DSEI 2023: Northrop Grumman rolls out BattleOne integrated command and control package

Northrop Grumman (NG) is developing a concept for a multi-domain, multi-national command and control (C2) capability and revealed it at the DSEi 2023 exhibition in London.

Known as BattleOne, the concept centres on NG’s air and missile defence (AMD) Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS). 

IBCS will replace all current US Army integrated AMD (IAMD) C2 systems over the next decade. In April 2023, it achieved initial operational capability (IOC) and was authorised for full rate production. IBCS has also been supplied to Poland where it has reached basic operational capability.

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Speaking at DSEi, Jon Ferko, NG director, business development, said that although currently data can be shared amongst AMD assets it is not of fire control quality. 

IBCS, and specifically its integrated fire control network (IFCN), 'can put all the sensors and all the shooters on the same network, so you can use any sensor or any effector providing they are on the IFCN. You can fight as one force in one battlespace'.

He said that a key advantage of this was that it provides intelligent track management. 'Because it’s a network environment you can provide composite tracks derived from several sensors, and if one sensor goes down, perhaps through jamming, you still have a validated track in the system,' he explained.

He added that the system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct threat evaluation and weapon allocation (TEWA), to pair the most appropriate interceptor with the target, while maintaining a human in the loop. Commenting on this he noted that 'we’re going to get to a point where we have to trust AI'.

While IBCS integrates US Army equipment at present, Ferco said that the value of the concept is that providing sensors and effectors can be integrated onto the IFCN, the system can transcend domain and national boundaries and he noted that Poland was already embarking on a plan to integrate its own sensors. 

Shephard is also aware that IBCS trials with USMC and USN sensors have been successfully completed.

Ferco said that international interest in IBCS was growing and that recently a classified trial had been conducted in Germany which had been attended by representatives from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK.

Shephard's DSEI 2023 coverage is sponsored by: