ROME, N.Y. (AFNS) —
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and leaders from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command, Joint Staff, Royal Canadian Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense were recently in attendance at NOARAD’s Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome to underscore the Air Force’s commitment to modernizing its air defense capabilities.
The event marked a pivotal milestone in the service’s modernization of tactical command and control capabilities as part of the Advanced Battle Management System portfolio of efforts.
The NORAD’s EADS performed the initial operating capability rollout of the ABMS’ Cloud-Based Command and Control system, or CBC2, a platform that will provide greater decision space for decision makers and end users.
CBC2 incorporates a large number of tactically relevant data feeds as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist decision makers with maintaining detailed situational awareness of the battlespace. The platform uses this data to develop courses of action from which leaders can make higher quality and faster decisions that improve operational outcomes.
During his remarks, Kendall recognized the extraordinary progress achieved by the CBC2 team, highlighting their dedication and technical expertise
“The successful deployment of the CBC2 system is a testament to the hard work and ingenuity of our Airmen,” he said. “Their dedication to advancing our command-and-control capabilities is instrumental in achieving the department’s second operational imperative — achieving operationally optimized Advanced Battle Management Systems — while maintaining technological superiority in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.”
CBC2 is being developed through the USAF’s agile software development methodology, which enables software developers to work with end users throughout the development process, in a collaborative approach encouraging adaptive planning, evolutionary development, continuous delivery and continual improvement.
NORAD’s and USNORTHCOM’s participation in combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control through CBC2 helps to eliminate stovepipes of information and data, and ensures operational users take part in developing future C2 systems essential to homeland defense.
EADS is the first NORAD and USNORTHCOM Air Defense Sector to launch the platform in what will be a continuous and iterative approach that consistently provides new capability in response to user-generated feedback. As CBC2 transitions into its next phase of development, the program will focus on delivering the next release of capability to Canadian Air Defense Sector, or CADS. Both EADS and CADS should have the new system in place by mid-2024. Future releases are planned to take place at Air Defense Sectors in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington throughout 2024.
EADS Commander Col. Joseph Roos said the new system could enhance the ability of operators to defend North America.
“The capabilities that the CBC2 platform could bring to our operators ensures they will have the most advanced and effective technologies to find, fix, track and target airborne threats,” Roos said.
EADS is permanently assigned to NORAD and reports directly to Continental U.S. NORAD Region, located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The bi-national sector, comprised of New York Air National Guard members and a Canadian Forces detachment, is responsible for the aerospace defense of the eastern United States to include the National Capital Region around Washington, D.C., and supports NORAD’s Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment and Northern Command’s homeland defense missions.