Lockheed Martin will perform work to upgrade and sustain the US Marine Corps’ virtualised Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) under an $18 million contract announced on 18 September.
The TBMCS is a battle command system used to manage and monitor airborne platforms, including fighters, bombers, tankers, unmanned aerial vehicles, and helicopters for all arms of the military.
The system interfaces with joint services and coalition systems to enable synchronised air mission planning, and enables distributed battle management, allowing the Joint community - marine corps, navy, army, air force - to contribute to managing the air campaign.
Under this contract Lockheed Martin will ensure that TBMCS provides faster access to real-time operations information; better planning and collaboration tools; and enhanced situational awareness. This includes providing updates for approximately 200 integrated software applications - from large planning tools to smaller ‘plug-in’ applets that allow force status monitoring.
Work will also be carried out to maintain airspace de-confliction applications, which support coordination of precision engagement fires. Additionally, Lockheed Martin will update the automated tools that generate, disseminate, and execute the air tasking and airspace control orders for the USMC.
Rob Smith, vice president of C4ISR, Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Solutions, said: ‘By automating the way air power is commanded and controlled, TBMCS provides a seamless information flow that shortens decision cycles. For nearly two decades, we have managed TBMCS. We'll leverage our years of technical experience to ensure that the system remains aligned to the marines' overall mission.’