Personnel Recovery Command & Ctrl (PRC2)

The Personnel Recovery Command & Control (PRC2) program is a United States Air Force initiative funded under Program Element (PE) 0305984F, with the primary goal of developing and delivering advanced tools and services to support the planning, collaboration, and management of search and rescue (SAR) and personnel recovery (PR) missions. The program is designed to provide situational awareness, enable personnel accountability, and enhance recovery mission management on a global scale. PRC2 supports both military and civilian rescue operations, ensuring that joint and coalition forces, as well as other national and international entities, have access to integrated, interoperable, and adaptive capabilities for personnel recovery.

A central component of the PRC2 program is the Personnel Recovery Mission Manager (PRMM) 3.1, which continues to be developed using an Agile Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) approach. The PRMM system is responsible for collecting, storing, and disseminating critical information such as biometric data, emergency locator beacon registrations, Isolated Personnel (IP) reports, evasion plans of action, and incident reports. This data is utilized for predictive and preventive analysis, as well as for assessing personnel vulnerabilities, thereby supporting the Department of Defense's (DoD) broader personnel recovery objectives.

The PRC2 program's objectives for FY 2025 and FY 2026 include ongoing modifications to PRMM 3.1, with a focus on increasing automation to shorten reporting timelines for IP events and locator beacon alerts. The program also aims to improve system architecture, code structure, performance, and stability. Integration with external systems is a key priority, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's (NGA) Map of the World for enhanced geospatial tracking, the Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Common Distress Reporting Systems (CDRS), and the Theater Battle Management Core System (TBMCS) to access Air Tasking Orders. These integrations are intended to streamline information flow and improve the effectiveness of personnel recovery operations.

Another significant goal is to enhance the human-machine interface of PRMM based on user feedback from the personnel recovery community. The program is also working to increase secure communication pathways to recovery coordinators and teams, and to establish a pathway to a zero trust architecture that safeguards Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Personal Health Information (PHI).

Additional planned improvements include the integration of Blue Force Tracking for increased situational awareness and the use of Link 16 for forwarding 15-Line execution tools to vehicles, further supporting mission execution and coordination.

The PRC2 - PRMM Test and Evaluation line item supports the rigorous testing of PRMM 3.1.x.x versions. This includes internal testing through continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines to ensure compliance with authorization to operate (ATO) requirements, as well as functional, cybersecurity, developmental, and operational testing. These activities are critical for validating system performance, security, and operational suitability before fielding new capabilities to users.

Program management for PRC2 is provided by the Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Electronic Systems at Hanscom AFB, MA, with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Hill AFB, UT serving as the contracting authority. The 517th Software Engineering Squadron (517 SWES) at Hill AFB is responsible for agile product development, modernization, sustainment, and software maintenance of the PRC2 system. This acquisition strategy leverages in-house Air Force expertise to ensure rapid and responsive development and sustainment of critical personnel recovery capabilities.