The Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) and eight contractors are working together on a platform to streamline command and control (C2), shorten the task execution chain and reduce human-intensive communications.
RCO Director and Program Executive Officer Randall Walden said Tuesday the platform, called the Common Mission Control Center (CMCC), features participation from Lockheed Martin [LMT], Northrop Grumman [NOC], Boeing [BA], BAE Systems, Raytheon [RTN] and other “Tier 2” subcontractors. CMCC, located at Beale AFB, Calif., is software, hardware and human machine interface to direct, task and manage disparate platforms and consume and leverage all data sources, according to a briefing slide.
CMCC provides interoperability; mission management, planning and tasking, data fusion from multiple sources; vehicle status and situational awareness; product management and dissemination and machine-to-machine (m2m) data exchange.
What makes CMCC unique, Walden said, is that the contractors are working together, instead of competing, with each of their own mission planning algorithms. Walden said the primary goal of CMCC is to get development and demonstrations done of how one would piece together disparate algorithms in a standard environment.
A number of CMCC demonstrations have been performed over the last couple of years. During a “crawl” demonstration completed in January 2014, the CMCC demonstrated m2m interaction between the center, vehicle simulations and live-flying U-2 and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The CMCC simultaneously directed and managed two disparate live aircraft, eight disparate simulated aircraft and one simulated satellite. Mission scenarios included live threat data and demonstrated CMCC ability to dynamically re-plan assets based on enhanced awareness of the battlespace.
“Walk” and “run” demonstrations were completed in 2014 and 2015. These demonstrations integrated additional services, capabilities and platforms to meet the majority of CMCC requirements to move the CMCC toward production. Walden said the Air Force’s goal is to prototype and get the CMCC ready for what may become a future program of record.
The RCO is the Air Force’s streamlined expedited procurement office that was designed to field important capabilities and systems faster than the normal acquisition process. RCO is also working on the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) and a sensitive airborne receiver system, in tandem with MIT Lincoln Lab and other partners. RCO reports directly to a board of directors, chaired by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall that includes the Air Force secretary, chief of staff and the assistant secretary for acquisition.
Walden said the RCO, based in metro Washington, is staffed by about 150 people and that the Air Force is in talks about how to keep the organization “right sized” to ensure speedy acquisition as organizations tend to become more bureaucratic, and slow, as they grow.
Walden said the Air Force is looking to field the B-21 at operational bases and achieve initial operational capability (IOC) before 2030 while continuing fielding and sustainment from 2031-2050. He said that B-21 prime contractor Northrop Grumman has started hiring people for its Melborne, Fla., location.
Walden’s remarks came at an Air Force Association (AFA) event in Arlington, Va.