Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to upgrade air tasking order capabilities within the US Air Force’s (USAF) Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS).

Valued at $12m, the air tasking order management system (ATOMS) delivery contract was issued under the command and control applications and information services development contract, which is a five-year, $249m, multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) programme.

The contract features a base performance period that runs through March 2015, followed by three one-year options.

Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions C4ISR Systems vice president Jim Quinn said the company has installed true net-centric services into TBMCS starting from its deployment and even when it was supporting 24×7 operations at locations worldwide.

”These enhancements will provide users with faster access to real-time operations and intelligence data, as well as better planning and collaboration tools for enhanced situational awareness and decision-making,” Quinn added.

More specifically, the contract will see the company modernise software that drives air tasking capabilities used by the combined air component commanders for planning, organisation and direction of joint US air operations.

Enhancements to the command and control air operations applications suite will enable soldiers to quickly and efficiently conduct mission planning and re-planning within a fully net-centric environment, with significant improvement over legacy applications.

The upgrade also serves as a complete functional replacement of TBMCS’ three existing applications, including Theater Air Planner, the Execution Management Re-Planner, and the Master Air Attack Planning Toolkit.

TBMS assists joint force air component commanders in the deployment of air assets, execution of air tasking orders and the synchronised management of flying operations for all airborne assets, such as fighters, bombers, tankers, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and cruise missiles.

The system provides automated management of air battle planning, intelligence operations, and implementation functions in peacetime, exercise, and wartime environments.

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Image: US military operations planners hone skills in war planning and execution using Theater Battle Management Core System during Exercise Union Flash. Photo: US Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Bill Kimble/Released.