The United States Army has awarded Northrop Grumman a five-year, $1.4 billion contract for an Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) to link disparate missile defense assets and bolster command and control functions.
The IBCS will provide a decisive advantage on the battlefield through weapon and sensor integration and a common mission-command system across all domains, delivering an integrated fires capability to the warfighter while improving battlespace awareness, decision timing and protection against threats in complex integrated attack scenarios.
Ultimately, the IBCS will integrate fully into the joint force’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort.
Under the contract, Northrop Grumman will deliver up to 160 systems to support modernization of the air and missile defense system. The program is currently in an initial operational test and evaluation phase, and it is expected to wrap up in early 2022. Northrop Grumman will increase IBCS production after a full-rate production decision is finalized in 2023.
This is the first major IBCS award the Army delivered since 2009, when it awarded an engineering and manufacturing development contract to Northrop Grumman.