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Combat Systems Officer eCourse

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  1. INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A CSO? WHAT'S AN ABM?
    Introduction
  2. The Kill Chain
  3. What's a WSO?
  4. What's an EWO?
  5. What's a CSO?
  6. What's a NAV?
  7. What's an ABM?
  8. THE FIRST STEP - COMMISSIONING
    Commissioning Sources
  9. Qualifications
  10. TRAINING
    The Pipeline
  11. Initial Flight Training
  12. UCT (Undergraduate CSO Training)
  13. Training Progression and Checkrides
  14. UCT Tracks and Phases
  15. UABMT (Undergraduate Air Battle Management Training)
  16. How to Survive and Thrive
  17. Three Keys to Success
  18. Class Rankings and the "Dream Sheet"
  19. Drop Night and Beyond
  20. FTU & Follow-on Training
  21. SQUADRON LIFE & CAREER PROGRESSION
    Officer Life
  22. Deployments
  23. Instructor and Evaluator Upgrades
  24. Fighter Life
  25. Bomber Life
  26. SOF Life
  27. Mobility Life
  28. Electronic Warfare Life
  29. ABM Life
  30. CAREER PROGRESSION
    Upward Moves
  31. Lateral Moves
  32. Civilian Transition
  33. Guard/Reserve
  34. MOVES TO THE FRONT SEAT
    Still Want to Be A Pilot?
  35. Active Duty UPT Transition
  36. Guard/Reserve UPT Transition
  37. GI Bill
  38. Bootstrapping
  39. Scholarships
  40. CONCLUSION
    Parting Words
Combat Systems Officer eCourse What’s an ABM?
Lesson 7 of 40
In Progress

What’s an ABM?

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

The Air Battle Manager (ABM) is a highly-specialized, highly-trained professional in a career field that is not widely known or recognized. These aviators take to the skies and control the air battle (as the name implies). With extensive airborne radar-coverage of the area, they provide Situational Awareness (SA),  airborne coordination and threat warnings for the myriad aircraft involved in achieving air dominance over hostile territory. 

With the potential to be managing hundreds of weapons, sensors and fuel states across dozens of aircraft, ABMs serve as a central control-hub to bring all assets to bear against ground-based and airborne enemies. Whether in a JSTARS, coordinating air-to-ground strikes, an AWACS, managing Offensive and Defensive Counter-Air (OCA and DCA) missions against attacking or invading enemy-aircraft, or running refueling operations from a CRC (Control and Reporting Center – a ground based system for controlling aircraft), ABMs act as the central nervous-system for the air and air-to-ground battle. 

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock

The primary systems from which ABMs operate are: E-8 JSTARS, E-3 AWACS, and the CRC.