Battle management C2 systems are driving the next phase of integrated air defence

Battle management and air defence systems share common ground, bringing together diverse and multi-company sensors and weapons under a single control structure to provide a broad defence capability.

Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) was selected by the US Army in 2010, before being contracted for low-rate initial production and full-rate production in 2022. The company began delivering for a Polish contract in 2023.

DiamondShield, an air defence C2 system developed by Lockheed Martin, was unveiled in 2018 and was, according to the company, being developed for “an international customer”.

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Similarly, Thales’ SkyDefender is a multi-layer, multi-domain integrated air and missile defence system (IAMDS) and uses SkyView C2 system.

At the World Defense Show in February 2026, technology company MARSS (Marine And Remote Sensing Solutions) unveiled Nation Shield, a next-generation air defence version of its NiDAR C2 system.

Meanwhile, Aselsan’s Steel Dome is a multibillion-dollar system which will bring together dozens of sensors and weapons, providing interfaces and space to add additional systems as required.

IBCS and NiDAR Nation Shield further developed with AI

Northrop Grumman’s IBCS reflects the general concept of operations of these air and missile defence C2 systems, as outlined by Kenneth Todorov, general manager of C2 and weapons integration for Northrop Grumman, at World Defense Show 2026.

“The war in Ukraine is really a good example of what’s happening with the needs of modern integrated air and missile defence,” Todorov said.

“Constant drone attacks, constant fast-moving missile salvos and the need to fight from dispersed positions, so we’re finding that fixed targets are often not survivable. I think our customer base in this community is seeing the same thing.

“The big idea behind IBCS is that it can integrate sensors and effectors across multiple areas of the battlespace across multiple domains.”

IBCS is in service with the Polish armed forces and is being delivered to the US Army According to the company, more than 20 nations now have expressed formal interest in the system through a US government Foreign Military Sales process.

Meanwhile, the MARSS NiDAR has been installed in naval bases as a C2 management system against air, land and sea threats, most notably in the Middle East. Nation Shield is an expansion of this capability with a focus on air defence.

The NiDAR Nation Shield is designed to provide a single, coherent operating picture, from edge to mission command (E2MC), enabling faster, artificial intelligence-driven decision making.

The E2MC aspect, which takes the system beyond larger headquarters or vehicle operation to forward deployed, distinguishes the solution from other systems, according to the company. In addition, it shares the AI-driven decision-making support provided by Northrop Grumman’s IBCS, although the latter covers a smaller geographic area.

A MARSS official told Shephard earlier this year that the improved capability meant decision-making at all levels from dismounted soldiers to highest headquarters was now unified within NiDAR.

“If you have a country with lots of different systems across maritime, land and air with different parts of the military involved, it can be difficult for a joint service to get information in real time,” the official said.

“Our strength is to be able to integrate all these systems together, not replacing them.”

Steel Dome: an ambitious full-capability air defence system

According to Lockheed Martin: “DiamondShield is designed to be a multi-domain battle management system that connects, commands and controls the battlespace.”

During the US Indo-Pacific Command’s exercise Valiant Shield, Lockheed Martin paired its DiamondShield with four Virtualized Aegis Weapon System (VAWS) nodes deployed across hundreds of miles. The company introduced DiamondShield and VAWS into a series of offensive and defensive scenarios involving High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.

In the exercise, DiamondShield’s artificial intelligence technology analysed operational C2 data in real-time during dynamic fires and provided commanders with decision aids to recommend assets to respond to incoming threats.

Similar to Diamondshield, Turkey’s Steel Dome multi-layered air defence system was approved by the government in August 2024 and is led by Aselsan.

A key aspect of Steel Dome, according to those associated with the project, is that it will be multidomain and multi-layered to deal with “agile known and unknown threats”, with weapons, sensors and platforms added to achieve concepts of operations.

The system is planned to provide battlefield protection, as well as coverage for cities and critical infrastructure in a mobile or static capability. It is planned to be formed of four domes: close area, tactical, operational and strategic air defence.

SkyView, meanwhile, is a smaller design and is the C2 management system for Thales’ SkyDefender air defence system which was launched in March. It is a platform designed to provide interoperability with NATO and allied multi-domain platforms.

Built on an open, modular architecture, SkyDefender integrates with existing defences and can be further developed as threats evolve. The development and deployment of the system is open to partnerships with other industrial players.

Earlier this week, Denmark selected the Thales-MBDA SAMP/T NG (Surface-to-Air Medium-Range/Land-based), a mobile surface-to-air missile which is at the core of SkyDefender and which is also used by France and Italy.

Greater demand expected

The MARSS NiDAR system is widely used throughout the Middle East, with Nation Shield being an obvious contender for wider area requirements in the face of security threats recently experienced by countries in the region and possible future threats.

With IBCS achieving full operating capability in Poland, production milestones with the US Army and improved capability being added through AI, the system is likely to see further opportunities in NATO countries and elsewhere.

Alongside this, Aselsan president and CEO Ahmet Akyol told Shephard in February that the company was investing US$1.5 billion in production facilities, with the first phase of this expansion expected to be completed this year. Over the next three years, Aselsan is looking to double its production lines annually.

“[We are] trying to deliver more and more. Just last year, the deliveries of units of Steel Dome was roughly 100 trucks and 100 subsystems but this year it will be more. Every year [we are] trying to make it double,” Akyol said.

“Steel Dome is on the way. The AI-based command system is on the way and is now partially being used by Turkish Armed Forces.”

While Steel Dome has a committed or planned range of sensors and weapons, the modular and multidomain nature of the system provides market opportunities for parts or a scaled version of the system.