US Missile Defense Array Gets New Simulation Capabilities
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A new project will enable the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to ensure the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) remains ready for today’s evolving threats.
Missile defense technology being developed, tested and deployed by the United States is designed to counter ballistic missiles of all ranges—short, medium, intermediate and long. Since ballistic missiles have different ranges, speeds, size and performance characteristics, the BMDS system is an integrated, “layered” architecture that provides multiple opportunities to destroy missiles and their warheads before they can reach their targets, according to mda.mil.
The MDA awarded Lockheed Martin a $240 million contract to support the modeling and simulation framework for the BMDS – the Modeling and Simulation Contract – Framework and Tools (MASC-F).
“Testing the different elements of the Ballistic Missile Defense System together is an extremely complicated process,” said JD Hammond, vice president of C4ISR Systems for Lockheed Martin. “MASC-F will enable the MDA to run ‘what-if’ scenarios before fielding new configurations to ensure the warfighter gets the most effective system possible.”
The contract will provide additional products and tools to support the agency’s modeling & simulation enterprise and provide critical data to assess the operational effectiveness and survivability of the BMDS and its elements.
Through computer-based tools, modeling, algorithms and analysis techniques, the project will enable the integration of real-world hardware and constructive models from each of the BMDS program elements into one system that accurately represents the performance of fielded BMDS equipment. These will then be used to evaluate fielded and conceptual BMDS architectures against a variety of threats in realistic environments, as reported by thomasnet.com.
The Lockheed Martin-led team includes several subcontractors, such as Northrop Grumman, Dynetics, etc. The team will mature capabilities and develop common interfaces to join digital and hardware-in-the-loop representations into one modular, scalable, reconfigurable system.
Earlier, the MDA awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to evolve the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, a multi-domain system that supports the BMDS.
