Mission Planning Systems

The Mission Planning Systems program (PE 0208006F) is a key U.S. Air Force initiative under the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) budget, focused on developing and modernizing automated mission planning capabilities to support Air Force flying operations. The program's primary objectives are to enhance the effectiveness, survivability, and lethality of air missions by providing advanced software and hardware tools for mission planning, execution, and post-mission analysis. This program element funds two major efforts: Precision Aerial Delivery Systems (PADS) and Mission Planning Systems (MPS) Modernization, each with distinct but complementary goals.

Precision Aerial Delivery Systems (PADS) centers on the development and enhancement of the Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS), which is the primary mission planning system for all airdrop operations. JPADS integrates hardware and software to enable high-altitude, precise delivery of kinetic and non-kinetic payloads. The objectives include improving airdrop accuracy, enabling single-pass and multi-stage payload delivery, and supporting contested logistics in denied or hostile environments.

Efforts focus on advancing the Consolidated Airdrop Tool (CAT), enhancing autonomous payload delivery, integrating palletized effects, and expanding dynamic mission planning and command and control (C2) capabilities for aerial delivery systems.

Mission Planning Systems (MPS) Modernization is a comprehensive software development initiative aimed at upgrading legacy mission planning tools and transitioning to modern, cloud-based, and microservices architectures. The modernization effort encompasses the Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS), JMPS Open Mission System (JOMS), and the Theater Air Planning System of Systems (TAP-SoS). The main goals are to enable real-time, collaborative mission planning across all phases, integrate the latest intelligence, weather, and threat data, and ensure seamless interoperability with other C2 systems such as the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) and Air Operations Centers.

Within MPS Modernization, specific objectives are tailored to various mission sets and aircraft platforms. For Combat Air Forces-Global Strike (CAF-GS) platforms, the focus is on supporting Operational Flight Program (OFP) requirements, integrating new weapons and avionics, and enabling dynamic mission replanning. For Global Mobility and Special Missions (GM-SM) aircraft, the program aims to deliver agile, connected, and disconnected mission planning solutions to support Agile Combat Employment (ACE) and enhance operational flexibility.

A major thrust of the modernization effort is the development and deployment of MPS Core Mission Planning (CMP) services, which provide common software architecture, user interfaces, and automated tools for all tactical mission planners. CMP is designed to automate and fuse data for rapid, time-sensitive planning and to support both connected and disconnected operations worldwide.

This approach is intended to reduce platform dependencies, accelerate software delivery, and improve readiness, security, and affordability.

The Theater Air Planning System of Systems (TAP-SoS) is another critical component, focusing on integrating operational C2 with tactical mission planning systems. TAP-SoS enables dynamic mission replanning, real-time data sharing, and optimized battlespace awareness by connecting MPS with ABMS, Air Operations Centers, and Mobility Air Force C2 across the Department of the Air Force Battle Network (DBN). This integration is vital for supporting rapid decision-making and ensuring aircrew survivability and mission success in contested environments.

The acquisition strategy for both PADS and MPS Modernization emphasizes agile software development, continuous integration and delivery, and open, modular architectures to maximize extensibility and speed to field. Program management is provided by the Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications, and Battle Management (C3BM) at Hanscom AFB, with a mix of competitive contracting approaches to leverage industry expertise.