Adding Sensors Saves Ammo, Army Network Testers Find
In a Thursday test, Sentinel radars helped air-warfare operators down simulated missiles with fewer interceptors.
Patrick Tucker
By Patrick Tucker
Technology Editor
August 13, 2020
Army
Missiles
The U.S. Army used a pair of short-range Sentinel radars to cue Patriot missiles and shoot down target drones on Thursday, a key test of its efforts to link more weapons, sensors, and gear in a seamless command-and-control web.
Operators in a battalion Engagement Operations Center at White Sands, N.M., used Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS — the linchpin of the Army’s next-generation land-warfare network — to overcome “enemy” jamming and direct PAC-3 missiles to intercept simulated cruise missiles, service officials said.
Integrating a Patriot radar and missile battery with a Sentinel radar may not sound very important. But the additional sensors gave operators precious extra minutes to plan their defense, and ultimately to down their targets with just one interceptor missile apiece, half the normal number used in an engagement, officials said.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/08/adding-sensors-saves-ammo-army-network-testers-find/167703/
