Air Force Secretary Seeks to Overhaul ABMS Development

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has hinted at plans to overhaul the direction of the Advanced Battle Management System.

Kendall said he wants the Air Force to identify what changes to ABMS can make the biggest difference in operational performance on the battlefield, C4ISRNET reported Friday.

“I want to emphasize fielded, meaningful military capability, not just a demonstration that you show what cool thing you could do, but real capability in the hands of operators,” Kendall said in an interview with Defense News.

The ABMS program is aimed at creating an internet of things infrastructure that can seamlessly carry data across platforms and sensors.

ABMS is the Air Force’s contribution to the Department of Defense’s establishment of Joint All-Domain Command and Control, which is the concept of connecting military sensors across all domains into a single network.

Kendall believes that the Air Force first needs to determine what types of information the network should transmit and for what reason.

The Air Force should also develop metrics to determine if ABMS will make an improvement on current command and control capabilities, Kendall said.

He said the ABMS program should be focused on tackling operational problems instead of merely demonstrating capabilities.

C4ISRNET reported that other top service officials have called for a shift away from open-ended technology demonstrations towards buying products that are ready for use on the field.

The Air Force has been forced to reduce the number of planned demonstrations after Congress slashed its requested budget for the program.