E-10 MC2A [Multi-Sensor Command and Control Aircraft]
The E-10 MC2A [Multi-Sensor Command and Control Aircraft] will provide ground- and some airborne-moving target indication, as well as key battle management command and control and is expected to be a central element in the Air Force’s Command and Control Constellation. The C2 Constellation is a concept that envisions a fully connected array of land-, platform- and space-based sensors that use common standards and communication protocols to relay information automatically in machine-to-machine interfaces.
As early as 1992, the Boeing Company proposed putting the system on newer Boeing 767-200 Extended Range aircraft, but this proposal was not accepted at that time as cost-effective. Given the current 707 airframe procurement, refurbishment, and modification cost and a 1996 price for a commercial version Boeing 767-200 Extended Range aircraft of between $82 million and $93 million, it may now be more cost-effective for the Air Force to buy that or some other new, more capable aircraft. Such an aircraft could provide a longer life, greater room for growth, greater flight range, greater fuel efficiency, higher operational availability, and lower program life-cycle costs.
In February 2003 the Air Force recently designated its new Multi-Sensor Command and Control Aircraft, the acquisition and development of which is being managed by the Electronic Systems Center, the E-10A. The E designation stands for Electrical Systems. While the E is specific to the mission of the aircraft, the number 10 was used simply because it’s next in the inventory sequence. The A stands for the first variation of the aircraft. Hanscom is the birthplace of two other Air Force aircraft that share the E designation; the E-3B Sentry AWACS and the E-8C Joint STARS. There was talk about creating an M prefix for multi-sensor,, but it was decided to go with the E designation instead.
On 14 May 2003 the Northrop Grumman Corporation, Boeing and Raytheon Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A) team received a pre-system development and demonstration contract, with a total value of $215 million, for Weapon System Integration (WSI) of the U.S. Air Force's new E-10A aircraft. All three members of the team bring strong legacies that provide the Air Force with options for the MC2A program. With the system integration expertise Northrop Grumman has in programs such as Joint STARS combined with airframe excellence from Boeing and radar integration proficiency from Raytheon, the E-10A will bring a new level of ISR capability to the warfighter.
Increment 1 of the Air Force's evolutionary acquisition program for the E-10A provides for a cruise missile defense and advanced airborne ground surveillance and targeting capability. The E-10A will include the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) radar and an advanced Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) subsystem integrated on a Boeing 767-400ER aircraft. The three companies announced a unique teaming agreement that capitalizes on their expertise in legacy systems used by the Air Force today.
Under the agreement, Northrop Grumman is responsible for overall program management and system engineering, mission system design, airframe modification, system integration and operational flight-testing. Boeing will perform major structural modification design, air vehicle analysis and performance assessments and airworthiness testing. Boeing will also produce one 767-400ER airframe for the E-10A test bed under a separate contract with the government. Raytheon's primary responsibilities include radar and radome installation, support to system engineering, system integration and test for the cruise missile defense functionality.
Integrated Systems, one of Northrop Grumman's seven sectors, is a premier aerospace and defense systems integration enterprise. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., the organization designs, develops, produces and supports integrated systems, platforms and subsystems, and provides mission support services for U.S. government, civil and international customers. Integrated Systems' products and services meet military and homeland security requirements that support critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; battle management command and control; precision strike; and readiness and support missions from sea to space.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $25 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers and is the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer.
Raytheon Company, with 2002 sales of $16.8 billion, is an industry leader in defense, government and commercial electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon employs more than 76,000 people worldwide.
Installation of the advanced MP-RTIP radar on the ultimate Boeing 767 platform will be the first “spiral” in the MC2A system’s development. Teaming with Joint STARS is also logical, since the expertise in designing and modernizing a command and control platform with superior ground moving-target indicator, or GMTI capability, resides in that program office. Advanced GMTI capability is one of the first things the MC2A will be expected to provide.
As envisioned for the E-10A MC2A - the Air Force's next-generation battle control aircraft - the BMC2 subsystem will automate sensor data processing tasks currently performed by human operators, presenting a predictive battlespace awareness picture to the airborne commander. The knowledge to make actionable decisions in near-real time will enable the Air Force to significantly shorten the sensor-to-shooter decision cycle.
The Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) source selection is part of the larger Multi-sensor Command & Control Aircraft (MC2A) Program. MC2A capabilities will be delivered through Evolutionary Acquisition using Spiral Development throughout the system’s acquisition and sustainment phases. Spiral 1 will deliver a robust Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) capability and a focused Air Moving Target Indicator (AMTI) capability to support the Cruise Missile Defense (CMD) operations, along with BMC2 capabilities integrated on a Boeing 767-400ER platform to the warfighter by 2013. The BMC2 subsystem includes all of the non-radar and non-aircraft subsystems to include the central computing architecture, networks, data storage, data manipulation, data fusion, data exploitation, communications and data link capability. The BMC2 subsystem will provide GMTI and CMD BMC2 with a growth capability to host AEW BMC2 through a spiral development process supporting the MC2A evolutionary acquisition approach. The effort includes design, development, and test and integration in the context of the MC2A WSI.
The Multi Platform-Common Data Link (MP-CDL) will provide the data link to other airborne and ground platforms prosecuting the ground war. Other capabilities may include interfaces to Space-Based Radar, reception of data from, and control of unmanned aerial vehicles and combat operations functions. The initial effort will include both hardware and software growth provisions to permit incorporation of additional sensor configurations, as well as other BMC2 functionality for future developments. A second spiral is tentatively planned to expand the E-10A support to air-to-air and cruise missile defense with additional sensors (e.g., IFF) and additional BMC2 functionality.
The Lockheed Martin-led E-10A BMC2 team draws on industry-leading experience in battle management, ISR, and command and control systems. Lockheed Martin is responsible for systems architecture, systems engineering and program management; Raytheon will perform the communications, ISR, and UAV control systems integration; and SAIC heads the modeling and simulation effort. The team also draws on focused domain expertise from L3 Communications, Alphatech, Inc., and Concurrent Technologies Corporation.
