It is the 15th anniversary of the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) and which is the blueprint, the architecture that goes first before all the sensors and shooters that go forth and a system that is often mis-looked and misunderstood. C2BMC went first, 15 years ago, before the initial operation capability of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system and interceptors were operationally deployed in July of 2004. We took the time to bring together the overall leader and first implementer of C2BMC, retired Lieutenant General Trey Obering – former Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director from 2004-2008. We added to the discussion the current Program Director for C2BMC at MDA, Mr. John Bier, one of NORTHCOM’s current Missile Defense Officers, Major Robyn Pigman, and Mr. Tony Manganiello, former Chief Administrative Officer of Virtu Financial on similarities and lessons learned from the integration of algorithms and rapid technology growth in the wall street financial sector that can translate and be carried over to improve command and control systems. For your awareness and information here is our transcript of the event to celebrate 15 years of C2BMC and its future.

“Just like at the time we started fielding C2BMC, we were using the state of the art technology. A lot of that technology was being generated within the defense industry, within the national labs, etc. But that’s not the case anymore. I think in 10 years we’re going to look back and say, “Oh, my God, we were on the cusp of a revolution in the technology.” If you look at just … I’m sure many of you in here use Uber. The technology in Uber alone, if you apply that to the missile defense mission is incredible. You combine that with artificial intelligence, with a nanosecond technology that’s coming out with the commercialization of space, machine learning, I think you’re going to see a revolution in the technology, where you’re going to see command and control and what I call C2BMC at the edge, where you really are going to be able to operate faster and faster and faster. You’re going to be able to sort enormous amounts of data. The F-35 sweeps up enormous amounts of data. That’s just one sensor, right? You begin to combine those in ways that we never even thought possible. I think, and that applies to going to space as well. So I think we’re going to look back in 10 years and say, “Oh, my gosh, this was an inflection point,” as Riki mentioned earlier, and we really are going to go to the next level.” – Lieutenant General (Ret) Trey Obering

“We did a test last December where we used the C2BMC mission node over in Europe located at Ramstein with the 10th AAMDC sensor army sensor managers controlling a radar that was located on Wake Island as this air launch target in the Middle Pacific was flying towards Hawaii. So we took the data from the … on Wake Island, sent it all the way back to Europe, and then sent it all the way back to Hawaii where the Aegis Ashore site was located. We’re doing this as part of our claiming flight test for EPA[A] phase three. You know, where we do the, what’s called that Aegis “engage on remote,” where we get that large increase in defended area. But that speed of data is important, but when you’re reaching across three quarters of the globe and executing this mission, data is timely. Microseconds and milliseconds is dollars in your world. For us, it’s getting that data in the right place at the right time for those weapons to engage.” – Mr. John Bier

“C2BMC is going to lead missile defense. Not the fancy sensor, not the new bullet, not the directed energy. C2BMC is leading Missile Defense to a new environment, a new way to look at our missile defense capabilities. That is forcing expansion of MDA, and of cruise missile defense, hypersonic defense and space. It’s not the weapons they have, it’s the brains they have, and that’s where we’re heading. I think the biggest thing, and they’ll get it, besides the Artificial Intelligence that’s going to process, is being able to make this able for our allies, so we can leverage all of their capabilities, and we’re not leveraging those yet today. But the future is phenomenal for C2BMC, and you should be getting the best and the brightest in this mission.” – Mr. Riki Ellison