WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army\u2019s major missile defense command-and-control system is headed toward a critical test in 2020 that is essentially a redo after the system was unsuccessful in its first attempt at entering production in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS \u2014 the brains of the Army\u2019s Integrated Air and Missile Defense System \u2014 is critical to the success of the service\u2019s future layered air-and-missile defense mission. The goal is to tie any radar, sensor or shooter into the IBCS to create an intricate web of capability to go after a wide variety of current and emerging threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program\u2019s past is plagued with failures and schedule delays, but in recent years the system saw several successes, teasing out the potential of such a capability if all goes well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Software problems discovered during the Army\u2019s first limited-user test of the system in 2016 resulted in schedule delays of nearly four years. The Army originally planned to reach initial operational capability in fiscal 2019, but those plans slipped to the third quarter of FY22, according to FY18 budget documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe intent for the program remains pure and the approach to try to get unbridled, uncoupled weapons systems that really seek to maximize the combination of mission command sensors and shooters in a different way,\u201d Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson, who is in charge of air and missile defense modernization for the Army, told Defense News in an interview shortly before the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIBCS requirements have stayed valid since 2016,\u201d he said, noting the failed limited-user test caused the Army to reset the baseline of the program, though the requirements stayed the same. \u201cWe didn\u2019t fail because of the requirements the first time; we failed because of technical feasibility of where the product was at the time. Really, it was a stability issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army\u2019s second attempt is expected to happen roughly around the beginning of the third quarter of the fiscal year, Gibson said. That will allow the Army to analyze the results and then make a production decision for IBCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gibson is confident that the limited-user test will be successful due to recent test events including demonstrating the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter\u2019s ability to send data to the IBCS system during the Orange Flag Evaluation 19-2 at Palmdale, California, and Fort Bliss, Texas, in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent soldier checkouts used to prepare IBCS for the limited-user test have also been declared a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army is getting ready for another test in December \u201cwhere we seek to up the ante,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cSort of our final test before we move forward going into the limited-user test next year. That test will have a broader range of threats from ballistic missiles and cruise missiles and air-breathing threats for us to counter. We will also integrate some joint air assets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the success in our testing program, other than the traditional developmental tests and operational tests \u2026 that\u2019s been a very positive outcome on this road since the failed one,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, IBCS has been designated, among just a few programs and with congressional direction, to adopt an agile software-development process that allows the system to be frequently updated with software upgrades or patches, as opposed to big software drops that potentially happen only once a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo you get a more agile development framework and a more adaptive and flexible and responsive work outcome to then allow the Army to decide on a faster timeline whether to make changes or not,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cI think it really puts the program at a different place than where it was when we failed the [limited-user test].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the Army is attempting to speed up the schedule to get to an initial fielding of IBCS, the Defense Department\u2019s Office of Inspector General recently released a report that expressed concern that there might not be enough time between the end of the limited-user test and the scheduled Milestone C production decision to analyze the data and address potential issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a future decision in front of us,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cWe certainly are going to wait and assess and report and analyze our performance in the [limited-user test]. And regardless of what the program says today and what we\u2019ve told people, we certainly are not going to shortsight our assessment of whether or not this program met the threshold requirements we are trying to meet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that means the Army has to consider a slip in the schedule \u201cby a week, a month, two months, three months,\u201d the service will do so if the limited-user test shows there is reason to, according to Gibson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven where this program has been, that\u2019s important to make sure we\u2019re confident where it\u2019s at,\u201d he said, \u201cBut secondly, this program fundamentally changes our air and missile defense force, so we better make sure how we employ that force, we better make sure that we are confident to proceed. This isn\u2019t [the] time for a quick decision.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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