BACN completes 10,000th combat mission
The US Air Force's Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) completed its 10,000th combat mission across its manned and unmanned aircraft fleet in March, Northrop Grumman announced on 23 March.
The BACN, developed, operated, and maintained by Northrop Grumman, is carried by four of the air force's E-11A aircraft and three Northrop Grumman EQ-4B Block 20 Global Hawk UAS.
The system bridges and extends communications among different datalink networks and disparate users in the air and on the ground, acting as an airborne gateway that translates and distributes voice communications, video, imagery and other battlespace information from numerous sources. It provides situational awareness and enables better command and control coordination between personnel at different levels of the chain of command.
BACN reached the 10,000 combat mission milestone on 6 March, 2017. A range of missions are supported by the node, including airdrops and overall air operations. The system's beyond-line-of-sight capability has been particularly useful overcoming the communications limitations posed by Afghanistan's rugged terrain.
Jeannie Hilger, vice president, communications business, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, said: 'This is a significant milestone as the BACN system continues to demonstrate it is absolutely indispensable to our warfighters in the execution of their missions. Airborne gateways greatly increase situational awareness and command and control, capabilities that are equally critical for joint and coalition operations.'
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Dedrone supplies CUAS systems to Ukraine and increases signal library
Dedrone has announced a strategic expansion via 16 new governmental contracts as the US-based CUAS company continued to develop its drone countermeasure technologies.
-
Baykar’s Akıncı UCAV completes live firing trials over the Black Sea
The Turkish company’s advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicle demonstrated its capabilities during successful live firing trials.
-
Iranian UAV threat leaves Israel’s defence industry searching for answers
Iran has continued to invest heavily in its drone-building capacity, supplying Russia and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East, leading defence experts in Israel to call for more defensive solutions be developed to deter the threat from UAVs.
-
Emgepron and Tidewise team up to develop first ‘made-in-Brazil’ USV
Brazil's Emgepron and Tidewise have partnered to construct the Suppressor unmanned surface vessel by 2025 amid potential interest from the Brazilian Navy.
-
Autonomous navigation drives UUVs proliferation in the Indo-Pacific
The US Department of Defence has teamed up with Anduril Industries to develop advanced AI-driven long-range uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs), countering China’s escalating UUV advancements.