Kessel Run Launches Program for ‘Next-Gen’ Air Operations Center

The Air Force’s Kessel Run software factory is launching an effort to create the “next generation” of the service’s Air Operations Centers, which command, control, and coordinate aircraft movements around the globe. 

In the Feb. 18 program announcement, Kessel Run indicated it wants to incorporate artificial intelligence, machine learning, data fusion, and cloud-based software—the same technologies that are reshaping entire industries today.

The goal here is to enhance planners’ ability to synthesize and visualize the flight, intelligence, and threat data pouring into AOCs around the clock and to help leaders make better, faster decisions. 

The goal is to release a request for information from industry later this month, starting a process that will end with a contract award targeted for June 2027, the announcement states. 

The Air Force treats its 21 AOCs as weapon systems with the official designation AN/USQ-163 Falconer. The current AOC sustainment and modernization contract, a $374 million deal awarded to SAIC in 2022, runs out in summer 2027. 

The AOC system consists of multiple software programs that acquire and present intelligence and sensor data to hundreds or even thousands of Airmen, who in turn use the system for command and control: identifying targets, creating Air Tasking Orders, assessing actions, and more. 

The fielded version of the Falconer AOC system is Increment 10.1. A suite of upgrades, first referred to as 10.2 and now called Block 20, started years ago, with the Air Force first relying on contractors for the new software then moving much of the work in-house to software factories like Kessel Run. 

At the heart of Block 20 is Kessel Run’s signature effort, the Kessel Run All Domain Operations Suite or KRADOS, according to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation. KRADOS is cloud-based and combines different software programs for things like planning refueling ops, fighter and bomber movements, and targeting options into one unified picture that looks like a website. It has already started rolling out to AOCs, and Air Force budget documents state that improvements and further integrations are in the works.

That’s supplemented by a program called AppTX, which transitions existing software applications to cloud computing. 

According to Air Force budget documents, work on that front is progressing to a common baseline that provides commanders with a consolidated operational picture, a “single pane of glass” integrating multiple software programs onto one screen, negating the need to switch between multiple monitors.

The “Next-Generation” AOC program Kessel Run announced Feb. 18 doesn’t mention Block 20 by name but notes that with the current contract with SAIC running out, “as we look to the future, we are seeking to build upon these efforts and identify new and emerging technologies that can further enhance the AOC’s capabilities,” suggesting the program may be separate from Block 20. 

The announcement lists four areas Kessel Run is particularly interested in: 

Artificial intelligence and machine learning “to accelerate decision-making” 
Data fusion and visualization from multiple sources  
Advanced cybersecurity measures  
Cloud-native architectures 

Challenges contractors will have to reckon with include growing cyber threats and integrating legacy systems into new ones, the announcement also notes. 

The timeline for the new program is relatively quick by Pentagon standards—though perhaps not as fast as many software developers are accustomed to: 

Request for Information released in February 2026  
Industry engagement and feedback in March 2026  
Draft Request for Proposal released in August 2026  
Final Request for Proposal released in November 2026  
Contract award in June 2027