With senior Air and Space Force officials satisfied that the ambitious Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) has met key benchmarks, they are pushing the novel program into a new and more operational phase, bringing the system’s tools and technology one step closer to being available for use in the “real world.”

After 18 months exploring new ways to better connect the joint force alongside a growing cadre of industry partners, the Department of the Air Force is ready to move ABMS from the drawing board into the hands of warfighters.

“Nearly two years of rigorous development and experimentation have shown beyond doubt the promise of ABMS,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “We’ve demonstrated that our ABMS efforts can collect vast amounts of data from air, land, sea, space and cyber domains, process that information and share it in a way that allows for faster and better decisions.”

“This ability gives us a clear advantage, and it’s time to move ABMS forward so we can realize and ultimately use the power and capability it will provide,” he said.

In moving ABMS from a largely theoretical and development status to one involving the acquisition of specialized equipment and more real-world testing, officials say this transition demonstrates the benefits of pairing operators and engineers in the development of cutting-edge warfighting technologies under an agile acquisition process.

ABMS is the service’s overarching effort encompassing a new set of technologies, operational requirements and warfighter integration efforts that will allow commanders and warfighters to share more and better information faster and that has the potential to change the future of combat much the way radar did nearly a century ago.

A critical step in the progress of any military program, including ABMS, is the establishment of the manpower, resources and doctrinal infrastructure that underpin the program. Charged with this task for ABMS, Air Force leaders stood up a cross functional team and tapped Brig. Gen. Jeffery Valenzia to lead the requirements and warfighter integration effort.

“Command and Control is as timeless as warfare — as the character of war changes, so too does the art and science of C2,” Valenzia said. “In a data-dependent and data-saturated world, victory belongs to the side with decision superiority — the ability to sense, make sense of a complex and adaptive environment, and act smarter, faster, and better.

“ABMS will enable decision superiority by delivering that data — the digital lifeblood of modern warfare — to warfighters when and where they need it.”

A top modernization priority for the Department of the Air Force, ABMS will be the backbone of a network-centric approach to battle management in partnership with all the services across the Department of Defense.

That broader effort is known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control. As envisioned, JADC2 will allow U.S. forces from all services — as well as allies and partners — to sense, make sense and act upon a vast array of data and information faster than adversaries can detect and respond.

When fully realized, senior leaders say JADC2 will not only underpin operations but will also provide deterrence and the foundation for joint operations. When deployed, JADC2 will allow U.S. forces from all services, plus allies and partners, to orchestrate military operations across all domains, such as sea, land, air, space and cyber operations.