Georgia Senators Express Concern Over Delayed ABMS Report

Air Force Misses Deadline to Update Status of New ABMS System

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators David Perdue (R-Ga.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) wrote to Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett to express concern that the Air Force did not meet a deadline to submit key information to Congress about the development of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) platform, which the Air Force has committed to hosting at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
 
As Congress provides necessary oversight of the development of ABMS, Loeffler is supportive of the men and women at Robins Air Force Base continuing to operate the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) program in order to prevent gaps in capability.
 
In their letter, Perdue and Loeffler expressed concern to Secretary Barrett over the failure to meet the June 1 deadline.
 
“Section 236 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law No: 116-92) required the Air Force to report to Congress on certain aspects of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) development process by June l, 2020,” the senators wrote. “Today, we write to express our concern that the Air Force did not meet this deadline…We support the work of the Air Force as it equips its warfighters of tomorrow, and are proud that Robins Air Force will be home to these capabilities vital for success in future combat. As ABMS plays a pivotal role in implementing the National Defense Strategy, we respectfully request the documentation required be submitted to Congress as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you to field this critical capability and ensure we avoid any gaps in our national security.”
 
The full letter is available here.