Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) ：A Comprehensive Overview

1. Introduction

The Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), led by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), is a transformative initiative to modernize command, control, and communications (C3) for multi-domain operations. Serving as the technological backbone of the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) strategy, ABMS integrates artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and secure data networks to enable rapid decision-making in highly contested environments. Its primary goal is to replace legacy “stovepiped” systems with a unified, resilient architecture that seamlessly connects sensors, weapon platforms, and decision-makers across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. ABMS is not merely a technical upgrade but a foundational shift in how the U.S. military plans to counter near-peer adversaries like China and Russia.  .  

2. Background and Evolution

The Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) is designed to enhance U.S. global command-and-control capabilities by integrating cutting-edge digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for real-time monitoring, management, and orchestration of multi-domain operational assets. Key phases of its development are outlined below:  

Phase one:Conceptualization and Planning (2017)

   The U.S. Air Force initiated ABMS as a next-generation battlefield surveillance and battle management command-and-control (BMC2) system to support high-intensity contested environments. Originally conceived to replace legacy platforms like the E-3 Sentry AWACS and E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, ABMS aimed to elevate the Air Force’s capacity to detect, identify, and track air and maritime threats.  

Phase two:Strategic Expansion (2018)  

   Following the release of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, ABMS evolved from an air-centric system into a multi-domain C2 family spanning land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. This transformation positioned ABMS as a cornerstone of the Pentagon’s effort to achieve cross-domain operational superiority.  

Phase Three:Integration with JADC2 (2019)

   In November 2019, ABMS was formally designated as the Air Force’s contribution to the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative. Its role: to establish a military Internet of Things (IoT) that dynamically links every sensor to every shooter across the battlespace. During that year’s ABMS exercise, real-time data sharing between multiple sensors and shooters validated its efficacy, laying the groundwork for its adoption as JADC2’s technical linchpin.  

Phase Four:Capability Releases (2021–Present)

   ABMS transitioned to incremental delivery of mission-critical capabilities through two Capability Release (CR) ,CR-1 (2021) Deployed communication pods on KC-46 Pegasus tankers, enabling seamless data exchange between KC-46s, F-35 fighters, and ground-based C2 systems. CR-2 (2022–2023) Introduced the Cloud-Based Command and Control (CBC2) system,featuring a visualized intelligent human-machine interface to empower commanders with holistic space-air domain awareness and decision superiority.  .  .  

3.Main Objectives

The Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) is designed to establish a unified command-and-control framework capable of orchestrating operations across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace domains, addressing the complexity and fluidity of modern warfare. Its objectives are refined as follows:  

-Comprehensive Multi-Domain Situational Awareness：The system enables real-time monitoring and management of operational assets across all domains, ensuring commanders maintain a unified, dynamic view of the battlespace.  

-Data Fusion and Interoperability：By integrating multi-source data inputs and deploying metadata wrappers, ABMS processes and synthesizes information from heterogeneous sensors, enhancing decision-making augmentation for commanders through coherent, actionable intelligence.  

-Open Architecture Framework：Utilizing modular, standards-based design, the system seamlessly incorporates emerging technologies, sensors, and platforms, fostering a military Internet of Things (IoT) that underpins a distributed multi-domain operational ecosystem.  

-AI-Augmented Decision Support：Advanced machine learning algorithms and predictive analytics transform raw data into strategic insights, enabling rapid, informed decision-making under high-pressure scenarios.  

-Resilience and Anti-Fragility：The system prioritizes survivability through a decentralized network architecture with self-healing mechanisms and graceful degradation protocols, ensuring uninterrupted situational awareness and operational continuity even amid partial node failures.  

4. Core Capabilities

ABMS operates as a network-of-networks designed to unify sensors, shooters, and decision-makers. The ABMS system cluster architecture comprises seven technical categories with a total of 28 products, including digital architecture, standards & concept development, sensors, data, secure processing, connectivity, applications, and effects integration. ABMS primarily implements its functionalities through core products within four key technical categories: Data, Secure Processing, Applications, and Connectivity. The principal products include dataONE (data category), cloudONE and platformONE (secure processing category), commandONE and omniaONE (applications category), as well as gatewayONE and meshONE (connectivity category). These foundational products form the operational backbone of the ABMS ecosystem, enabling seamless integration of critical capabilities across its technical framework.Its core functionalities include:  

- Multi-Source Data Fusion: Aggregates data from satellites (Space Force’s Tracking Layer), drones, and ground sensors into a real-time common operating picture (COP). During Exercise Global Lightning 2023, ABMS processed a mount of data daily, autonomously identifying simulated missile threats.

- Dynamic Communication Networks: Employs software-defined radios (SDRs) and mesh networking to resist jamming. In 2023 tests against simulated electronic warfare attacks, ABMS highly maintained network uptime, compared better than legacy systems.  

- AI-Driven Decision Support: Automates target prioritization and resource allocation，reduced multi-domain strike planning from 48 hours to 12 minutes in recent drills.  

- Resilient Cybersecurity: Implements zero-trust authentication and prototypes of quantum-resistant encryption, scheduled for deployment in the future.  

5. Future Directions  

The ABMS program is poised to deepen its integration of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, redefine future warfare through disruptive technologies that fundamentally transform operational architectures and combat capabilities. At its core, AI-driven autonomy will enable real-time battlefield decisions without human intervention—imagine swarms of unmanned systems independently identifying and engaging high-value targets while coordinating with hypersonic weapons and cyber effects.Simultaneously, cross-domain data fusion will collapse the boundaries between physical and digital battlespaces. These innovations will not merely enhance existing forces but catalyze a paradigm shift toward decentralized, hyper-connected, and AI-empowered warfare.   

6. Conclusion

The development and deployment of ABMS signify a paradigm shift in the U.S. Air Force's transition from "platform-centric" to "network-centric" warfare. This transformation is driven by ABMS' open architecture, data-driven battle management, and AI integration, which collectively enhance technological sophistication and combat effectiveness. The system's interoperability and modular design facilitate real-time information sharing and joint operations across diverse military branches and platforms, while its continuous refinement critically advances the Pentagon's cross-domain command and control capabilities.