MSPO: Northrop Grumman makes the point on IBCS 27/08/2024 | Marco Giulio Barone

As the Polish defence exhibition MSPO approaches, Northrop Grumman makes the point on its IBCS (Integrated Battle Command System), of which Poland is the most important foreign customer with its WISLA and NAREW air defence programmes.

In the US, the ICBS is the centrepiece of the U.S. Army’s modernization strategy for air and missile defence capability. The system’s resilient, open, modular, scalable architecture is foundational to deploying an integrated network of all available assets in the battlespace, regardless of source, service or domain, including assets deployed over IP-enabled networks, counter-UAS systems, 4th- and 5th-generation aircraft, ground-based, ship-based and space-based sensors, and more. In short, it can coordinate all air defences from STINGER launchers to THAAD batteries. Sensors and effectors are connected to several Integrated Fire Control Network relays (IFCN) that serve as local C2 nodes, as well as to the main Engagement and Operation Centre (EOC) that hosts the battle management software, communications and computing to plan and fight the battle.

As highlighted by Will Lamb, Operating Unit Director, Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Northrop Grumman, “Communications like Link 16 are very useful to have some situational awareness, but the IBCS works differently and provides a true integrated, recognised air picture, getting data from a large sensor network. The network provides resilience per se, as each sensor and effector contributes to the protection of the desired area, but none of them is vital. You lose one or more, you are still operational and capable of responding to the threat.” The U.S. Army awarded Northrop Grumman a Full Rate Production (FRP) contract for IBCS in May and will start fielding the system in 2025. Afterward, Lamb confirms, “as much as $2 billion per year will be pledged to IBCS”.

Poland signed a $2.5 billion deal with the United States for the IBCS in 2024. This system will serve as the "brain" of the entire air defence network, integrating medium-range (WISLA programme) and short and very-short range (NAREW programme) air and missile defence systems.

Brig. Gen. Michal Marciniak, Deputy Head of Poland's Armament Agency, Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of National Defence for Development of IAMD declared: “the first WISLA squadron, based on Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) batteries, will reach its full operational capability (FOC) in September, after a battalion demo. After 7 years of work, we are definitely on track. The IBCS will be capable to give cohesion and comprehensiveness to the air defence in Poland for medium end short range engagements. Missile batteries of the NAREW programme will be incorporated into this architecture, too.”

Indeed, Northrop Grumman is working with MBDA UK to integrate the CAMM missile batteries into the IBCS architecture, thus confirming once more the system’s ability to incorporate virtually any kind of asset. Nevertheless, Brig. Gen. Marciniak  specified that the 22 batteries of the indigenous PILICA VSHORAD system (combining 23mm anti-aircraft guns with PIORUN/GROM missiles) will be interoperable with but not integrated into the IBCS – as the system would maintain its own C2 module.

Both WISLA and NAREW are tailored on Polish specific requirement. The Polish industry has a considerable involvement in the production, deployment, and maintenance of all systems and weapons. For instance, Polish company WZL-1 (Wojskowe Zaklady Lotnicze Nr. 1) plays a significant role in all Polish procurement programmes and specializes in production and maintenance of communication equipment. As far as the IBCS is concerned, Northrop Grumman provides WZL-1 with hardware, software, and payloads (via Foreign Military Sales, FMS), and the Polish company integrates all in a Polish-specific design and architecture.

As US and Poland declare the system operational, the IBCS appears well-positioned for continued growth in both domestic and international markets as militaries seek to modernize and integrate their air and missile defence capabilities. Earlier this year, Northrop Grumman had also signed a MoU with Diehl Defence to integrate the IRIS-T SLM as well, with a potential similar architecture to propose for German Patriot batteries and, in perspective, for the European Sky Shield initiative.


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