Lockheed Martin UK-led group presents GBAD concept for NATO
A consortium led by Lockheed Martin UK unveiled a Ground-Based Air Defense concept for NATO that would link sensors and command nodes across member nations. The proposal is part of the second phase of NATO's Modular GBAD program.
france24.comA Lockheed Martin UK-led consortium unveiled a Ground-Based Air Defense concept for NATO at a briefing in Brussels. The system is designed to connect sensors from one nation to command nodes operated by another through a software-based architecture.
The consortium includes Leonardo, MBDA, and Indra. It is participating in the second phase of NATO's Modular GBAD program, which focuses on countering aerial threats at very short- to medium-range.
Agency launched the overall project in 2023 with an approximate value of €20 million. The first phase, completed in 2025, examined system architecture and awarded concept studies to five companies and consortia. Lockheed Martin UK, Raytheon, and Airbus advanced to the current twelve-month phase that will develop detailed modeling of connectivity.
A third stage will select one proposal for further technology integration.
Turner, business development manager for C2 and complex systems at Lockheed Martin UK, said the architecture would allow nations using different systems to share data seamlessly. Ignacio Ojeda González-Posada of Indra noted that integrating lower-cost sensors remains a key challenge.
Participating nations include Romania, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK, with the United States in an observer role. These countries operate systems such as Patriot and SAMP/T that are not always compatible in joint operations.
Company representatives said the proposal differs from Ukraine's Delta system by addressing integration of cheaper effectors that are not fully linked to sensors.
