The U.S. Air Force is calling on industry for solutions to improve the service branch’s sensor architecture and degrade adversaries’ ability to target U.S. forces.
The U.S. Air Force’s Command, Control, Communications, and Battle Management (C3BM) office put a call for Cyber Electro Magnetic concept papers that offer solutions for countering opponents’ command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) assets.
Specifically, the service branch wants tools that “deny, degrade, disrupt, or destroy enemy C5ISR capabilities,” allowing air and surface operations in denied or heavily defended areas.
Concept papers are due March 31, 2025.
The Air Force issued the call as an amendment to a broad agency announcement posted on sam.gov on April 23, which initially called for technologies to support an operationally focused Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) — the Air Force’s contribution to the Defense Department’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
“These operations should be viable in their delivery mechanism and integrate into an existing command-and-control (C2) architecture as part of the advanced battle management construct. Additionally, delivery mechanisms should be able to be integrated on or with existing platforms to the maximum extent possible,” the document states.
The ABMS must allow for real-time connectivity between manned platforms, unmanned platforms, and the sensors and weapon suites they carry.
The service branch is in search of ways to better “engage peer and near-peer adversaries, the U.S. Air Force needs to develop, acquire, and operate systems as a unified force across all domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber, and the electromagnetic spectrum),” the document states.
“The objective is to adopt the best practices of open architectures to enable rapid proliferation of new and existing software and hardware as well as developing enabling technologies that support maintaining the technological advantage,” the Air Force said.
The announcement also includes a call for concept papers related to the development, maturation, integration, demonstration, and proliferation of sensor hardware and software.
“In a conflict with a well-resourced adversary … [t]raditional airborne moving target intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sensors will be threatened, which will dictate the ability to prosecute targets by new, non-traditional means and prioritizing those that would deny access to areas of interest,” developed and improved and integrated into the command-and-control structure, the document states.
These systems need to be continually developed, improved, and integrated into the C2 structure.
According to the document, vendors whose papers generate interest may be invited to submit a formal proposal that could lead to a contract award. The department is currently looking for tech at Technology Readiness Level 3 or higher.
