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NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – Delivering lethal capability into the hands of Airmen is a hallmark trait for Air Force acquisition units. However, mistakes can be costly in terms of time and money.
To prevent this, a team exists to test the “art of the possible.”
DAF PEO C3BM’s Operational Response Team is comprised of operational and technical experts tasked with rapid prototyping and experimentation to ease transitions from acquisitions to operations. The team simultaneously falls under the Department of the Air Force’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management, and the Air Force Research Lab at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
“We bring together operators, acquisitions, and architects to bridge gaps and help programs get across the valley of death,” said Col. Les Snodgrass, Jr., ORT chief. “You can spend time in the lab all you want, but when you take a capability out to a beach, or where it’s muddy and raining, you get valuable insights. By providing that operationally relevant knowledge we can learn more in a week than what may have taken a year to learn.”
The ORT focuses on quickly filling key knowledge gaps identified either by C3BM’s Architecture and System Engineering Division, or one of the acquisition divisions within its portfolio. Projects focus on areas where simulation is either impractical or needs to be validated with real-world data.
“We mainly work for Dr. Bryan Tipton and the Architecture and Systems Engineering Division as they find holes in their knowledge,” Snodgrass said. “We come in and prototype and experiment quickly to fill those gaps.”
The team collaborates extensively with the 805th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., also known as the Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, or ShOC-N. ShOC-N is Air Combat Command’s focal point for experimentation, rapid development, and test support to Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control technical solutions and tactics, techniques, and procedures. The ORT participates in a myriad of exercises facilitated by the ShOC-N as well as serves as a communication conduit between the ShOC-N and C3BM.
“It’s great working with the 805th,” Snodgrass said. “As we’re building prototypes or conducting experiments, we do our experimentation in their campaigns. It also helps them, because they’re automatically tied into and getting feedback from C3BM in support of the DAF BATTLE NETWORK.”
Ultimately, the prototyping methods used by the ORT save time and money by demonstrating capability in a relevant environment prior to making expensive long-term acquisition decisions. It also creates the ability to inform requirements, ensuring capability needs statements match the needs of the operators, according to Snodgrass.
“So, along the way, it’s informing requirements and buying down risk for programs,” Snodgrass said. “We support the DAF BATTLE NETWORK by burning down risk.”
The team’s unique approach is an example of how C3BM is accelerating innovation and ensuring investments in lethal new technology.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2025 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 499646 |
| Location: | NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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