Lockheed Martin is delivering two significant upgrades of the military’s premier joint air battle management system to the U.S. Air Force. First deployed in October of 2000, Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) is the primary system for planning and executing the joint air campaign, coordinating and directing flying operations from units as diverse as F-16 fighters, refueling tankers, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and even cruise missiles.
The newest spirals of the TBMCS are focused on the Unit Level component, which is used at airbases and on aircraft carriers to coordinate tactical mission planning, command and control, maintenance and repair operations, and takeoff and landing schedules.
The new software and hardware establishes a better connection between air crews and the Air Operations Center (AOC) – the command center for the entire air campaign – giving AOC operators real-time access to the status of air operations at airfields across the theater. This spiral also includes enhanced security features and upgraded maintenance applications that allow operations and maintenance personnel to more efficiently track and manage aircraft repairs. The Unit Level enhancements to TBMCS are already operational at many air stations, and will continue to deploy worldwide through June of this year.
The TBMCS system is resident at five Air Operations Centers (AOCs) and more than 20 joint command centers and Navy ships around the globe. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, TBMCS enabled the military to orchestrate some 41,000 air sorties with unprecedented speed, precision and accuracy.
While this latest enhancement is being fielded, another major spiral has also passed operational testing. The second TBCMS upgrade enhances the AOC component, providing enhanced applications for intelligence, targeting and mission planning for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. It also moves an additional 25% of TBMCS applications from a client-server configuration to a net-centric, web-based architecture. With this upgrade, more than 75% of the system’s applications will be available on-line, giving Army, Navy, Marine Corps and coalition users greatly enhanced access to air battle management information. For further information see the Full Lockheed News Release