Northrop Grumman's BACN reaches mission milestone
Northrop Grumman has announced that its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) has reached a significant milestone, having completed 3,000 missions flying aboard the E-11A Bombardier Global Express BD-700 aircraft in support of overseas contingency missions. The company made the announcement 30 August 2012.
According to the company, the 451st Tactical Airborne Gateway at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, executed the 3,000th mission on 14 July.
Northrop Grumman developed BACN for the US Air Force to overcome the communications limitations posed by the rugged terrain in Afghanistan under a contract issued in 2005.
BACN is a high-altitude, airborne communications and information gateway system that provides situational awareness and C2 coordination between warfighters and commanders. With a suite of computers and radio systems, BACN bridges and extends voice communications and battlespace information from numerous sources.
According to the company, since the system's deployment in 2008, it has delivered ‘near 24/7 coverage in theatre’.
Northrop Grumman was also recently awarded a $106 million contract modification to extend the deployment and operation of BACN payloads installed in three E-11A aircraft and three EQ-4B Block 20 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. The award supports operations through June 2013.
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