“A lot of the challenges we face in space are big data problems,” says Gen. John Raymond, who is dual-hatted as commander of Space Command and Air Force Space Command.

“Gen. Raymond has asked me, in particular, to make sure that we are incorporating all aspects of space warfighting … into our curriculum.”

AFA 2019: Multi Domain Operations are all about the “connective tissue,” as the Air Force rushes to test and field its building blocks, says Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper. Even after a full day of interviews and meetings, Roper’s enthusiasm for transforming the Air Force into a “software company” remains undimmed, as you can… Keep reading →

Lockheed Martin’s Kim Ponders, who’s done much to help me understand the concepts and some of the technology behind Multi-Domain Command and Control (MDC2), explains what the company is doing and answers one crucial question: Is Multi Domain just another Pentagon buzzword.

The ultimate goal of ABMS, Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper enthused, is to “build a family of systems” and “create something that feels like the Internet of Things for the Air Force.”

“But make no mistake…if in fact a war starts or extends into space, everyone loses,” Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein told the AFA 2019 conference. “I don’t see any winners.”

In a massive simulated conflict, the human players adapted rapidly to futuristic technologies and tactics. But their command-and-control software couldn’t keep up.

“Kill webs,” not kill chains. Instead of exquisite platforms like the F-35 fighter, exquisite functional technology nodes (such as an advanced infrared sensor) that can be mixed and matched via AI-enhanced networks.

“We’ve been kicking around this idea that there needs to be a milestone past D; a milestone E where the program is proving elderly and we’re having to do Herculean tasks to keep airplanes flying that should have been retired long ago,” says Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper.

In conflicts of the future the Pentagon will need some radically new thinking.