Northrop Grumman, US Army Prove Sensors and Shooters as Network Components With Missile Defense Flight Test Intercept
November 16 2015 - 9:30AM
The U.S. Army and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) achieved
a major milestone for integrated air and missile defense (IAMD)
when the IAMD Battle Command System (IBCS), using tracking data
from Sentinel and Patriot radars, provided the command-and-control
(C2) for a Patriot Advanced Capability Three (PAC-3) interceptor to
destroy a cruise missile target.
A video accompanying this release is available at:
https://youtu.be/pEEBr3s4I8k
The flight test, conducted on Nov. 12, validated the ability to
identify, track, engage and defeat targets using sensors and an
interceptor from different air defense systems operating on the
integrated fire control network and under the control of the
IBCS.
"The technical challenge of integrating sensors and shooters
that were never designed to work together – breaking them from
existing systems into components for networking – is tremendous,"
said Dan Verwiel, vice president and general manager, integrated
air and missile defense division, Northrop Grumman Information
Systems. "With the successful intercept, the Army and Northrop
Grumman team continues to show how IBCS is a paradigm-shifting
system of systems for air and missile defense."
The flight test began when an MQM-107 drone target, serving as a
cruise missile surrogate, flew a low altitude trajectory against an
asset defended by an Army IAMD task force. The defense consisted of
battery and battalion IBCS engagement operations centers, a Patriot
radar and two Sentinel radars, and two PAC-3 launchers connected at
the component level to the IBCS integrated fire control network.
Because the low altitude trajectory of the target obscured it from
the Patriot radar's field of view, the IBCS correctly used the
Sentinel composite tracking data to calculate and present the
necessary engagement solution. The engagement operations center
operator then commanded, via the IBCS mission control software, the
launch of a single PAC-3 interceptor missile to destroy the
target.
"The IBCS gives warfighters the advantage of expanded sensor and
weapon system combinations and enables a component-based
acquisition approach," said Verwiel.
Foundational to IAMD transformation and key to the Army IAMD
portfolio, the IBCS is managed by the IAMD Project Office, Program
Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal,
Alabama.
IBCS replaces seven legacy C2 systems to deliver a single
integrated air picture and offer the flexibility for deployment of
smaller force packages. By networking sensors and interceptors – as
opposed to simply linking them – IBCS provides wider area
surveillance and broader protection areas. With its truly open
systems architecture, IBCS enables integration of current and
future sensors and weapon systems and interoperability with joint
C2 and the ballistic missile defense system.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
CONTACT: Sudi Bruni
858-592-3407
sudi.bruni@ngc.com
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