Boeing completes air defense test

BRISBANE, Australia, July 21 (UPI) -- Boeing Defence Australia has completed operational testing of its Vigilare network-centric command-and-control system for the Australian air force.

The final acceptance test at Australian Air Base Tindal, Northern Territory, demonstrated Vigilare's ability to connect a large number of assets -- including F/A-18 Hornets, AP3C Orions, navy frigates and sensors and data sources across the Australian continent -- into the system simultaneously while satisfying operational load demands, the company said.

"This milestone is the culmination of six years of hard work by the commonwealth, Boeing and our supplier networks and we continue to be on target to deliver Vigilare's full network-centric-warfare capability to the (air force) by mid-2011," said Arthur Mamalis, Boeing Defence Australia program director for Project Vigilare.

The Australian air force will use Vigilare for a multinational air defense exercise this month, Boeing said in a news release.

The Vigilare network-centric command-and-control system integrates advanced technologies that combine data from land, sea, air and space platforms, sensors, data links and intelligence agencies to provide tactical- and strategic-level surveillance and battlespace management operations across wide geographic regions.