605th Test and Evaluation Squadron participates in ABMS demonstration

Beale Air Force Base, Calif. — The 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Detachment 3, provided support to U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s Advanced Battle Management System demonstration to find new ways to share and operate data between U.S. military services and multiple countries.

Utilizing the Common Mission Control Center – Integration Lab at Beale Air Force Base, California, the 605th TES, Det 3, directly supported the USAFE “on ramp” during two nights of find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess events.

Despite multiple connection challenges that limited the scope of activities, Det 3 demonstrated numerous capabilities. CMCC-i and USAFE’s 603rd Air Operations Center experimented with their connections during this “on ramp” taking its first steps towards developing integration procedures between the two, which will ideally lay the foundation for broader adoption amongst other users of CMCC’s services.

Det 3 and the 603rd AOC also demonstrated joint, multi-domain coordination with space and ground assets, most notably in sensor-to-shooter events each night to facilitate fires from the U.S. Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

This connection provided proof-of-concept for elements of an accelerated kill-chain that can be further developed, pointing towards longer-term possibilities for decentralization and machine-to-machine communications that will facilitate an advantage to warfighter decision-making.

The detachment also hosted members of Blue Horizons, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Center for Strategy and Technology’s think tank, during the events. Overall, the event showcased several capabilities with significant future potential while also identifying areas for improvement.

“This “on ramp” was an opportunity to demonstrate experimental capabilities on the leading edge of the Air Force’s ABMS efforts,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Brian Hill, 605th TES, Det 3 commander, Beale AFB, California.

“Sitting our testers and operators alongside engineers from across the defense industry allows for real-time feedback that accelerates the development and refinement of the future of battle management.  We saw that in action this week with distinct improvements in performance from one mission to the next.”

The 605th TES, Det 3, at Beale AFB, California, reports to the 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, which conducts operational test & evaluation of command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems including Airborne Warning and Control System, Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, air and space operations center, tactical air control party, control and reporting centers, air defense sectors, National Capital Region – integrated air defense system, distributed common ground station, nuclear command, control, and communications, Common Mission Control Center, and other systems for the joint warfighter.