November 27, 2019 | International, C4ISR
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Nov. 26, 2019 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), MBDA and Saab have successfully completed a joint, collaborative effort to demonstrate the ability to integrate MBDA's Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family and Saab's Giraffe radar system family into Northrop Grumman's Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS).
CAMM was the first non-U.S. missile system to be demonstrated with IBCS earlier this year, and Giraffe represents the first non-U.S. sensor system to be demonstrated. The three companies demonstrated rapid and functional integration during simulated threat scenarios that included simultaneous engagements. Simulated air targets were fed to the Giraffe radar emulator, which passed the radar information to IBCS to assess and track threats.
IBCS operators planned and executed optimized engagements based on that data using the CAMM missile emulators which engaged multiple threats simultaneously. IBCS then closed the loop by displaying the outgoing missiles detected and reported by the Giraffe emulators. The event successfully demonstrated both Distributed Fire Direction and Advanced Integrated Fire Control engagements.
“Building on lessons learned from the CAMM family integration, we were able to integrate the Giraffe radar onto the IBCS network even more rapidly and cost effectively, continuing to demonstrate the dynamic and flexible nature of IBCS's open architecture in adding capabilities when and as needed,” said Bill Lamb, director, international battle management, Northrop Grumman.
“Together we are creating a revolutionary IAMD enterprise that maximizes the combat potential of all sensors and weapons across all domains and fills gaps in today's air defense capabilities.”
MBDA's CAMM family is the next generation of air defense missiles for multi-domain applications. Designed to defeat the most challenging of modern and future threats, including saturation attacks by precision-guided munitions and maneuvering high-speed missiles attacking simultaneously from multiple directions, the CAMM family of missiles feature a solid-state active radar seeker, two way data-link, low-signature rocket motor and a 360° soft-vertical launch system.
“This represents the latest successful demonstration of the flexibility of the CAMM family, which has been designed from the ground up to operate within a modern network-centric open IAMD architecture. In this event we were able to demonstrate multiple simultaneous engagements of a full range of contemporary threats, using targeting information from networked surveillance sensors,” said Ben Newland, ground based air defence programme head, MBDA.
Saab's Giraffe AMB radar delivers key capabilities as part of short- and medium-range surveillance and Ground Based Air Defence. It integrates powerful 3D surveillance radar and C3 functionality in one and the same system and provides forces with swift understanding of the air situation, enabling immediate and effective response to changing threats, new tactics and shifting operational conditions.
“We are delighted to see this demonstration of integration of the Giraffe radar onto the IBCS network, contributing both directly to the demonstrated “sense-assess-engage” chain and to the wider Integration Air and Missile Defense with the level of interoperability delivered by IBCS,” said Lars Tossman, vice president and head of Saab business unit Radar Solutions.
IBCS creates a paradigm shift for IAMD by replacing legacy stove-piped systems with a next-generation, net-centric approach to better address the evolving complex threat. The system integrates disparate radars and weapons to construct a far more effective IAMD enterprise.
IBCS delivers a single integrated air picture with unprecedented accuracy and broadens surveillance and protection areas. With its open systems architecture, IBCS allows incorporation of current and future sensors and effectors and interoperability with joint C2 and the ballistic missile defense system.
IBCS is managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
With more than 90 armed forces customers worldwide, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).
Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions within military defence and civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents around the world. Through innovative, collaborative and pragmatic thinking, Saab develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs. Learn more at www.saab.com.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.
View source version on Northrop Grumman Corporation: https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-mbda-and-saab-demonstrate-the-integration-of-disparate-missile-and-radar-systems-into-integrated-air-and-missile-defense-battle-manager
September 22, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Recruits carrying weapons during boot camp "is another reminder that you’re in the profession of arms,” the chief master sergeant of the Air Force said.
September 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR, Security
THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: The Air Force has awarded ATAC, Textron Systems' military airborne training unit, a contract to provide adversary air combat training to F-22 and F-35 pilots at Eglin AFB, Florida — making it the biggest winner in the initial round of the service's overarching effort to outsource pilot training that eventually could be worth billions. “When you add up the number of either sorties or flight hours — which of course the money goes with because you get paid by how much you fly — then you're at more than 50 percent of the total,” Richard Zins, ATAC vice president of business operations, told me today. Under the new award, worth $94 million, ATAC will use its fleet of upgraded and refurbished Dassault Aviation Mirage F1 fighters to play the ‘bad guys' in mock combat against Air Force pilots in more than 1,100 sorties per year for up to four-and-a-half years, ATAC explained in a press release today. The training is expected to begin in January 2021. The award is the last of six Red Air training ‘tasking orders' solicited this year under the the Air Force's Combat Air Forces (CAF)/Contracted Air Support (CAS) program. The Air Force last October chose seven contractors to compete under an overarching indefinite delivery, indefinitely quantity (ID/IQ) contract, worth up to $6.4 billion, for both adversary air combat training and close air support training. As colleague Rachel Cohen explained in March, the ID/IQ originally envisioned 40,000 hours of adversary air combat training at 12 locations. The ID/IQ also envisioned close air support training at up to 10 facilities, of which three were have been awarded this year. ATAC in July nabbed the awards for CAF training at Holloman AFB, New Mexico and Luke AFB in Arizona. Together they are worth up to $240 million. ATAC's flight operations at Holloman AFB are starting up, and will commence at Luke AFB by next month, Zins said. The company also is providing close air support training, playing as surrogate ‘Blue Forces,' for Air Force Special Operations Command Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs) on the ground under the CAF/CAS program under an Aug. 10 tasking order worth $19.9 million, an Air Force spokeperson told me in an email today. Alongside ATAC's July award, two other companies — Draken International and Tactical Aircraft Support Inc (TACAIR) — also were awarded adversary air training tasking orders under the CAF/CAS program. Draken International is providing training at two sites: for F-15E pilots at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, under an award worth up to $74.5 million; and for Air National Guard F-16 pilots at Kelly Field in Texas, under an award worth up to $28.2 million. Draken has a mixed fleet of aircraft for use in training, including the upgraded Mirage F1M, the Aero Vodochody L-159E Honey Badger, the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and the Cheetah produced by South African firm Denel Aviation. The company further won a contract in 2018 to fly as aggressors at the Air Force Weapons School and Red Flag exercises at Nellis AFB in Nevada. TACAIR won a contract up to $90.4 million over four and a half years for training of F-15C/D pilots at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Oregon. TACAIR is providing the training using its fleet of F-5ATs Advanced Tigers, which it also uses to train Navy pilots including at the Naval Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), i.e. TOPGUN. Industry officials are expecting the service to award another tranche of tasking orders next year. However, so far, the service has released no information about the scope or timing of a second round of training awards (and Air Force PAO is still working on my inquiry.) Zin explained that the market is booming for commercially provided airborne training because of the Air Force's enormous needs, driven in large part by its continued pilot shortage. In addition, Zin explained, training for pilots of fifth generation aircraft — especially the F-35, but also the F-22 — requires many more flying hour than older fighters. Another driver is the fact that when the Air Force dedicates an aircraft to pilot training, it takes a toll on combat readiness. Lastly, Zin said, it is more cost-effective to use outside contractors for adversary air training — and given that many of the pilots employed in the industry are retired military pilots. The CAF/CAS program awards for adversary training have “more than doubled” ATAC's business alone, he said. “”It's a massive increase to the industrial base of the companies providing this service.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/atac-nabs-final-contract-for-initial-red-air-training-sites/
December 14, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The Sky Warden aircraft is intended to carry out close air support, strike and ISR missions against violent extremist groups in permissive areas.