Lockheed Martin demonstrated its NGC2 prototype during Balikatan 2026 today, bringing together sensors, fires systems and airspace management on a unified data platform aimed at shortening sensor-to-shooter timelines across the Indo-Pacific.
The demonstration ran simultaneously from locations in the Philippines, Hawaii and the continental United States. Team Lockheed Martin worked with a range of military partners, including the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division (25ID), the Capability Program Executive Command and Control Information Network, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, I Marine Expeditionary Force, I Corps, and the 613 Air Operations Center. According to program participants, this marked the first NGC2 division-level demonstration of cross-domain data sharing in the 25ID operational environment and involved multiple, geographically dispersed sites.
Technically, the prototype linked sensors and edge nodes in the Philippines to command nodes located in Hawaii and the continental United States, supported by cloud-enabled operations. During the Counter Landing Live Fire portion of the exercise, soldiers exercised sensor-to-shooter workflows while Apache helicopters, Howitzers, Mortars and HIMARS systems executed fires. The NGC2 prototype captured and presented a real-time operational picture that included performance metrics and battle damage assessments.
The system consolidated inputs from multiple radars and data links into a single operational picture. Live GPS and flight path data were streamed to enable visualization of airspace lanes and to provide immediate safe-to-fire cues for pilots and ground shooters. Participants reported that allied forces operated as a unified system, sharing mission data between divisions across different security classification levels.
Lockheed Martin integrated NGC2 capabilities in collaboration with technology partners Raft, Lyntris, Rune and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Program planners indicated that the upcoming Lightning Surge 4 activity will emphasize a logistics mission thread in support of the 25th Infantry Division.
Key takeaways
- Lockheed Martin executed a multi-site demonstration of the NGC2 prototype during Balikatan 2026, linking sensors and command nodes across the Philippines, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.
- The prototype integrated multiple radars and data links into a single operational picture, streaming live GPS and flight-path information to support real-time airspace visualization and safe-to-fire cues.
- Collaborations for NGC2 included several industry partners and AWS; an upcoming Lightning Surge 4 event will focus on logistics support for the 25th Infantry Division.
Sectors impacted: defense, aerospace, cloud and logistics operations.
Risks and uncertainties
- Integration across widely separated geographic nodes and multiple military organizations presents technical and operational complexity that could affect system performance during operational use - relevant to defense and aerospace sectors.
- Sharing mission data across multiple security classification levels introduces security and interoperability uncertainties that may influence adoption timelines and procedures - relevant to defense and cloud sectors.
- Planned logistics-focused testing in Lightning Surge 4 indicates additional capability threads remain to be validated, leaving some operational outcomes and sustainment requirements unproven - relevant to logistics and defense sectors.
Information in this report is based solely on descriptions of the NGC2 demonstration and participant roles provided for the Balikatan 2026 activities. Where details were limited in the source material, this article reflects those limits rather than extending beyond them.