The US Army and Northrop Grumman Corporation have successfully completed an Interim Design Review (IDR) for the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS). The successful review means the IBCS program is ready to enter the design phase.

The three-day review, concluded on March 25, served as a forum for the Army, Northrop Grumman and its teammates to share technical information and ensures all the Army's program requirements are clearly understood. The IDR is the first in a series of events leading up to the Army's Delta-Preliminary Design Review later this year.

"The IBCS program is critical to the Army; it will serve as the backbone for Army air and missile defense," said Maj. Gen. Genaro "Gino" J. Dellarocco, Program Executive Officer, Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

The IBCS program will provide the Army with its first truly open-architecture and mission-tailorable battle command system for air and missile defense units. The system will also utilize an integrated fire control network based on a track management solution to provide vastly improved tools. This will enable IBCS to supply warfighters with the data to make time-sensitive tactical decisions under the most demanding conditions and significantly enhance joint IAMD operations.
"The success of this event so soon after contract award shows that the program is off to a great start," said Karen Williams, vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems for Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "This clearly demonstrates the commitment of the Army and its IAMD partners to deliver this critical capability to our men and women in uniform."

In December 2009, the Northrop Grumman team was awarded the contract for the development of a common battle command system for the Army integrated air and missile defense. Team members contributing to the IDR include The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Harris Corporation, Schafer Corporation, nLogic Inc., and Numerica. In addition, Northrop Grumman is working closely with Raytheon Company, the prime contractor for many of the Army's existing air defense systems, to ensure that existing air and missile defense systems are seamlessly integrated with the battle command system.

Source: Northrop Grumman