Airborne networking of military weapon systems is a critical capability needed for Net-Centric
Operations on the modern day battlefield.
Airborne Web Services provides the US Air Force’s Electronic Systems Center (ESC) and Command
and Control (C2) community with Net-Centric visualization capability that utilizes airborne
networking technology allowing shared situational awareness between aircraft and ground stations.
Built on Ultra Electronics, ProLogic’s Service Oriented Visualization Framework (SOVF) Net-Centric
Visualization technology this system utilizes an open Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and
Net-Centric Enterprise Solutions for Interoperability (NESI) design guidelines.
AWS is designed to satisfy enhanced situational awareness requirements for in-flight air battle
managers on the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and E-8 Joint Surveillance Target
Attack Radar System (JointSTARS) along with controllers and commanders on the ground in the
Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC). AWS applications include visualization of:
- Air Tasking Orders
- Blue & Red Force Tracking
- Air Tracks
- Munitions
- Ground Moving Target Indicators (GMTI)
- Check-In
- Imagery (SAR, NITF)
- Weather
- Navigation
- Airspace Control Orders
- Killboxes
- Coordination Lines (FLOT, FSCL, FEBA)
AWS automates AWACS and JointSTARS air battle manager’s workflow and enhances decision support for
C2 operations and Time-Sensitive Targeting (TST). This increased situational awareness and automated
workflow is specifically designed to reduce timelines in the kill chain.
Two AWS clients are available based on widely used military technologies:
- Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit (C/JMTK)
- FalconView
AWS was highlighted in the large-scale Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s directed Joint Expeditionary
Force Experiment (JEFX) 06 as part of an AWACS effort demonstrating Net-Centric warfare using the
Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) data link system.