Murray: IBCS nearing limited user test

By Ashley Tressel / June 10, 2020 at 1:23 PM

The Army is "getting very close" to a limited user test of Northrop Grumman's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System at White Sands Missile Range, NM, according to Gen. Mike Murray, the head of Army Futures Command.

Murray is "keeping a very close eye on this program," he said during an Association of the U.S. Army virtual event. "I checked on it when I was at White Sands and then just yesterday had a go, no-go brief with the program manager, the cross-functional team director, the Army capability manager and the Army Test and Evaluation Command and the White Sands Missile Range commander. We go through this weekly in terms of where we are on readiness in starting LUT. The good news is [there are a] few things we've got to work through the rest of the week, but right now it appears all systems are green for that LUT."

Col. Philip Rottenborn, Integrated Air and Missile Defense project manager in the program executive office for missiles and space, said last month the test was delayed due to "COVID-19 mitigation efforts" but that initial operational capability for IAMD is still on schedule for 2022.

The service wants to use IBCS in the IAMD program to integrate Army and joint sensors and weapons across a modular open systems architecture to provide a single, integrated air picture, allowing soldiers to both see more threats and destroy them faster and more effectively.

The pandemic-related delay is also expected to push a milestone C decision for IAMD from September to November, according to Rottenborn.

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