Integrated battle command system intercepts cruise missiles in key test

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Dec. 11, 2025 – In October, the Integrated Battle Command System, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) for the U.S. Army, completed a pivotal flight test at White Sands Missile Range. This test was part of Follow-on Operational Test & Evaluation (FOT&E) to assess IBCS operational effectiveness in a tactical environment.

During the test, Army Air Defenders used IBCS in a complex environment that mimicked real-world operations, identifying and engaging targets via multiple interceptors. The flight test intercept of two surrogate cruise missile targets demonstrated IBCS’s capability to defeat realistic threats in operational environments and highlighted its ability to enhance joint missions, as it integrated with U.S. Navy participants.

More Details:

• Under FOT&E, IBCS is being assessed for its ability to defeat new threats and meet operational needs. The results of the FOT&E and this operational flight test will inform future IBCS development and fielding to the Army. IBCS’s modular open systems design enables IBCS to evolve and adapt to changing requirements and threats.
• Northrop Grumman is manufacturing IBCS under a full-rate production contract in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Madison, Alabama. The new facility has the capability to double the company’s manufacturing capacity in Huntsville and scale IBCS to meet growing demand for integrated fires, command and control in the U.S. and globally.

Expert:

Jeremy Knupp, vice president, global command and control solutions, Northrop Grumman: “IBCS continues to showcase exceptional performance as seen during this soldier-run FOT&E flight test. By defeating complex threats, IBCS proved its flexibility to integrate new technologies and unify systems regardless of source, service or domain.”

Details on IBCS:

IBCS is a revolutionary systemfire control quality and battle management, unifying current and future systems regardless of source, service or domain. IBCS fuses sensor data for a single, actionable picture of the full battlespace. Through its network enabled, modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS can evolve and adapt to meet the changing battlespace. This proven capability gives warfighters more time to assess and respond to threats, serving as a foundational element for enabling joint and coalition, multi-domain operations IBCS is in production and will be fielded as part of the U.S. Army’s program of record for integrated air and missile defense modernization.delivers that

Northrop Grumman was awarded a five-year contract valued at more than $1 billion from the U.S. Army for low-rate initial production and full-rate production of IBCS in December 2021.

Photo courtesy Northrop Grumman