Northrop Grumman IBCS air and missile defence system complete key test phase
IBCS testing at White Sands Missile Range covered a broad spectrum of attack and defence scenarios under realistic conditions. (Photo: US Army)
Northrop Grumman's IBCS missile and air defence system for the US Army has completed its Initial Operational Test and Evaluation at White Sands Missile Range.
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) has completed Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E), the company announced on 8 November. IOT&E represents the last major test event before the US Army makes the decision to move the programme to Full-Rate Production.
IOT&E began in January at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), New Mexico, encompassing a series of operational flight tests. During a ten-month period, soldiers operated IBCS in test environments encompassing a broad spectrum of attack and defence scenarios under realistic operating conditions.
As part of the flight tests at WSMR, IBCS detected, tracked and intercepted threats that included a high-speed, high-performance tactical ballistic missile and two cruise missile surrogates during an electronic attack.
''Throughout IOT&E, we’ve shown how IBCS enables the warfighter to make more informed and faster decisions,' said Christine Harbison, VP and general manager, combat systems and mission readiness, Northrop Grumman. 'IBCS is ready for today’s threats and those of the future, making Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) a reality.'
The US Army awarded Northrop Grumman a five-year $1 billion-plus contract for low-rate initial production and full-rate production of IBCS in December 2021.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella]()
Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella
Turkey has joined the family of countries attempting to establish a multilayered air defence system with government approval in August 2024 for the effort landed by Aselsan. Dubbed Steel Dome, the programme joins Israel’s Iron Dome, the US Golden Dome, India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra and South Korea’s low-altitude missile defence system.
-
![DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system]()
DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system
MARSS’ NiDAR system has been deployed using sensors from static platforms to provide detection and protection for static sights, such as critical infrastructure, ports and military bases.
-
![Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training]()
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
![EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI]()
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
![Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker]()
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
-
![Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend]()
Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend
Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
