Integrated Fires Mission Command (IFMC) project management officials have announced a successful flight test intercept against a cruise missile surrogate target in a highly contested electronic attack environment using joint sensors to provide the tracking necessary to defeat the threat with a Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 (PAC-3) missile. Two surrogate cruise missiles were launched in the test, one performing the electronic attack mission to disrupt radar performance, and the other flying a threat profile targeting friendly assets.
Today’s flight test further demonstrates program maturity and readiness for Operational Testing this Fall with the 3-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion. The ability to integrate joint weapons and sensors with Army platforms on a single fire control network is a game-changing capability that is one step closer to being delivered to our Warfighters,” said Program Manager Col. Philip Rottenborn following today’s event.
Soldiers of the 3-6 Air and Missile Defense Test Detachment used the IBCS to track the surrogate cruise missile targets, identify the threatening missile, and launch a PAC-3 interceptor to destroy the target. The IBCS Architecture integrated the widest variety of sensors to date on the Integrated Fire Control Network, including one Marine Corps AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR), two Army Sentinel radars, one Army Patriot radar and two U.S. Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft.
This was the eighth (of eight) successful developmental and operational flight tests conducted with the IBCS program. The Army conducted this test as risk reduction prior to beginning the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) phase this fall. IOT&E is a comprehensive test of IBCS system performance, conducted under realistic operational conditions prior to system employment. The IOT&E informs a Department of Defense and U.S. Army initial operational capability decision. IFMC is managed by the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, AL.
