Air battle manager (ABM) is a rated officer career field in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

that provide

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or e ...

capability to airborne and ground units. The Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) for ABM is 13B.

Training

Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training (UABMT) for the active

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, Air National Guard, and

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

is a 6-month course conducted by the 337th Air Control Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base. Following training, graduates will advance to the

E-3 AWACS The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-wea ...

, E-8 JSTARS, Control and Reporting Center (CRC), or Battle Control Center (BCC).

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of Air Battle Managers differ depending on the platform to which they are assigned. On the

, their job is to provide tactical command and control and battle management to friendly aircraft in both air-to-air and air-to-ground engagements, as well as providing long-range surveillance of aircraft and radar emitters. JV ABMs assigned to the E-8 JSTARS provide battle management using radar surveillance of moving and stationary targets on the ground. ABMs assigned to the Control and Reporting Center (CRC) provide air-to-air surveillance and control for friendly aircraft. ABMs assigned to the four NORAD Battle Control Centers (BCCs) located in the United States provide homeland air defense. In addition, the Hawaii Air Defense Sector also provides homeland air defense of the United States. In addition, USAF ABMs assigned to BCCs serve in NORAD's Canadian Air Defense Sector (CADS) and PACAF's BCC located in South Korea.

References

{{Reflist United States Air Force specialisms