Defending What Matters Most

By Andrew Clark

For Maciek Kowalski, operations manager in Northrop Grumman’s Poland office, his home is in the crosshairs. A theoretical attack on Poland became very real after reading an article on air defense that showed his life would be within the circle of a destructive missile attack.

“Most of the circles were intersecting with the places I either live, work or go on holidays,” he said. “It makes it so much more real when you see the potential danger affecting the space where you and your kids and your loved ones live.”

Maciek is part of the team bringing Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS, to Poland. IBCS is a transformative system, with the unrivaled ability to sense, identify, track and eliminate air and missile threats. It enables enhanced data-gathering across joint networks, increasing situational awareness and time for decision-making. The U.S. Army has approved the system for full rate production and declared Initial Operating Capability for it, and the Polish realization of the system will become fully operational in country later this fall.

“We really need IBCS to be put in place, operational and protecting the skies. Our country suffered two deaths from a stray missile [last year],” he said. Having IBCS will be a game-changer, both when it comes to protecting Maciek’s home in Poland and overall global security.