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Tackling one of the most critical and challenging questions on the battlefieldBQ+ tests coalition combat identification and air-to-ground targeting technologyBy Sharon AndersonEglin Air Force Base in Florida hosted an advanced concepttechnology demonstration (ACTD) that tested and refined tactics,techniques and procedures using a variety of air-to-groundcombat identification technologies designed to improve U.S.and coalition combat effectiveness and reduce the potential forbattlefield fratricide.More than 600 participants came together in the event, calledBold Quest Plus, which included units from the Air Force, Navyand Marine Corps, and coalition partners from Canada and theUnited Kingdom.U.S. military units participating in this exercise included: theAir Force's 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, Nellis Air ForceBase, Nev.; 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron, Shaw AirForce Base in S.C.; 720th Special Tactics Group, Hurlburt Field;16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field; Navy Strike FighterSquadron 14, Le Moore, Calif.; Marine Corps Air DevelopmentSquadron 31, China Lake, Calif.; and the Marine Corps SystemsCommand Target Location Designation Handoff Team, Quantico,Va.U.S. Joint Forces Command sponsored the two-week exercisein July with the help of its Joint Fires Integration and InteroperabilityTeam (JFIIT) and the 46th Test Wing.BQ+ builds upon work done during last September's BoldQuest, according to John Miller, who is USJFCOM's Bold QuestPlus operational manager.“We have had 10 nations over the last few years enter theACTD and actively participate with forces and technologies."Miller said the nations that have been active in the ACTD arealready developing concepts. The continued interest and participationof these nations are good indications of the value ofpast interoperability work in these USJFCOM-sponsored events.“Quest” events began in 2001.Coalition ParticipationEssentially, U.S. and coalition nations are focused on combatidentification issues for ground target engagement by coalitionaircraft — especially those tools developed for aircrew andground controllers to enable them to coordinate attacks or dropbombs on targets more quickly and effectively than they cantoday.Coalition partners included the Canadian Director GeneralLand Equipment/Director Armoured Vehicle Program Management;the 425th Squadron, Quebec, Canada; and the British ForwardAir Control Team, United Kingdom.The coalition combat identification (CCID) technologies testedduring the ACTD included the Battlefield Target IdentificationDevice (BTID), CID server, Tactical Air Control Party Close Air SupportSystem, Target Location Designation Handoff System, AirSupport Operations Center Gateway, Battlefield Air OperationsKit and the BTID-equipped Forward Air Controller (BeFAC).“These systems and techniques enable aircrews and forwardair controllers on the ground to ensure that they have identifiedA Battlefield Airman Targeting Micro Air Vehicle is recovered July 25 after it successfullylands during exercise Bold Quest Plus at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. U.S.Air Force photo by Casey Bain.the same target, and they are attacking the right target,” Millersaid.This is no small feat when you consider the complex nature ofcombat, said Canadian Forces Lt. Cmdr. Randy Mifflin, who representedthe Chief of Force Development, the sponsor for theCanadian Forces participating in BQ+.“This is especially true in the context of ongoing joint andcombined 'ops' in places such as Afghanistan, where coalitionforces of differing capabilities and methods of operation arecoming face-to-face with high-speed, high-tech warfare in acontinuously changing and uncertain environment,” Mifflin said.“Such an environment demands fast and accurate means todiscriminate between enemies, friends and neutrals to enabletimely, effective and safe deployment of our weapons systems.”Under the leadership of the Chief of Force Development, CanadianForces is working to enhance its capabilities with bettertraining, better doctrine and improvements to the technologyassisting in combat identification, according to Mifflin.“Canada understands that it cannot achieve this goal in isolation.Coordination and interoperability with our allies and coalitionpartners is essential for feasible solutions. Canadian Forceshas been participating in the Quest series of demonstrationsinvestigating combat identification technology led by U.S. JointForces Command through the Coalition Combat IdentificationACTD since 2005 to gain information and experience and buildour knowledge base to reduce the risk associated with investmentdecisions,” he said.This year Canada’s focus is on investigating the cooperativeBattlefield Target Identification Device or BTID. The device usesmillimeter wave technology as defined by a NATO interoperabilitystandard to create secure ad hoc networks in near-real timewith positional location information.The ground CID picture for BQ+ was generated by BTID. BTID64 CHIPS www.chips.navy.mil Dedicated to Sharing Information - Technology - Experience
is a vehicle-mounted transmitter/receiver that sends a millimeterwave via a low probability of intercept/low probability of detectionsignal back and forth from an air or ground platform toidentify a target.“We are examining the potential of this technology to be integratedwith clearance of fire decisions in ground-to-ground andair-to-ground scenarios. To achieve this, we integrated the BTIDtechnology in a digitized BTID-equipped forward air controllerapplication, a future BTID Transponder Airborne Platform SurveillanceSystem (BTAPSS) application, a BTID cruiser weaponssystem application, as well as our land forces command and controlsystem,” Mifflin said.Integration with the command and control system also facilitatesexploring the potential of the BTID to enhance situationalawareness for the land decision maker and to provide additionalcapacity for coalition interoperable secure voice and datacommunications.Bold Quest Plus, the Coalition CombatIdentification (CCID) advanced concepttechnology demonstration (ACTD),will exercise a variety of technologieslike the Air Support Operations Center(ASOC) Gateway pictured here in aHumvee at Eglin Air Force Base. U.S. AirForce photo by Casey Bain of the JFIIT,a subordinate, functional command ofUSJFCOM, tasked with improving theeffectiveness of joint fires.Air Force SupportThe 46th Test Wing is the Air Force’s Test and Evaluation Centerfor air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems,and control systems, said Air Force Maj. Keith Roessig, the assistantoperations officer from the 46th Test Squadron.Within the 46th TW, the 46th Range Group supplied coalitionrange escorts, aircraft instrumentation pods, vehicle instrumentationand drivers, and range infrastructure support forBold Quest Plus. Network architecture design, system integrationand the operations center were provided by the 46th TestSquadron.The Datalinks Test Facility and Air Operations Center (AOC)lab at Eglin, both part of the 46th Test Squadron Command andControl Test Facility (C2TF), supported the multi-tactical datalinkand C2 environment. These unique facilities enable the creation,instrumentation, and analysis of networks required for detailedmessage traffic and performance data.“Santa Rosa Island range includes the Santa Rosa Tower, a 300-foot tower, a free-standing tower, overlooking the water rangesand the Gulf to the south, and Eglin land ranges to the north.The tower contains an extensive interoperative network and isused to integrate the BeFAC system into the Eglin Bold Questnetwork. Range C52 is being used in support of the 422nd Testand Evaluation Squadron digital data link and JFCOM’s digitallyaided close air support objectives,” Roessig said.The 46th Test Squadron’s robust infrastructure for BQ+ includedeight command and control labs equipped with morethan 200 workstations with servers running at multiple securitylevels representing a complete range of C2 systems and networkconfigurations.The combination of range and C2 infrastructure within the46th Test Wing, which traditionally is applied to developmentaltest objectives, was adapted to support BQ+ to generate testquality data in an operational venue, according to Roessig.Test control data collection and analysis were conductedfrom the AOC lab. The lab is configured with 90 workstationsfor data collection and mission observation. The AOCcan host multiple networks including SIPRNET and NIPRNET.“The AOC lab accommodates over 154 servers and three fullsuites of systems software to simultaneously conduct theaterlevel operations for current test events with minimal reconfigurationyet providing connectivityover multiple operational andtest IP networks for distributedtesting at other Air Force andjoint test sites,” Roessig said.“They have automated thisperformance monitoring toolthat is custom designed and used for data collection to assessand evaluate applications, systems, servers and networks. Multipletools can be used to generate the common operating picturewith the systems used by the various services and coalitionpartners,” Roessig added.According to Miller, 15 fixed-wing aircraft participated in BQ+,including Harriers, F-18s, F-16s, F-15s and helicopters.BTID transmitted ground pictures between platforms via theBTAPSS through to the CID server, which then pumped data upto aircraft via Link 16 or the Enhanced Position Location ReportingSystem (EPLRS)-based Situational Awareness Data Link.“The goal is providing that link. That partnership betweenBTAPSS and the CID server gets that ground picture, that keydata back into the cockpit for the pilot, the shooter. That is oneroute,” said Canadian Army Capt. Erik Esselaar, the executionlead for the Canadian Forces that participated in BQ+.“The second route we are working with is the BTID-equippedForward Air Controller, BeFAC. That system is in addition toa Close Air Support System, the DACAS (Digitally Aided CloseAir Support), that we are evaluating within our ranges as well.The Forward Air Controller can see the various targets and will‘lase’ with the laser range finder, see where the closest friendlyis through his radio system, and pass it up to the pilot,” Esselaarsaid.Canadian Army Maj. Michael Groh, a technical lead at BQ+,said that there are two visions for the BTAPSS to monitor thebattlefield: installation on a surveillance-type aircraft, a P3 JointSurveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), or an unmannedaerial vehicle.“We are working with industry to put BTID's transponder antennasin fighter aircraft on a pod so they can do a direct interrogationof the area and not rely on the combat network,” Grohsaid.Ultimately, the goal of the ACTD is to eliminate friendly firecasualties and equipment losses and enhance situational awareness.An effective CCID will positively identify friendly and hostileforces, neutrals and noncombatants on the modern battlefield.This article was compiled from a live interview and articles posted on the USJFCOM(www.jfcom.mil) and Air Force Link (www.af.mil) Web sites.CHIPS October – December 2008 65
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CHIPS October - December 2008Volume
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Editor’s NotebookThis issue we fe
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Talking with Rear Admiral Wendi B.
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in less of a production role and mo
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"The Navy has conducted irregular w
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and Preventive Medicine; and Joint
Page 14 and 15: We are also working on patient trac
Page 16 and 17: Empowering the Information Systems
Page 18 and 19: "The good thing about the ENMS syst
Page 20 and 21: “We Will Never Forget”Pentagon
Page 22 and 23: SSC Atlantic Commissioned in Charle
Page 24 and 25: SSC Pacific’s Josh CaplanReceives
Page 26 and 27: Welcome to SSC Atlantic’s New Orl
Page 28 and 29: SSC Atlantic sites partner to provi
Page 30 and 31: Presenting SSC Pacific: A new name
Page 32 and 33: constraints associated with smaller
Page 34 and 35: End-to-End Systems Engineering LabS
Page 36 and 37: SSC Norfolk Workforce Excellence Co
Page 38 and 39: DON DIACAP TransitionTransitioning
Page 40 and 41: CAST requirements include the abili
Page 42 and 43: Success Stories from Naval Surface
Page 44 and 45: SWE Takes Action in Supportof Surfa
Page 46 and 47: of ownership of the process stalled
Page 48 and 49: Data as a ServiceThe new paradigm f
Page 50 and 51: encouraging the reuse of informatio
Page 52 and 53: Operationalizing Military Support t
Page 54 and 55: DoD ESI Celebrates its 10th Anniver
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Page 58 and 59: Navy Ship-to-Shore via Wireless Con
Page 60 and 61: Navy Warfare Training SystemBy U.S.
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