Flight Plan transforms Air Force ISR
Col. Tim Skinner, chief of the Air Force's ISR Plans and Integration Division, answers the question: What was the most important C4ISR development of the past year and why.
Editor’s Note: The evolution of C4ISR initiatives was affected by a variety of decisions this year. At the same time, efforts to improve upon the technologies that support the warfighter, including command, control, communications and computers and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, gained new urgency.
Defense Systems asked a number of senior military officers and Pentagon personnel to answer the question: What was the most important C4ISR development of the past year and why as part of a broader year-end assessment on C4ISR developments. Following is the response from Col. Tim Skinner, chief of the Air Force's ISR Plans and Integration Division.
“Beyond the significant enhancements the Air Force has made to ISR capabilities for the ongoing joint fight, one of the most important ISR developments over the last year is the design and implementation of the Flight Plan. For the first time ever, the Air Force ISR community has developed a consolidated process and corporate governance structure, which includes all major commands, to improve the integration of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in air, space, ground and cyberspace to meet current and future challenges facing the United States and its Allies."
“The Flight Plan addresses all doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and training, personnel, and facilities considerations in each of those domains. The Flight Plan concept and implementation was not only a process change but also a significant cultural change for the Air Force ISR community, which moved to a capability versus platform-centric based mindset for developing new ISR requirements."
“The Air Force ISR Flight Plan translates priorities and guidance from the current AF Strategic Plan, AF ISR Strategy and multiple national intelligence community strategies to create a vision for AF ISR capabilities, development, modernization and recapitalization to meet requirements for the joint fight today and into the future."
“Finally, the Flight Plan implementation highlighted the new linkage to the acquisition community’s end-to-end capabilities management method and system of systems approach to gain a holistic ISR view while effectively and efficiently organizing people, integrating equipment and recommending ISR investments.”