Press Release
BOSTON (28 April, 2021) – During a quarterly senior leader review, Kessel Run and Air Combat Command leaders agreed the Air Operations Center Weapon System (AOC WS) program has met an important milestone on the path toward replacing its legacy command and control planning and execution capabilities.
In April, the Kessel Run All Domain Operations Suite (KRADOS) was declared a minimal viable product (MVP), in accordance with the definition outlined in the new DoDI 5000.87. An MVP is an early version of functioning software delivered to users in order to rapidly advance its basic capabilities to a more complete operational package the warfighter can begin using in operations.
This continuous user-centered approach enables warfighters to quickly evaluate software improvements, provide direct feedback to Kessel Run developers, and rapidly iterate the software to provide maximum value and impact.
“This is a huge milestone for Kessel Run, ACC and our users,” said Col. Brian Beachkofski, commander of Kessel Run. “Only a year after delivering stand-alone applications to support operations, we’ve fielded an MVP suite of nine applications connected by a common data layer for usability assessment and user feedback. At Kessel Run, we’re focused on delivering software solutions warfighters love.”
Kessel Run previously fielded a smaller subset of these software tools to the AFCENT AOC, but as independent applications focused on narrow problem sets existing in that theater. The KRADOS MVP includes these previous software tools, adds several new ones, and integrates them all to produce an integrated system designed to encompass the whole AOC planning and execution process. As KRADOS evolves over the next year, the legacy Theater Battle Management Core Systems (the decades-old air tasking order workhorse system), will begin to transition out of the AOC WS.
“Since their inception, Kessel Run has worked to shift the Air Force to a more software-centric mindset, and I think they have done that very well,” said Col. Timothy Hofman, the Chief of AOC and AFFOR Requirements Division, Headquarters, ACC. “Kessel Run introduced groundbreaking agile software development processes with an innovative team of active duty Airmen, government civilians, and support contractors providing a truly organic Materiel solution. The AOC WS is Kessel Run’s most complex development effort, and while the program still has a long road ahead, we are definitely picking up speed and the KRADOS MVP is an important point of progress.”
In partnership with ACC and the AFCENT AOC, this MVP not only begins the acceleration of rapid capability improvements directly to the AFCENT warfighter, but signals a stepping off point toward the modernization of all AOCs around the globe. In the coming year, as these modern capabilities are further matured and adopted for operational use, the warfighter engagement footprint will continually expand to warfighters in all the AOCs.
Air Force Life Cycle Management Centermedia@kr.af.mil