practices.
Project managers say the goal is speed and utility, which means that some ABMS components are being developed from products that can be derived from commercially available technology when applicable.
It requires a close working relationship with industry partners and a willingness to push experimentation of innovative ideas in order to learn what works and what doesn’t on short time horizons.
Preston Dunlap, Department of the Air Force chief architect, said, "The winner is going to be the one who is able to adapt rapidly in the face of change and uncertainty. We have to bake agility into the recipe as its most basic ingredient."
This was reinforced by Chief of Space Operations, General John Raymond, who explained, "Modern warfare demands data and information at the edge, anywhere on earth.
"Potential adversaries are investing heavily in these fields, and we must exploit new approaches to sustain the advantage. We are exploring how to use JADC2 and ABMS to link sensors to shooters across all battlespaces, at speed and under threat. Maturing these concepts and capabilities is necessary to fight and win in the information age."
Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown jnr, who has previously served in leadership roles in Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific, assesses that ABMS is a capability that is needed today and not later, citing its imperative for deterrence and its application for Joint All Domain Operations.
"To win the contested, high-end fight, we need to accelerate how we field critical technologies today. Rapid, iterative experimenting ultimately places relevant capability in warfighters’ hands faster. We cannot afford to slow our momentum on ABMS. Our warfighters and combatant commands must fight at internet speeds to win," he said.
General Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command, said after the field test that he was impressed, "You can be skeptical of that technology. I am not skeptical after today."
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
