Northrop's new battle command system proves its worth

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has successfully defeated ballistic and cruise missiles in a dual-engagement test of a Northrop Grumman-developed battle command system.

The system is comprised of an integrated air and missile defense, or IAMD, capability with an integrated battle command system, or IBCS, to identify, track, engage and defeat ballistic and cruise missile targets.

The recent flight test at Fort Bliss, Texas, validated the ability of IBCS to manage multiple threats. Joint sensors provided data to an IBCS engagement operations center to enhance Army sensor data for a single integrated air picture, and the IBCS selected a missile from different missile types to defeat multiple threats arriving at the same time, the company said.

In the test the IBCS used sensors and interceptors from different air defense systems connected at the component level to operate on the IBCS integrated fire control network. Using tracking data from Sentinel and Patriot radars, the IBCS provided the command-and-control for a Patriot Advanced Capability Three interceptor to destroy a ballistic missile target and a PAC-2 interceptor to destroy a cruise missile.

"This IBCS test demonstrated the benefit of giving warfighters expanded combinations of radars and weapon systems to achieve any-sensor, best-shooter capability," said Dan Verwiel, vice president and general manager, missile defense and protective systems division, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.

"Together with the Army, we look forward to realizing the advances offered by the IBCS open architecture, including taking advantage of sensors that look in all directions to facilitate 360-degree protection for air and missile defense missions."

The test was conducted as part of the Limited User Test system evaluation ahead of a Milestone C decision expected this year.

Northrop Grumman's IBCS will replace seven legacy command-and-control systems.