Development of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) for the US Army will progress to low-rate initial production (LRIP), after the DoD approved a Milestone C decision.
This ‘represents a critical next step in moving the programme closer to future deployment’, ICBS prime contractor Northrop Grumman noted in a 14 January announcement.
Milestone C was achieved by Northrop Grumman in partnership with the US Army Integrated Fires Mission Command Program Office. They worked together on system engineering, design, development and testing of IBCS hardware and software.
Soldiers in the 3-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion have trained with and tested the system over the past year ‘and are poised to demonstrate the game-changing capabilities of IBCS next Fall [autumn 2021] during the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation’, said Maj Gen Rob Rasch, US Army Program Executive Officer, Missiles and Space.
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