Operational tests have been completed on an upgrade to a Lockheed Martin software suite for US military air operations centres (AOC) called the Theater Battle Management Command and Control System (TBMCS).
The system is used to convert manual tasks in the AOC into automated, web-based applications, enabling entire mission plans – hundreds of pages in length – to be downloaded. The TBMCS then keeps track of status reports, updating each element of the plan and displaying information on a secure portal interface familiar to any computer user.
The upgraded TBMCS includes a software package that automates operational tracking functions at the individual unit level, providing the AOC and small unit commanders with a real-time window on the status of aircraft and other equipment. Its value today is in automating a formerly manual process, but Lockheed aims to leverage the system's web-based architecture.
One idea is to tap into in-flight status reports showing the position, weapons and fuel loads and assigned mission for each aircraft in the battle plan, or air tasking order. Aircraft could then be re-assigned as new priorities develop that were not anticipated.
The concept requires each aircraft involved in the plan to have an on-board datalink and a new tool is needed to process the in-flight reports at the AOC. Lockheed demonstrated this capability last year using an F-16 modified with an Iridium cellular phone modem and a software tool called the datalink automated reporting system. US Air Force officials have expressed keen interest, says Lockheed.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE/COLORADO SPRINGS
Source: Flight International
