HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Military communications experts at Northrop Grumman Corp. will conduct research into future electronic payloads on a major battlefield airborne communications system involving manned and unmanned aircraft.
Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., announced a $3.6 billion five-year contract to the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aeronautics Systems segment in San Diego to sustain and upgrade the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN).
The BACN is an electronic payload aboard the E-11A manned aircraft and Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The E-11A is based on the Bombardier Global Express business jet.
This contract provides for research, development, test, evaluation, integration, operations, and sustainment for existing and future BACN payloads, ground stations, controls, support equipment, and system integration laboratories.
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The BACN uses the Airborne Executive Processor (AEP) to enable a persistent voice and data gateway in the sky that receives, bridges, and distributes communications among all participants in a battle.
The BACN payload aboard the E-11A and Global Hawk helps enable diverse battlefield weapon systems to communicate with each other during in-theater operations where mountainous terrain, large buildings, or other obstructions inhibit line-of-sight communications.
Military leaders found that such obstructions could limit operating units to see only a limited set of the complete picture of the battlefield. The BACN command and control network is designed to provide situational awareness from small ground units in contact up to the highest command levels, Northrop Grumman officials say.
BACN’s AEP provides translator and gateway interfaces among all supported communications systems, and forwards intelligence information to the Global Information Grid. By controlling the AEP via a ground station, BACN is radio- and platform-agnostic, Northrop Grumman officials say.
On this contract Northrop Grumman will do the work in San Diego and at overseas locations, and should be finished by January 2026. For more information contact Northrop Grumman Aeronautics online at www.northropgrumman.com, or the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.aflcmc.af.mil.
