Courtesy Photo | Members from the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron, Robins Air Force Base,...... read more read more
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ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — When an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft failed to launch during a key mission during a recent exercise, it could have meant the loss of real-time command and control for a multinational force conducting complex air operations.
Instead, the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron stepped in.
The unit, based out of Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, was participating in a Red Flag exercise, which is designed to give flying, command and control, maintenance and other support units valuable experience in realistic air-to-air combat scenarios.
However, for two days during the combat training event, the E-3 was unable to make it off of the ground. The 728th BMCS assumed full responsibility for the Air Battle Management mission, providing control and coordination for the entire Battle Management Area.
“For every mission in Red Flag we had two C2 agencies going,” said Maj. Walter Oliver, the 461st Air Control Wing deputy director of plans and programs and the 728th BMCS detachment commander for the exercise. “On two of those days, the E-3 was not able to get up in the air or take off for some reason. So the 728th covered down for the entire BMA … checking in aircraft, routing them to their hold points, and controlling the mission from start to finish.”
Staff Sgt. Austin Fisk, the 728th BMCS noncommissioned officer in charge of standards and evaluations, helped support training and evaluations during the exercise.
“We went out with the primary game plan of assuming we were just going to run the safety force accountability and check-in portion of the mission,” Fisk said. “Last minute, the E-3 falls out right before this is all supposed to happen. We were already postured and prepared … and we took over the mission and ran with it.”
These exercises serve as a proving ground for the squadron's growing team, and Oliver noted the importance of gaining live experience.
“This situation where we had to cover down aligns with something you may 100% face in real-world operations,” Oliver said. “Our fighters, and everybody downrange, know how important that C2 is. If it’s an AWACS, if it’s a ground station downrange, or a ground C2 station that’s stateside … that’s what’s going to keep them alive.”
Activated in 2023, the 728th was the first battle management control squadron in the Air Force. Formed in the wake of the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System divestment, the squadron inherited the C2 mantle once held by JSTARS. However, they operate from a fixed ground location with access to distributed sensor and communication feeds, allowing the unit to provide 24/7 global battle management without the risk of putting aircraft and crews in the air.
The blending of airborne and ground-based capabilities gives commanders more options to tailor mission execution based on operational need. Whether working independently or in tandem, each platform brings unique strengths to the fight. The ground-based model offers persistence and survivability, while airborne platforms can provide broader radar coverage and line-of-sight in complex terrain. Together, commanders have a varied battle management command and control toolbox that can accomplish the mission regardless of the environment, mission type and threat landscape.
As the Air Force retools its approach to command and control to support Agile Combat Employment and Joint All-Domain Command and Control operations, the 728th is carving out a unique niche. Unlike traditional control and reporting centers, which rely on organic radar and radio assets, the BMCS model emphasizes the ability to fuse external sensor and communications feeds into a scalable, deployable C2 capability.
“Our closest active duty counterpart is the control and reporting center,” said Fisk. “They deploy with their radar and their own radios … our goal is to pipe in either external feeds or communication capabilities into wherever our operations are and provide that same capability without necessarily having to move the people.”
That flexibility means a smaller footprint, faster deployment timelines, and, as the BMC2 capabilities continue to grow at Robins, the potential to provide simultaneous support across multiple combatant commands.
“That’s an end goal we’re getting after, that we can run concurrent operations under Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command at the same time with two separate crews all here from Robins,” Fisk said, “Which is a very unique capability that there's nowhere else.”
The 728th BMCS may be a new unit, but their impact is already reshaping how the Air Force executes battle management in the modern age - one mission, one feed, one fight at a time.
| Date Taken: | 04.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2025 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 495854 |
| Location: | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From the ground up: How 728th BMCS is shaping future of C2, by Patrick Sullivan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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