According to an aspect, a system in an aircraft includes a vehicle management system (VMS) and a load control system (LCS). The LCS includes an LCS processor operable to receive and transmit a plurality of data and load management commands to one or more of: the VMS and a load control interface. The LCS processor is further operable to interact with one or more of: the VMS, one or more LCS sensors, and a load capturing interface of the aircraft to execute the load management commands as a sequence of one or more load management subcommands. The load capturing interface is operable to capture and release an external load relative to the aircraft using a load capture device. The LCS processor is also operable to report a status of execution of the load management commands to the VMS and the load control interface.