The US Army soldiers have successfully completed a major developmental test of the Northrop Grumman-developed Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), according to a company statement made on 9 October. 

The Soldier Checkout Event (SCOE) took place at Tobin Wells in Fort Bliss over three weeks in August. The event allows air defense warfighters the opportunity to provide relevant system performance and interface feedback when the system is integrated with actual tactical hardware and software.

IBCS was used across battalion and battery-level operations using Sentinel and Patriot radars and Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-2, PAC-3 and PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhanced interceptors. In October, IBCS and Army IAMD will undergo the second phase of the SCOE at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, to look at live-air operational performance in a joint environment.