Modular Detachment Kit Enables Mobile Command and Control Across Europe

Burt Miller, the command and control specialist who leads Modular Detachment Kit development, gave the context for USAFE’s current air control squadron (ACS) structure. “During the Cold War, there were 20 or so of these squadrons of various sizes,” he says.

“That was during my early Air Force years. In the 1980s, I was stationed at an air control squadron outside of Frankfurt. By the time I got there, the force structure was already dwindling. Then after the Berlin Wall fell, they went down to two ACSs and finally just one.”

That was then; this is now. “USAFE is getting ahead of the fact that they need to increase their view and ability to support any future allied missions,” says Burt. One control reporting center is not enough to oversee aircraft traffic, deconflict airspace, and manage the entire European theater of operations should the Ukraine war expand or a separate regional conflict arise.

The Modular Detachment Kit seamlessly fuses sensor and datalink information in a vendor-agnostic platform that evolves along with mission needs. It gives commanders an agile way to speed decisions and orchestrate joint fires. For USAFE, it expands voice and data communications across Europe, enabling remote orchestration of air traffic and increasing the strategic advantage of NATO allies.

Burt points out the attributes that make this possible: “It’s cost-effective, due to its small size and the fact that it can be maintained remotely—no onsite staff needed,” he says. “It takes a convoy of trucks to move equipment for a big data center. The Modular Detachment Kit fits in a closet and takes very little power or effort to set up.”

Booz Allen manager Barry Hertsgaard points out that the Modular Detachment Kit’s characteristics fit the requirements of Agile Combat Employment (ACE), the Air Force’s operational concept emphasizing distributed units and capabilities. “This is an example of getting tech quickly into the hands of the operators and building on it,” he says.

He points out the progression: “We deployed the initial set of Modular Detachment Kit modules as a proof of concept. USAFE has continued to expand the Modular Detachment Kit footprint, giving warfighters greater reach across the NATO area of operation," says Barry.

“The U.S. Air Force is heading toward a highly mobile, distributed C2 operations architecture through the TOC-L prototype,” says Khalid Syed, senior vice president at Booz Allen. “It provides an early operational glimpse of this key ACE-enabling capability.”

More broadly, the solution also aligns with the focus on speed and open solutions across the Department of Defense (DOD). As Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, recently remarked, "There's got to be a mentality, a capability, and a system to adapt things quickly and then spread that adaptation across the force.”

Barry points out that having a practical and effective partnership made rapid Modular Detachment Kit deployment possible.

“USAFE had the vision to pursue this, and Booz Allen had the technology to realize it quickly, simply, and at a favorable cost point," says Barry. “We feel this is an example of the type of government-industry partnership that’s critical for the future of U.S. defense.”