3,000th overseas mission for BACN aboard E-11A aircraft
NewsAugust 30, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 30 – The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) from Northrop Grumman completed its 3,000th overseas mission aboard the E-11A Bombardier Global Express BD-700 aircraft carrying out contingency support on July 14th. The high-altitude airborne communications and information gateway system conducted the mission out of the 451st Tactical Airborne Gateway at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, providing situational awareness and C2 through a collection of computers and radio systems that conducts comms and battlefield information connecting multiple warfighter and command points.
A recent $106 million modification to the Northrop Grumman/U.S. Air Force contract will extend the operation and deployment of BACN payloads in three EQ-4B Block UAVs and three E-11A aircraft through June 2013.