An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Niagara named first Air Force Reserve installation to modernize base defense

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Lucas Morrow
  • 914th Air Refueling Wing

Air Force Reserve Command and U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville visited leaders and key stakeholders of Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York on Feb. 28, 2023, to tour the installation and discuss the future of base defense.


Working with industry experts, we’ve created the next generation security system that will provide better Command Control and Communication capability for our Defenders.
Brig. Gen. Roy Collins Former Director of Security Forces

The Integrated Base Defense Security System or IBDSS is a U.S. Air Force modernization project that catapults aging defense systems towards the future. AFRC leadership chose NFARS as the first reserve-owned installation to receive the upgrade and aim to integrate NFARS’s base defense through the Defender Multi Domain Command Control and Communications (DMDC3) and is a critical component in the Air Force’s response to evolving security threats.

The concept of DMDC3 was first announced in 2019 when Gen. David Goldfein, then, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who said the Air Force was transitioning from the Year of the Defender to the Year of Integrated Defense in 2020. 

The Defender integrated base defense system is another tool to help NFARS’s host unit, the 914th Air Refueling Wing, operationalize data, analytics, and new technologies to ensure their Reserve Citizen Airmen are equipped and ready to provide Strategic Deterrence. 


It’s imperative we accelerate change and transform to meet future challenges. What worked in the past will continue to be challenged in tomorrow’s operational environment. This project is just one way we’re transforming to win now and in the future.
Col. Lara Morrison 914th Air Refueling Wing Commander

How it works

  • Seeing the whole picture: Decision makers can see base threats from multiple perspectives allowing airmen to make smart, rapid decisions at the lowest level.
  • Self-learning defense: DMDC3 integrates artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing technology to detect threats that learns and adapts to emerging challenges.
  • Full-spectrum capability: Its design integrates and evolves with the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) and the DoD’s Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) programs.
  • The multi-domain command center: The new Base Defense Operation Center or B-DOC can receive and synchronize anonymous reporting apps, mass alerting systems, insider threat tools, and cyber threat hunting and detection giving B-DOC operators complete response control.

AFRC’s Logistics, Engineering & Force Protection directorate is currently collaborating with U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville to complete the modernization project which is also projected for the other nine reserve-owned installations.