Air Battle Manager


Air battle manager is a rated officer career field in the United States Air Force that provide command and control capability to airborne and ground units. The Air Force Special Code for ABM is 13B.

Training

Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training for the active US Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve is a 6-month course conducted by the 337th Air Control Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base. Following training, graduates will advance to the E-3 AWACS, E-8 JSTARS, Control and Reporting Center, or Battle Control Center.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of Air Battle Managers differ depending on the platform to which they are assigned. On the E-3 AWACS, their job is to provide command and control to friendly aircraft in both air-to-air and air-to-ground engagements, as well as providing long-range surveillance of aircraft and radar emitters. ABMs assigned to the E-8 JSTARS provide radar surveillance on moving and stationary targets on the ground. ABMs assigned to the Control and Reporting Center provide air-to-air surveillance and control for friendly aircraft. ABMs assigned to the four NORAD Battle Control Centers located in the United States provide homeland air defense. In addition, USAF ABMs assigned to BCCs serve in NORAD's Canadian Air Defense Sector and PACAF's BCC located in South Korea.
As of October 27, 2014, the Air Force Personnel Center reported that there are currently 1,436 ABMs serving on active duty.