Tiger Team overhauls C2

  • Published
  • By Elaine Belcher
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) --  Command and Control, one of the keystones to modern warfare is getting a boost thanks to the Air Combat Command led Tiger Team.

The team, comprised of more than 20 senior leaders from across the Air Force, is responsible for stewardship of the Air Force Theater Control System and brings different points of view to improve processes.

"TACS is fundamentally a C2 system of airborne and ground systems consisting of facilities, equipment, and personnel," said Col. Francis Xavier, C2 Tiger Team Lead and chief of ACC ISR division. "Individual TACS weapon systems contain sensors - both active and passive, computers/workstations, voice and data communications, operators, and maintainers to conduct air operations."

"Specific Air Force elements of the TACS include: Air Operations Center (AOC), Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), Joint Surveillance and Targeting Attack Radar System (JSTARS), Control and Reporting Center (CRC), Air Support Operations Center (ASOC), and Tactical Air Control Party (TACP). Simply stated, the TACS is the Joint Force Air Component Commander's (JFACC) command and control system enabling the air component to plan and execute air operations in support of Theater Combatant Commander (CCDR) requirements," said Col. Xavier.

"The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is committed to providing a modern and efficient command and control system that integrates seamlessly with other services' C2 efforts," said Maj. Gen. Mark Matthews, C2 Tiger Team chairman and director of requirements for ACC. "Our joint focus on integration will ensure our nation's dominance in command and control. The C2 Tiger Team is working hard to make that modernization a reality."

Currently, C2 face challenges with reduced manning, outdated equipment, and constrained budget resources to draw from for recapitalization and modernization purposes. The tiger team is assessing areas most in need of improvement and is prioritizing what changes need to be made first.

The team was created in August 2008 to provide recommendations for Air Force C2 capabilities to deliver air, space and cyberspace efforts across operations and conflicts in a joint and combined environment. Members work to develop warfighting command and control capabilities - such as development of distribution operations, restructuring the component-numbered Air Forces, implementing a service-oriented architecture for warfighting systems and building a plan to sustain, modernize and recapitalize the Air Force Theater Control System.

"We want to transform C2 to make it more flexible, efficient and affordable while making sure we're ready to conduct operations in peacetime and combat in any environment," said General Matthews.

The team's initial recommendations were presented to senior Air Force leadership during the October 2008 Corona Conference and the Combat Air Forces/Mobility Air Forces Conference held at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in November 2008.

The team will continue to meet and develop comprehensive plans of action and milestones for measuring progress toward improvement and an updated list of recommendations will be presented at the February 2009 Corona South Conference.

"We hope that the collaborative work we do now will provide the vision, guidance and actual development to bring 21st century C2 capabilities to better support the joint commanders in a balanced way across the range of military operations.," said Maj. Gen Mike Worden, ACC vice commander.