AFMC Command News

5+1+1 equals U.S. air superiority

  • Published
  • By Charles F. Paone
  • Electronic Systems Center Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFMCNS) --  Five plus one plus one equals ... the ability to direct the command and control of U.S. and coalition air power across the globe.

It also equals seven of course. That's the number of "Falconer" air and space operations centers, and Falconer support centers, that have now been brought on line with common capabilities, said Lt. Col. Rob Dare, chief of the Air and Space Operations Center Division.

AOCs enable the prosecution of all significant air operations, providing the joint or coalition air component commander with all the tools needed to plan, execute and assess ongoing efforts.

Of the seven Falconers, five are operational AOCs, one is a training site and one a technical help center - thus the '5+1+1' designation.

The first Falconer site to be brought on line with these common elements was the Combined AOC, known as a CAOC, at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. From there, the U.S. and its coalition partners planned and executed Operation Iraqi Freedom air attacks that enabled the quick march to Baghdad.

Even now, those forces continue arranging and monitoring air operations over Afghanistan and Iraq from the Al Udeid CAOC.

"Everyone saw the efficiency and tremendous capability of the CAOC at Al Udeid," said Colonel Dare. "Now we've brought that capability level everywhere else, so that we can operate in the same way, at the same capacity, virtually anywhere in the world."

Recognizing the growing importance of the AOC, then-Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan designated it a Weapon System in September 2000.

"This was the point where the Air Force moved beyond ad hoc and location-specific development to the more rigorous requirements and acquisition processes typically applied to large weapon systems," said Colonel Dare.

Managing air power has always been a challenge. Intelligence information, weather, targeting data, availability of assets, prioritization, damage assessment - these are just a handful of the many factors an air component commander must consider when conducting an air campaign.

Even when all the information is available, its sheer volume can pose problems. The ways in which it is synthesized and presented can make a huge difference.

"Today, as a result of the dizzying pace of information technology development, we can apply vast amounts of computing and networking resources to satisfy our need to command and control air operations," said Neil Carvin of MITRE, the AOC division's lead engineer.

The Falconer 5+1+1 effort represents a watershed moment in the ongoing effort to harness and exploit those resources, program officials said.

Of the seven Falconers, the training site, located at Hurlbert Field, Fla., was actually the first to be "turned over," in March 2002.

The Al Udeid site was delivered in December 2002; 7th Air Force at Osan Air Base in the Republic of South Korea was next, accepting its Falconer in June 2004; the help center at Langley Air Force Base, Va., was brought on line as a 10.0 facility this past May; 12th Air Force at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., received it completed Falconer this past September, as did United States Air Forces Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The final Falconer was delivered to Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, in November.

"The ribbon cutting at PACAF's AOC marks the culmination of 5+1+1, which is truly a major event," said Col. Terry Szanto, chief of ESC's Operational C2 Systems Group at Langley AFB, which oversees the AOC Division. "This is a goal that senior Air Force leaders, including General Jumper and General Moseley, had set and have been watching and anticipating."