14 Jan 03. Lockheed Martin announced that it will lead an industry team with Raytheon and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to compete for the development and integration of the Battle Management Command, Control, Computers, Communications, and Intelligence (BMC4I) subsystem for the U.S. Air Force’s Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A) program.

The BMC4I subsystem will enable airborne operators to manage data from sensors on board the MC2A aircraft, as well as from other airborne, space and ground-based sensor platforms, and create and communicate a comprehensive situational picture in near real time. This capability will enable warfighters and other operational forces to respond rapidly to time-critical information in support of global strike, homeland defense, search and rescue or disaster relief missions.

“The battle management subsystem is a critical enabling technology for the Air Force’s vision of creating and disseminating a cohesive picture of the battlespace in near-real time,” said Robert B. Coutts, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Systems Integration Business Area. “With the addition of Raytheon and SAIC, our team is well positioned to help the Air Force shorten the target kill cycle with a solution that will provide a common look and feel across multiple platforms.”

The team members will contribute as follows:

– Lockheed Martin will provide overall systems architecture, systems engineering and integration, program management, battle management and command and control (C2) systems leadership. The Corporation will tap systems experts from large-scale programs such as the Theater Battle Management Core Systems, EA-3 AWACS, Integrated Space Command and Control, Distributed Common Ground Station, Global Combat Support System – Air Force, F/A-22 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

– Raytheon will provide and integrate on board the MC2A aircraft next-generation systems and solutions, including communications and data links; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems; unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control; planning and control systems for on and off-board sensors; and information assurance.

– SAIC will lead the modelling
and simulation effort to test and validate the solutions, and lend its extensive experience in systems engineering and systems integration.

“Today’s announcement marks another step forward towards providing the U.S. warfighter with integrated, next-generation targeting and intelligence-gathering solutions,” said Jack Kelble, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. “Raytheon’s ability to design and integrate complex sensors, communications, and real-time resource management systems will enable the faster flow of information to decision makers, and tighten the engagement ‘kill chain.’ ”

“SAIC’s extensive experience in the application of modelling and simulation to major DoD programs will provide the Air Force continuous insight into critical program tradeoffs and their operational impact,” said Duane Andrews, SAIC corporate executive vice president. “SAIC also has designed efficient and effective open system architectures that allow for flexibility to meet the on-going evolving environments our customers operate in. This positions us well to work as a tightly knit team with Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and the Air Force to help drive this program to a successful conclusion.”

Dr. Michael Schoultz, Lockheed Martin’s MC2 vice president, will lead the team. Supporting Schoultz are Justin Monger, Raytheon BMC4I program manager, and Tom Swartz, SAIC senior vice president.

The Lockheed Martin-led team also will benefit from expertise from:

– L3 Communications – Network-centric collaborative targeting systems engineering

– Alphatech Inc. – Radar exploitation support, and time critical targeting systems engineering

– Concurrent Technologies Corporation – Visualization support