Air Force Buys More Mobile Command Centers That Fit in a C-130

The Air Force is spending $315 million to buy more than 40 new battle management kits that can each fit on a single C-130 as it pursues leaner, more advanced options for command and control on the ground. 

The service and contractor Booz Allen Hamilton revealed details of the deal for a second round of the Tactical Operations Center-Light, or TOC-L, late last month.

TOC-L is one of the biggest early deliverables from the Air Force’s “DAF battle network” initiative to develop better command-and-control systems. Maj. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey, who is leading the effort, has called TOC-L the “basic building block for where we’re going for infrastructure for C2,” consisting of computers, antennas, and software that can do “wicked good fusion data integration … across 800 different feeds that are specific to air battle managers and the air picture.” 

Booz Allen teamed up with L3Harris to build 16 prototypes of the system, which it started delivering in 2023. Air Force battle managers then started experimenting with them in exercises and at their home stations.  

Officials with the 752nd Operational Support Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., told Air & Space Forces Magazine last summer the unit was figuring out logistics and procedures for TOC-L as part of the prototyping process.  

Now, leaders say they’re ready to take those lessons and apply them to a new generation of TOC-L kits, dubbed “Major Release 2,” or MR2. 

“This has been a major push from our team and industry partners to see the TOC-L MR2 prototype developed with all the lessons learned from MR1,” Cropsey said in a release. “This achievement truly embodies our agile acquisition approach, setting the stage for a phased deployment where we can rapidly field operationally relevant upgrades based on feedback from the field.”  

TOC-L certainly lives up to the “light” portion of its name: Officials said it consists of about 4,500 pounds of equipment that can be packed up into 35 cases and put in one pallet position on a C-130. 

By comparison, the legacy Control and Reporting Centers include the AN/TPS-75 radar, AN/TYQ-23 operations module, communications terminals, and more. A full CRC unit includes roughly 350 personnel, 170 vehicles, 22 power generators, and more, requiring multiple C-17s to move. 

For this second generation of prototypes, however, the Air Force wants to ensure TOC-L also integrates seamlessly with different networks and platforms. 

“This shift from maneuverability to integration leveraged insights gained from the MR1 prototype’s first operational deployment to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which provided real-world capability assessment,” an Air Force release stated. 

While the new award covers additional prototypes, Air Force and industry comments indicate troops will use the latest version of TOC-L in more real-world ops. The Air Force release refers to the new generation of TOC-L as the “execution arm” of the DAF battle network. L3Harris and Booz Allen are working to “rapidly operationalize TOC-L,” Jason Lambert, president of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance branch at L3Harris, added in a statement.