Fri, Dec 17, 2004
Company Hopes To Eventually Put 120 Airborne C&C Helos In
The AIr
Raytheon Company has delivered the
first low rate initial production (LRIP) Army Airborne Command and
Control System (A2C2S) to the US Army.
A2C2S prototypes have supported the Army's 4th Infantry Division
(ID) in Iraq for more than a year and the 3rd ID since May 2004.
During 17 months of combat duty, the A2C2S flying command posts
logged thousands of mission hours to assist warfighters and
peacekeepers overseas. Despite operating in the harshest combat
environments, the command and control (C2) systems exceeded their
performance and reliability requirements.
"With more than 3,000 operational hours-2,000 of them in
combat-A2C2S is performing extremely well," said Brian McKeon, vice
president of Raytheon Command and Control Systems.
The system's performance in combat confirmed its production
readiness. As a result, Raytheon will manufacture five LRIP systems
and two A-kits for EUH-60 helicopters. The company anticipates that
additional A2C2S systems will be funded in fiscal year 2005;
approximately 120 systems could be fielded to the Army during the
program's lifetime.
A2C2S equips selected Army UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters with a
mission equipment package that transforms them into airborne
command posts. The system enables commanders and their staffs-at
brigade, division and above-to maintain digital command, control
and communication while moving through the battlespace at 120 miles
per hour. Called "C2 on-the-move," the new capability allows
commanders to go wherever they are needed and maintain complete C2
capability.
The system supports digitized and non-digitized forces in all
operational scenarios including large scale mechanized operations,
smaller scale special operations and homeland defense applications.
A parallel A2C2S effort called Homeland Defense Module links
civilian emergency first responders to National Guard and active
military forces that are involved in disaster response and homeland
security missions. A proof of design demonstration phase began in
November 2004. Raytheon expects the first prototype to be completed
in 2005. Subsequent A2C2S systems will be integrated into platforms
while they are on the Army's assembly line.
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