Integrated Battle Command System conducts first European live-fire test

Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) has executed its first international live-fire operational exercise, Northrop Grumman announced on 23 September 2025.

The milestone came as Poland’s Ministry of National Defence conducted a successful operational exercise for its IBCS-enabled Wisła medium-range air defence system during Exercise ‘Iron Defender-25’, which began on 2 September and was scheduled to run until the end of the month.

During the event conducted in Poland, IBCS successfully engaged and intercepted surrogate air-breathing targets, with the exercise also underscoring the readiness of the Wisła system.

Poland selected IBCS in 2018 to serve as the centerpiece for its Wisła medium-range air defence modernisation programme, making Poland the first US ally to acquire the system. Poland’s Ministry of National Defense declared initial operational capability for two IBCS-enabled Wisła batteries in 2024.

The IBCS command-and-control system delivers fire control quality and battle management, unifying current and future systems regardless of source, service or domain. Through its network enabled, modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS fuses sensor data for a single, actionable picture of the full battlespace.

“This ready-now capability gives warfighters more time to assess and respond to threats, serving as a foundational element for enabling joint and coalition, multi-domain operations,” Northrop Grumman states.

Currently in production and fielded in Poland, IBCS planned for fielding in US Combatant Commands in Europe and the Indo-Pacific as part of the US Army programme of record for integrated air and missile defence modernisation.

Northrop Grumman was awarded a five-year contract valued at more than USD 1 billion (EUR 0.86 billion) from the US Army for low-rate initial production and full-rate production of IBCS in December 2021.

Kenn Todorov, vice president and general manager for command and control and weapons integration at Northrop Grumman, said of the Polish live-fire test, “This achievement not only highlights the exceptional performance and capabilities of IBCS but also demonstrates Poland’s steadfast commitment to homeland defence and the enhancement of European security. IBCS revolutionises interoperability and integration between Poland, US, and allies across multiple domains, delivering advanced capabilities needed to counter complex threats. Central to this success is the robust partnership between Polish industry and Northrop Grumman.”