Page 8 - Defence Industry Guide #55

8 DEFENCE NEWS
ADM’s Defence Industry Guide 2022 | Edition 55 | www.defencesuppliers.com.au
US ARMY CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL IBCS FLIGHT TEST
DURING a sophisticated flight test of the US Army’s Integrated Air and Mis- sile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), developed by Northrop Grum- man, data from Army, Air Force and Marine Corps sensors and weapons systems were fused on a network.
This capability demonstration en- abled operators to connect any sensor with the best shooter to see, track and intercept a cruise missile target, de- spite a highly contested electronic at- tack environment that jammed some of the radars and would have otherwise denied the intercept. In addition, IBCS shared target flight track data with a Navy C2 system during the event.
According to Northrop Grumman, the test was proof of the Joint All-Do- main Command and Control (JADC2) capabilities inherent in the company’s modular open systems approach to C2 architecture.
“What we demonstrated during the July flight test is the capacity of our
approach and architecture to integrate multi-domain systems across the ser- vices,” said Mike Foust, a Northrop Grumman engineering fellow and In- tegrated Air and Missile Defense chief architect. “We’ve already proven joint- force connectivity and shown the path to future Joint All-Domain and Com- mand and Control.”
Among Northrop Grumman’s solu- tions to the broader demands of JADC2 is the Joint Integrated Fires Command, Control and Communications system ( JIFC3), which uses modular open systems architecture and incorporates new tools to help commanders quickly coordinate, deconflict and synchronise defensive and strike firing of missiles and other assets.
The approach creates a highly-ac- curate common operating picture as sensors share data to create composite tracks of missiles or other threats that can be used by any effector or weap- on system to engage them. Weapon
ABOVE: US soldiers setting up the Integrated Fire Control Relay in preparation for the IBCS Limited User Test flight test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
systems may share C2 capabilities so that an airborne or space-based sensor might someday cue firing of a ship or land-based missile.
“Our architecture can integrate fu- ture systems, as well as existing sys- tems that were never designed for joint use,” Foust added. “We can leverage the large investment in current sys- tems, which may gain extended range or fuller use of their capabilities – or discover new uses and missions for them – as part of the joint system.” ■
SERCO TESTS LANDING CRAFT DESIGN
SERCO Australia has completed an extensive round of tank testing for its provisional landing craft design in preparation for the Land 8710 Phase 1 Request for Tender (RFT).
Land 8710 Phase 1 is the project to design, build and maintain landing
LEFT: The Oboe model underwent a rigorous series of speed and performance trials.
craft to enhance ADF’s amphibious capabilities in littoral waters and to enable independent deployment throughout the region.
The tank testing was completed at the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Launceston and involved the construction of a 1/16th scale model of Serco’s design named ‘Oboe 1’, in recognition of the unique heritage of amphibious operations un-
dertaken by the Australian Army dur- ing the Second World War.
The Oboe model then underwent a rigorous series of speed and perfor- mance trials utilising the impressive capabilities of the towing tank at the AMC, a specialist institute of the Uni- versity of Tasmania.
The AMC tank is the largest facil- ity of its kind in Australia and gives valuable data as to how the vessel will behave under differing load con- ditions and how it will dynamically perform at sea at various speeds and sea-states.
The results of the AMC trials will be fed back into Serco’s design and further refine performance specifica- tions to address ADF requirements. ■
SERCO
US ARMY