Latest GMD upgrade focuses on multi-domain C2
Lockheed Martin is to improve the GMD system by enhancing the C2BMC element. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
C2BMC enhancement should result in a single composite threat picture for US missile defence.
The Missile Defense Agency has awarded Lockheed Martin a $157 million contract to further augment the Command, Control, Battle Management Communications (C2BMC) element of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system.
C2BMC has undergone various upgrades since its first deployment in 2004.
Instead of the current method of engaging a threat with the best single-source data from multiple radars, the Spiral 8.2-7 upgrade for C2BMC will provide the GMD system with a ‘single, real-time, composite picture’ of threat tracks, Lockheed Martin noted in a 10 August announcement.
This picture is created by correlating and fusing data from a broader set of sensors, including satellites, ground-based radars and shipboard radars.
‘Once the spiral upgrade is complete, the GMD system will see the same battlespace picture currently seen by combatant commanders,’ Lockheed Martin claimed. Additionally, Spiral 8.2-7 will also enable C2BMC to report hypersonic threat activity into the Link 16 tactical data link network.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent]()
Top-level commitments but no meat in UK Defence Industrial Strategy’s Statement of Intent
The initial document focused more on creating the right partnerships and inspiring investment in defence than on any details of how future UK Armed Forces would be armed.
-
![UK begins process on new industrial strategy]()
UK begins process on new industrial strategy
The first stage of developing a new UK Defence Industrial Strategy has highlighted failings in current structures with solutions expected to be proposed in next year’s full strategy.
-
![Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west]()
Romanians put pro-Russian candidate into presidential runoff even as the government spends west
Romania joined NATO more than two decades ago and the country is vital to the alliance’s geographic reach and its ability to supply Ukraine with weapons.
-
![What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration]()
What the future holds for Ukraine and NATO under a Trump administration
Although Trump’s geopolitics policy for Europe remains unclear, defence analysts from the US and Europe predict how his incoming administration would attempt to handle critical issues on the continent.
-
![RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific]()
RUSI deputy: UK needs longer procurement plans and improved awareness of US sift to Indo-Pacific
The UK budget announced in Parliament on 30 October was the first by a Labour government in 14 years which has also launched a review into defence procurement programmes.
-
![Australia outlines longer punch and brings local industry onboard]()
Australia outlines longer punch and brings local industry onboard
The Australian government has placed a focus on Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) which has included the purchase of additional long-range rocket systems and investments in local production of missiles.
