Air Force And Lockheed Martin Enhance TBMCS Integration Into Air And Space Operations Center Through Developers Network
Gaithersburg, MD, October 22nd, 2003 -- The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] have taken a major step towards further integrating the Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS) into the Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) through a new initiative known as the Developers Network. A collaborative effort of the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) and Lockheed Martin, the Developers Network enables third-party AOC system developers to easily integrate new applications into TBMCS in a non-proprietary, "plug and play" open architecture environment that can be seamlessly integrated into an AOC.
The Developers Network makes all of the tools and software necessary to integrate applications into TBMCS available to authorized users through any standard web browser. Third-party developers ? including government, commercial and defense industry organizations ? can access the Developers Network portal to download documentation on the TBMCS architecture, collaborate with TBMCS developers on new or existing integration efforts, and even access the most current version of the functional TBMCS system for real-world integration and test engineering.
Previously, third-party software providers would be shipped a full TBMCS hardware and software suite to perform integration and test, a process that was both time-consuming and costly. With the Developers Network, all the tools necessary to plug into the TBMCS architecture are available on-line, 24 hours a day.
"The Developers Network is a model for the way ESC will horizontally integrate applications within the AOC and across the Command and Control (C2) Constellation," said Lorraine Martin, vice president of Theater C2 Systems for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems. "TBMCS is an integrating foundation within the AOC, and we've now expanded that foundation wider than it's ever been. The bottom line is that we're creating an avenue for greater machine-to-machine information sharing, which accelerates decision cycles and makes Joint air combat forces faster and more flexible across the battlespace."
The Developers Network is an extension of a two-year evolution within TBMCS from a client-server system to an open, web-enabled architecture. Many of the applications that comprise TBMCS are now available on the web to authorized users around the world, making the data and capabilities within the system easily accessible to a variety of users. The same web-enabled technology that drives the capability with TBMCS is now being applied to the systems integration effort across the AOC.
"TBMCS has been evolving into a data-centric system that focuses primarily on delivering information to the people or systems that need it," said Martin. "With the Developers Network, we're allowing application providers to tap in to that data for their use across the AOC and the Constellation. As the integrators, we're responsible for creating the standards-based architecture that allows for easy interoperability and ensuring that the correct links are in place for these systems to talk to each other. It's a new model of how to integrate a vast array of disparate applications into a cohesive enterprise."
Built in just two months, the rapidly-growing Developers Network was introduced in August and currently hosts about 60 users. ESC and Lockheed Martin plan to grow the user base to include more application-providers from government, industry and commercial organizations.
Media Contact: Keith Mordoff, 301-240-5706; e-mail, keith.mordoff@lmco.com
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