Electronic Systems Center program honored Published Jan. 30, 2006 By Charles F. Paone Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFMCNS) -- An Electronic Systems Center command and control program that enables real-time threat detection and response planning recently received a coveted award from the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement. The Integrated Strategic Planning and Analysis Network Program (ISPAN) won in the "Outstanding Achievement from the Defense Industry" category. The award was presented to prime contractor Lockheed Martin during the Network Centric Warfare 2006 Conference in Washington, D.C., Jan. 17. "I'm very proud of our contractor team and our government program managers for executing a truly net-centric program with huge dividends for the strategic planning and warfighting communities," said Combatant Commander Command and Control Systems Group director Ronald Mason. The ISPAN program is a network-centric planning and analysis system, according to Col. Joe Chang, the division chief who oversees the program at Offutt AFB, Neb., home of U.S. Strategic Command, the ISPAN Combatant Command 'customer.' ISPAN will support the full spectrum of USSTRATCOM's responsibilities, the colonel said. They include global strike, space, integrated missile defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and information operations, as well as its traditional deterrence role. The program was developed as a joint effort between government and industry to provide the tools to enable USSTRATCOM to fulfill the new missions the Department of Defense issued it starting in 2002. ISPAN was designed to bring on new capability only where none currently existed, Colonel Chang said. In all other cases, program managers sought to integrate or interface with existing capability. Through these combined efforts, ISPAN will allow USSTRATCOM, its Joint Force Component commanders and other key commands throughout the world to respond to worldwide situations more rapidly and with a greater understanding of the consequences of U.S. action. "ISPAN will allow the joint force combatant commander to connect the dots as they appear," said Colonel Chang. This enables both adaptive planning and superior execution." For any threat, the system provides the tools to develop response alternatives and provides estimates of success probability. It also estimates potential collateral damage, required resources and assets, and time frame for execution completion.