Lockheed Martin awarded USAF C2 modernisation contract

Lockheed Martin has been selected by the US Air Force to upgrade the command and control (C2) system that allows Joint Force Air Component Commanders to deploy air assets, execute air tasking orders and synchronise management of air operations.

The company was issued an Air Tasking Order Management System (ATOMS) delivery order under the Command and Control Applications and Information Services Development contract - a five-year, $249 million, multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity programme. This ATOMS order is valued at $12 million, with a base period of performance through March 2015, followed by three one-year options.

The contract will see Lockheed Martin modernise the air tasking order capabilities within the Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS). The TBMCS is essentially the ‘engine of the Air Operations Center’, from which flying operations for all airborne assets, including fighters, bombers, tankers, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and cruise missiles, are directed.

Specifically, the company will update the software that drives air tasking capabilities that Combined Air Component Commanders use to plan, organise and direct joint US air operations. By updating C2 air operations applications suite, warfighters will be able conduct quick and efficient mission planning and re-planning, with significant improvement over legacy applications.  Three existing applications within TBMCS: the Theater Air Planner, the Execution Management Re-Planner, and the Master Air Attack Planning Toolkit, will also be completely replaced.

Jim Quinn, vice president of C4ISR Systems, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, said: ‘Since its deployment, we've integrated true net-centric services into TBMCS, all while the system was supporting 24x7 operations at locations around the world. These enhancements will provide users with faster access to real-time operations and intelligence data, as well as better planning and collaboration tools for enhanced situational awareness and decision-making.’