F-15EX, KC-46A to lead USAF rollout of ABMS ‘Internet of Things'

The Boeing F-15EX Advanced Eagle combat aircraft and KC-46A Pegasus tanker are the first platforms earmarked by the US Air Force (USAF) for the roll-out of its developmental Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) Internet of Things (IoT) capability.

Speaking under the Chatham House Rule on 18 November, an official with knowledge of the service’s plans said that the soon-to-be-introduced F-15EX and the recently received KC-46A will spearhead the USAF’s efforts to connect all the US armed forces through the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept.

“An example that we have [of our JADC2 effort] is our new F-15EX buy that will be replacing our F-15C models. It is going to be one of our first platforms that we will be bringing in some of the ABMS enhanced gateway capabilities on, we think. That, plus the [KC-46A] tanker”, the official said at the virtual Defence iQ International Fighter conference.

According to Janes C4ISR & Mission Systems: Joint & Common Equipment, the ABMS IoT will be designed to allow the USAF to co-ordinate with and direct joint operations with the US Navy (USN), US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Army. The ABMS is a ‘family of systems’ that includes both hardware and software, enabling the USAF to contribute to and link with their older JADC2. The ABMS is a C4ISR maximiser and is designed to improve the military’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) management.