AFA 2026 panel charts the next generation of DAF battle management

Air Force officials and defense executives used a high-profile panel at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 15 to press for open systems, faster testing, and policy changes they say are essential to speed new capabilities to the field as the Department of the Air Force builds a more connected, resilient Battle Network.

The “Next-Generation Battle Management” discussion brought together Elaine Bitonti of Collins Aerospace; retired Maj. Gen. Scott Jobe of Boeing; retired Col. Sean Lowe of SAIC; and retired Maj. Luke Savoie of Elbit America. Brig. Gen. Joshua Williams, the Department of the Air Force portfolio acquisition executive for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management, moderated.

Williams framed the core challenge as breaking from stove-piped systems and business models that slow modernization. “The Department of the Air Force will not accept business models built on closed software stacks, black box hardware or restricted data interfaces,” Williams said. “The government must own and govern the technical baseline to ensure rapid iterative upgrades.”

Panelists tied that openness to concrete needs at the tactical edge, where computing, networking, and data flows must keep pace with the fight. “How do you solve the compute portion on the edge, so that these tools and the connected network is working further and further forward and faster and faster within the loop of the folks that are on the front edge?” Savoie asked.

Bitonti linked the problem directly to data transport and adaptable architectures. “I think first, you know, we understand from a battle management perspective, it’s all about how we’re moving the data,” Bitonti said, explaining that separating software from hardware and creating flexible communications architectures can allow systems to adapt as new requirements emerge.

That adaptability will matter only if new tools can be proved and fielded quickly, the panelists said. “One of the keys I think for the government is rapid prototyping, demonstrations and ensuring that we have industry partnerships,” Jobe said. “In order to really prove it to the DAF Battle Network or to the Joint Force, you got to go out there and demonstrate it, show that it’s real.”

As an example, Jobe cited a recent effort in which an AMRAAM was launched from an MQ-28 Ghost Bat and integrated with an E-7 Wedgetail and F/A-18 Hornet within nine months. “So that’s one example of the many things we’re doing and the rapid prototyping and getting to the field to demonstrate capabilities,” he said.

Speed, however, is often throttled by sequential testing, security reviews, and accreditation, panelists warned. Lowe described how software can progress from development to security compliance, then developmental testing and operational testing, with each handoff adding weeks or months. “This is how you get months and years of delay,” Lowe said. He advocated embedding developmental and operational testers with engineering teams so issues are discovered and fixed earlier. “By putting the DTOT folks in the right places, particularly with the developmental teams, we can accelerate this.”

Several speakers called out the Authorization to Operate and related cybersecurity processes as persistent bottlenecks that require policy and cultural shifts, not just technical fixes. “The ATO process is … one, it’s out of control of most of the people in program office, and when you get to it, it does bring everything to a screeching halt,” Savoie said, urging a broader relook at cybersecurity, IT security, and accreditation.

Jobe pressed for faster decision-making across the security environment and better training for acquisition personnel navigating complex rules. “I think we could probably move a lot faster,” Jobe said. “Maybe some communication and education to the personnel that are inside the acquisition system might be beneficial.”

Bitonti highlighted another policy hurdle: limits on sharing data across services and with allies. “We talk about really wanting to operate as a joint force and also with our coalition partners, but there are multiple restrictions, policy restrictions on rule sets of what data we can and can’t share,” she said. “At this point, it’s not actually a technological impediment that is causing some of our struggles sharing data. It’s policy impediments.”

Closing the session, Williams underscored the urgency of delivering operationally relevant capability at scale. “Acquisition is a warfighting function,” Williams said. “We must deliver open, resilient, software-driven capability at the speed of operational relevance.”