Lockheed Martin UK and IAI aim to promote joint GBAD solution
SkyKeeper BMC4I system demonstration for the British Army. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
After an MoU in July 2021, Lockheed Martin UK and IAI now seek to promote a joint GBAD system combining SkyKeeper and Barak MX.
Lockheed Martin UK and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on 21 March announced a partnership agreement for the joint global promotion of a GBAD system combining SkyKeeper and the Barak MX system.
This development follows an MoU between the two companies in July 2021 and a review of ‘relevant business opportunities’, IAI noted in a statement.
Whereas traditional GBAD systems were designed to detect large airborne platforms, the threat picture today is more complex with small UAVs and loitering munitions.
To address these challenges, Lockheed Martin developed SkyKeeper as a flexible and adaptable Battle Management Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (BMC4I) solution.
SkyKeeper can be integrated with any type of effector, kinetic or non-kinetic, from missiles to jammers. It has been a core part of the UK MoD Land Environment Air Picture Provision programme since 2014 and traces its heritage to the British Army’s Automated Sense and Warn (AS&W) system.
Barak MX is the latest in a family of SAM systems from IAI, beginning with the Barak 1 shipborne point-defence system that entered service in the 1990s.
Barak MX brings a mix of capabilities with similar types of missiles to address a variety of different types of targets from very low range missiles to ballistic missiles.
The Barak MX comprises medium-, long- and extended-range interceptor versions with effective ranges of 35km, 70km and 150km respectively. More than 40 operational tests of the missile system have been conducted against a spectrum of targets, from both land and sea.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Hungary set to begin using Hero 400 loitering munitions]()
Hungary set to begin using Hero 400 loitering munitions
Developed by Israel's Uvision and with systems being sold in the thousands to multiple European NATO countries and the US, the Hero family of loitering systems is also in production in the US and Italy, the latter through Rheinmetall.
-
![Croatia orders Leopards and CAESAR howitzers as Lithuania orders more CAESARs]()
Croatia orders Leopards and CAESAR howitzers as Lithuania orders more CAESARs
The Leopard is becoming the tank of choice in central and eastern Europe as Croatia joins Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary in ordering the platform. Lithuania and Croatia have also signed for CAESAR howitzers.
-
![Light Reconnaissance Strike – enabling a vital mission set (Studio)]()
Light Reconnaissance Strike – enabling a vital mission set (Studio)
A new system-of-systems concept will unlock digital integration of sensors and weapons for Light Forces, allowing them to shape the battlefield environment on their own terms and upgrade legacy platforms.
-
![Lockheed Martin to look further afield for GMARS rocket system opportunities]()
Lockheed Martin to look further afield for GMARS rocket system opportunities
The HX truck is already in use in many NATO and allied countries around the world as a logistics vehicle and carrier for high-value systems, including missile firing weapons, so its use for the Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System makes logistical sense.
-
![Lithuanian 1st Division to achieve initial operating capability in 2026]()
Lithuanian 1st Division to achieve initial operating capability in 2026
Lithuania is one of the countries stepping up its defences in the face of the war in Ukraine with a particular focus on its neighbour and Russian ally Belarus, which has been making incursions into Lithuania’s airspace with balloons and drones.
-
![Medium knocked out of British Army LMP, with CAVS as heavyweight champion]()
Medium knocked out of British Army LMP, with CAVS as heavyweight champion
As the British Army seeks to modernise and consolidate its diverse vehicle fleet, yet another change in direction is underway.
