US auditors report USAF lacks JADC2 plans and requirements

USAF personnel test ABMS capabilities. The USAF is making progress on ABMS but lacks precise plans, requirements, and financial estimates, the GAO said. (US Air Force/DVIDS)

The US Air Force (USAF) is making progress on but lacks definitions and plans for the Air Battle Management System (ABMS), the service’s component of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

A GAO report, released on 13 January, details the USAF’s efforts to build and implement ABMS.

The USAF has defined two ABMS efforts: Capability Release 1, which is intended to be installed on KC-46 tankers to receive data from F-35s and transmit it back to command-and-control centres; and Cloud-Based Command and Control (CBC2), which is built to integrate disparate data sources for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Northern Command.