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Northrop Grumman, MBDA and Saab demonstrate IBCS ability

Air December 6, 2019

Northrop Grumman, MBDA and Saab have successfully completed a joint, collaborative effort to demonstrate the ability to integrate MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family and Saab’s Giraffe radar system family into Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS).

CAMM was the first non-US missile system to be demonstrated with IBCS earlier this year, and Giraffe represents the first non-US sensor system to be demonstrated.

The three companies demonstrated rapid and functional integration during simulated threat scenarios that included simultaneous engagements. Simulated air targets were fed to the Giraffe radar emulator, which passed the radar information to IBCS to assess and track threats.

IBCS operators planned and executed optimized engagements based on that data using the CAMM missile emulators, which engaged multiple threats simultaneously. IBCS then closed the loop by displaying the outgoing missiles detected and reported by the Giraffe emulators. The event successfully demonstrated both Distributed Fire Direction and Advanced Integrated Fire Control engagements.

“Building on lessons learned from the CAMM family integration, we were able to integrate the Giraffe radar onto the IBCS network even more rapidly and cost effectively, continuing to demonstrate the dynamic and flexible nature of IBCS’s open architecture in adding capabilities when and as needed,” said Bill Lamb, director, international battle management, Northrop Grumman. “Together we are creating a revolutionary IAMD enterprise that maximises the combat potential of all sensors and weapons across all domains and fills gaps in today’s air defence capabilities.”

IBCS creates a paradigm shift for IAMD by replacing legacy stove-piped systems with a next-generation, net-centric approach to better address the evolving complex threat. The system integrates disparate radars and weapons to construct a far more effective IAMD enterprise. IBCS delivers a single integrated air picture with unprecedented accuracy and broadens surveillance and protection areas. With its open systems architecture, IBCS allows incorporation of current and future sensors and effectors and interoperability with joint C2 and the ballistic missile defense system.

IBCS is managed by the US Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

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IAMD IBCS MBDA Northrop Grumman Saab

Post written by: Matt Brown