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The US Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman to support the development and delivery of the first Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) home station in the continental United States.
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The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) is built on Northrop Grumman’s lineage in delivering end-to-end communications, networking solutions, and proven experience keeping fleets flying across the globe.
As part of the series of awards, Northrop Grumman will develop or deliver a range of technology solutions for the US Air Force, including:
- Home station activation to establish the BACN ground and payload operations and support at Robins Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia.
- Training for Air Force personnel to operate the BACN payload and platform.
- Global sustainment and operations for technology-infused contract logistics support for worldwide deployment of both the platform and the BACN payload capabilities, including associated support equipment.
- Modernisation with Ka-Band SATCOM upgrades overseas which will enable new missions for the warfighter, enhance command and control beyond line-of-sight to nearly global coverage and provide highly resilient communications with increased bandwidth and quality of service.
Jenna Paukstis, vice-president and general manager, networked information solutions, Northrop Grumman, welcomed the announcement, saying, “We view the activation of the BACN home station as a testament to the operational relevancy and strategic capability of our gateway technology. This is the next step in delivering persistent battlespace command and control for the US and its allies.”
Northrop Grumman’s BACN E-11A is designed to provide the US Air Force with high-altitude airborne communications gateway that translates and distributes voice and tactical data from disparate elements to enhance situational awareness, communications, and coordination for joint warfighters operating across all domains.
Since the platform’s first deployment in 2008, Northrop Grumman has delivered six BACN payloads and provided around-the-clock support to maintain readiness for BACN E-11A operations spanning more than 223,000 combat and non-combat flight hours.
