Lockheed Martin Contracted to Augment U.S. Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Capability

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $157 million contract to augment its Command, Control, Battle Management & Communications (C2BMC) engagement support capability for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system that protects the U.S. from long-range ballistic missile attacks.

Once the spiral upgrade is complete, the GMD system will see the same battlespace picture currently seen by combatant commanders. Additionally, Spiral 8.2-7 will also enable C2BMC to report hypersonic threat activity onto the Link 16 military tactical data link network and display to the operators, a Lockheed Martin release said.

Offensive missile systems with maturing sophistication from rogue states pose a growing threat to the U.S. Helping the U.S. counter these threats is the Command, Control, Battle Management & Communications (C2BMC) system, the integrating element of the U.S. Missile Defense System.

The GMD system includes silo-based interceptors, connections to sensors on land and sea, distributed fire control and launch support systems.

Currently, the GMD system engages a threat using the best single source data from multiple radars. The next upgrade to C2BMC, called Spiral 8.2-7, will provide GMD with a single, real-time, composite picture of threat system tracks by correlating and fusing data from a broader set of sensors, including satellites, ground- and ship-based radars.

"C2BMC is a 21st century battle management system, with a global infrastructure capable of supporting many different types of missions," said Mark Johnson, director of Missile Defense Solutions for Lockheed Martin. "As customers look for innovations to advance joint all-domain operations, they can look to C2BMC."

Fielded in 2004, C2BMC is one of the first operationally deployed Multi-Domain Systems, integrating systems and sensors operating in space, on land and at sea. This network operates 24/7 to support real-world operations at more than 30 locations around the world, including U.S. Strategic, Northern, European, Indo-Pacific, Space and Central Commands.