Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Newsroom

    Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Industry event provides tech companies insight into AF Battle Lab development needsPublished Dec. 24, 2022
                    
                    By 505th Command and Control Wing Public Affairs
                    
                    
                    805th Combat Training Squadron
            **NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) --**The 505th Command and Control Wing’s 805th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, hosted a classified Industry Day Dec. 9 at **Nellis Air Force Base**. The ShOC-N is the U.S. Air Force's premier Battle Lab supporting the experimentation, prototyping, integration, and testing of key technologies and capabilities designed to compress the kill chain and advance command and control capabilities for joint and coalition warfighters.

The purpose of the industry event was to highlight the role the ShOC-N plays in experimenting with, developing, and delivering advanced C2 systems to the warfighter.  ShOC-N’s ability to provide a low barrier to entry, access to data, and an opportunity for feedback from operators makes it a very appealing venue for government and industry partners to experiment and integrate.

ShOC-N’s Industry Day included more than 120 traditional and non-traditional industry experts.  Attendees were briefed by wing and squadron leadership about the national imperative for advanced C2 capabilities.

"Industry has advantages with their product lines and their ability to scale; our leadership sees that value and wants to find ways to partner with industry,” said Lt. Col. John “Sox” Ohlund, 805th CTS commander. "When industry partners, acquisition professionals, developmental and testing engineers, and subject matter experts are all iterating face-to-face on a new product, it's amazing to see how quickly improvements are realized!"

During the event, industry partners gained an understanding of how the Air Force functions, current C2 challenges, future C2 requirements and geo-political problem sets. This shared understanding sparked discussion about how industry and government can collaborate to advance C2 capabilities by connecting to multi-domain systems of various classifications and, through ShOC-N hosted events, access warfighters for feedback in the Battle Lab.

During his opening remarks, Col. Frederick Coleman, 505th CCW commander, discussed ShOC-N's value proposition as the nexus of systems development and integration. "The systems we need exist today, but they are being developed in stovepipes.  We need our industry and government partners to come together under one roof, on one network, to figure out how to link these advanced tools in a meaningful way that allows us to execute C2 rapidly and simultaneously across security classifications and levels of war.”

Coleman also discussed the need for advanced intelligence and machine learning.  “We need to automate everything that starts and ends with data,” said Coleman, “and if it can’t be automated, we need to be able to distribute it.”

Subject matter experts conducted question-and-answer sessions throughout the event. Through the Q&As, participants learned more about agile combat employment, data and software integration, processes ready for automation, artificial intelligence, distributed C2, battle management, multi-level security policies, government sponsorship and more.

"We wanted to connect with smaller, innovative tech companies advancing innovative solutions as well as large, well-known businesses at our industry event. The companies will be better equipped to provide solutions and participate in experiments now that they know our requirements," said Ohlund.

Throughout the day, presenters overviewed existing capabilities within the laboratory, discussed upcoming opportunities, and introduced ShOC-N's roadmap for new capabilities.  The ShOC-N continues searching for industry partners with technology that can be used as-is or modified to meet mission needs and innovative constructs that will connect C2 systems in the future.

To help industry partners better align resources to meet the needs of the Air Force Battle Lab's mission, the ShOC-N shared requirements during the event; these included technology (hardware and software), new capabilities, studies and analysis, modeling and simulation, and other dynamic capabilities that could have an impact on future missions.  
"Some [C2] processes could be automated to reduce the workload on human operators and start to have software take that load off their plates; we haven't seen that at the ShOC yet," said Lt. Col. Shawn Finney, 805th CTS director of operations. "We'd like to know what we're missing, what gaps a company has a solution for us."

a military member in uniform stands next to a podium; on civilian stands asking a question while a large group of civilians sit and listen while threeslides are projected on a large wallCol. Frederick Coleman, 505th Command and Control Wing commander, speaks at the 805th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, or ShOC-N, Industry Open House highlighting the Air Force's Battle Lab ability to provide a low barrier to entry, access to data, and an opportunity for feedback from operators for C2-interested companies at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Dec. 9, 2022.   The event included more than 120 traditional and non-traditional industry experts who were briefed by the 505th Command and Control Wing and ShOC-N leaders about the needs for advanced C2 capabilities and to create shared awareness to continue accelerating C2 processes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Shelton Keel)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    










"Listening to our industry partners and understanding their approaches and technological abilities provides insight and allows the Battle Lab to tap into the best the commercial industry has to offer," said Finney.

The next opportunity for C2-focused industry partners to learn more about the ShOC-N and collaboration opportunities will be at the ShOC-N's next Industry Day, tentatively scheduled for June 2023 at Nellis AFB; event details will be posted on Sam.gov, the 505th CCW's website and LinkedIn page.

“We (the Air Force) can’t build this stuff ourselves; we need our industry partners,” said Coleman, “so we will continue to find ways to collaborate and integrate, because deep down we all have the same goal: to win.”F/S 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



ACC 



Air Combat Command 



nellis afb 



Shadow Operations Center – Nellis 



ShOC-N 



technology 



Battle Lab 



industry 



partners Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander emphasizes five focus areas during AFA Warfare Symposium
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil