Boeing

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [NYSE:BA] an initial $4 million Phase 1 contract to define requirements for the Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) subsystem of the Air Force Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A) program.

As part of the Air Force's vision to evolve into a network-centric capable force, the BMC2 suite will be the enabler of a battle management system that integrates theater-wide sensors; command, control, communications; and weapons to maximize the war fighter's effectiveness.

"Rapid advances in technology have resulted in revolutionary changes in the way the U.S. military will operate," said George Muellner, senior vice president and general manager, Air Force Systems, for Boeing. "Exemplified by this contract win, Boeing is on the leading edge of this revolution. As we project into the future, interoperability will be critical between battlespace entities, including all manned and unmanned platforms; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; space-based systems and shooters."

The Boeing BMC2 suite will enable interoperability and information management and serve as a node within the network centric environment. The result will be a single network to support air and ground surveillance and targeting within the integrated battlespace.

"The BMC2 subsystem will play a critical role in truly integrating battlespace joint operations and creating the required infrastructure to support Time Critical Targeting," said Ron Prosser, vice president and general manager, Integrated Defense Advanced Systems-Phantom Works (IDeAS), the Boeing organization responsible for executing the initial phase of the program. Steve Behnen, the BMC2 Program Manager for Boeing, added "We look forward to working closely with the Air Force to develop a transformational capability that can be upgraded gracefully over time".

The Boeing BMC2 team includes General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Alphatech, Booz Allen Hamilton and CollaborX.

• General Dynamics Decision Systems and C4 Systems will provide sensor exploitation, information management and information assurance.
• BAE Systems Mission Solutions and Communications, Navigation and ISR Systems will provide combat operations management and planning, imagery mapping, and support management of network based communications.
• Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems will provide the sensor control functions, with a particular emphasis on the MP-RTIP radar.
• Alphatech will provide tracking and fusion solutions and decision support tools along with target acquisition and recognition capability.
• Booz Allen Hamilton will provide modeling and simulation capability along with CAIV trade expertise.
• CollaborX provides support for Air Force and Joint CONOPS