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.

FMI: http://www.raytheon.com