Army Conducts Soldier Checkout Event Test for Northrop Battle Command System

The U.S. Army has wrapped up a developmental test of the Northrop Grumman-built Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System.

IBCS worked as a command-and-control platform for air defenders and helped them counter tactical ballistic missile threats through 26 simulated air battles during the three-week soldier checkout event held in August at Tobin Wells in Fort Bliss, Texas, Northrop said Monday.

IBCS is a C2 system designed to help combatant commanders and air warfighters gain a single picture of the battlespace and field force packages through the integration of sensors, interceptors and other weapon systems.

“The event allows air defense warfighters the unprecedented opportunity to provide relevant system performance and interface feedback when the system is integrated with actual tactical hardware and software,” said Barry Pike, program executive officer for the Army’s missiles and space.

Dan Verwiel, vice president and general manager for missile defense and protective systems at Northrop, said the company worked to address the software inefficiencies discovered in limited user test conducted in 2016.

The Army will subject IBCS to Phase II SCOE test this month at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona to assess the system’s performance in joint environment.

Northrop also secured a contract modification from the Army this month to continue engineering and manufacturing work on IBCS.