Team Lockheed Martin Elevates Cross-Domain, Multi-Mission NGC2 Prototype Across the Indo-Pacific at Balikatan

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During the Balikatan 2026 exercise, the Team Lockheed Martin NGC2 prototype successfully demonstrated the integration of sensors, fires systems and airspace management through a unified data platform to compress sensor-to-shooter timelines, accelerate warfighter capability and provide a real-time view of the battlefield across the Indo-Pacific.

Team Lockheed Martin collaborated with the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division, the Capability Program Executive Command and Control Information Network, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the I Marine Expeditionary Force, I Corps, and 613 Air Operations Center to perform an operational exercise simultaneously from Hawaii, the continental United States and the Philippines.

This was the first NGC2 division-level demonstration of cross-domain data sharing in the 25ID operational environment, spanning multiple geographically dispersed locations. The results of the Balikatan Counter Landing Live Fire exercise will inform Army modernization decisions for large scale combat operations in the Indo-Pacific.

Advancing Real-Time Capability

The Team Lockheed Martin NGC2 prototype seamlessly fused cross-domain data, managed airspace in real time and delivered dependable sensor-to-shooter connections in a realistic, highly contested Indo-Pacific setting.

- Global data linkage: NGC2 linked sensors and edge nodes in the Philippines with command nodes in Hawaii and the continental United States with cloud-enabled operations support, providing U.S. and allied forces a live, unified battlefield picture across a distributed, contested theater.

- Counter landing live-fire demonstration

• Soldiers tested sensor‑to‑shooter workflows, providing end-to-end visibility to operators in a contested environment.
• Apache helicopters, Howitzers, Mortars and HIMARS executed fires while NGC2 recorded and displayed a real-time operational picture that showcased performance metrics and battle damage assessments.

- Airspace deconfliction: A unified interface integrated data from multiple radar and data links into a single operational picture, streaming live GPS and flight path data into NGC2, enabling:

• Real-time visualization of airspace lanes.
• Immediate “safe‑to‑fire” cues for pilots and ground shooters.

- Allied interoperability: Allied forces operated as a unified system, sharing mission data between divisions to enhance the common operating picture and coordinate fires. Operating across multiple security classification levels, Team Lockheed Martin supported reliable data ingestion, storage and distribution ensuring warfighters had access to a consistent, authoritative operational picture in an operational environment.

Executive Perspectives

“During Balikatan, success came down to how well we could integrate across Army units, joint forces and Indo-Pacific partners,” said Chandra Marshall, vice president of Multi-Domain Combat Systems at Lockheed Martin. “That ability to operate seamlessly across the coalition is what makes Team Lockheed Martin’s NGC2 prototype real."

Why It Matters

Balikatan is a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Philippines designed to strengthen regional security through combined air, land, sea, cyber and space operations. The Team Lockheed Martin demonstration was executed in conjunction with Lightning Surge 3, the third iteration in a serialized set of events that will incrementally add capability to the NGC2 data layer.

For NGC2, Lockheed Martin is collaborating across industry with a range of companies, including Raft, Lyntris, Rune, and Amazon Web Services to integrate best-in-class capabilities.

What’s Next?

Constant soldier feedback is incorporated into each Lightning Surge exercise, with new functionality being added onto the NGC2 prototype architecture to adapt as the mission changes. Lightning Surge 4 will focus on a logistics mission thread in support of the 25th Infantry Division.

Any depiction of U.S. Army Soldiers or units does not constitute endorsement by the Army or the Department of War.