Kessel Run Shifts to Vendor-Managed Model to Accelerate Next-Gen AOC
The U.S. Air Force's Kessel Run has transitioned from an Airman-led software factory to a government-led, vendor-managed program office focused on modernizing Air Operations Center weapon systems through artificial intelligence, commercial optimization tools, and defense industrial partnerships.
The U.S. Air Force’s flagship software unit, Kessel Run, has formally completed its evolution from an internal, Airman-coded "software factory" into a government-led, vendor-managed program office dedicated to delivering the next generation of the Air Operations Center (AOC) weapon system. Established in 2017 to fix legacy command-and-control (C2) software, Kessel Run originally relied on active-duty developers to build custom applications like the Jigsaw tanker planning tool. Today, the organization is pivoting to leverage mature commercial software commodities, software acquisition pathways, and defense industrial base partnerships to field advanced C2 nodes.
According to Col. Brian Viola, who assumed command of Kessel Run in June following leadership roles at Platform One, the National Security Agency, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, the transition reflects the maturation of the commercial technology ecosystem. Continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and cloud environments, once novel within the Department of Defense, are now off-the-shelf commodities. By shifting focus from writing baseline code to managing vendor-built solutions, Kessel Run aims to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data fusion into operational AOCs.
To inform this next-generation C2 architecture, leadership is evaluating commercial sector operational models, including major airline global operations centers. Commercial carriers routinely process tens of thousands of daily flights while dynamically optimizing for weather disruptions, aircrew logistics, maintenance, and fuel efficiency. Kessel Run seeks to adapt these commercial optimization algorithms to military problem sets, assessing how civil operational tools can be re-weighted to support complex Air Tasking Order generation and battle management.
From an artificial intelligence perspective, Kessel Run is pursuing a dual-track strategy. The organization is deploying AI tools internally to accelerate capability production alongside industry vendors, while simultaneously collaborating with Air Combat Command and Department of the Air Force leadership to integrate enterprise AI capabilities directly into AOC operational workflows. This approach ensures tactical commanders receive vetted, real-time decision-support tools without building parallel enterprise infrastructure.
For defense prime contractors and commercial technology vendors, Kessel Run’s transition signals a permanent shift in Air Force software acquisition strategy. Rather than competing with organic military coding teams, industry partners now face a clearer mandate: provide scalable, vendor-managed C2 applications that can seamlessly integrate into government-led operational architectures. (Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine)
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