Program office marks upcoming delivery of 50,000th CSEL unit

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Officials from the Electronic Systems Center held a special ceremony here Sept. 30 in anticipation of the October delivery of the 50,000th Combat Survivor Evader Locator radio.

Prime contractor Boeing Corp. presented commemorative plaques to Ron Mason, the Program Executive Officer for Cyber and Net-centric Systems, and other officials representing the Army, Navy and Air Force.

"This delivery is a significant milestone along the path of our effort to provide life-saving technology to our warfighters," said Scott Hardiman, acting chief of the Space and Nuclear Networks Division.

Because the likelihood of rescue decreases significantly with time, CSEL's advanced technology is credited with saving many lives by increasing U.S. forces' ability to reach and rescue isolated pilots or combat personnel faster than previously-used survival radios allowed.

CSELs have been in use in Iraq and in Afghanistan for several years, and the system uses over-the-horizon communications and "precision code" Global Positioning System technology. CSEL was the first survival radio to use the precision code, which offers far greater security and accuracy than commercial GPS.

CSEL also capitalizes on satellite communications capabilities while combining four distinct search-and-rescue functional components: satellite radio, line-of-sight radio, a GPS system and a search-and-rescue personnel locator beacon.

"The success of the CSEL Program is the product of a great relationship with our customers, the Air Force, Army and Navy, as well as our industry partner, Boeing," said Kate Stowe, the CSEL program manager.

Earlier in the day, the two-man crew from the F-15 Strike Eagle that crashed during Libyan operations on March 21 addressed members of the CSEL program office. Maj. Ken Harney and Capt. Tyler Stark talked about their use of the CSEL system during the successful search and rescue operation.

They also presented a photograph to the joint program office personnel on which Harney wrote: "To the CSEL Joint Program Office, thank you for giving us the means to get home!"

"It was particularly useful to get that user feedback," said Hardiman. "Some of what they told us we perhaps understood intuitively, but it's always exceptionally valuable to hear it directly from users who have relied on the system while in distress."

Often described as DOD's "global 911," CSEL delivers worldwide 24/7 coverage, Stowe said.

CSEL is the DOD's program of record for personnel recovery survival radios, which means that all the services use it. The Navy and the Army purchased most of the early CSEL variants. The Air Force is currently fielding radios to active-duty, Guard and Reserve organizations.

"The Joint Program Office is excited about the future of the CSEL program and its mission and looks to utilize the feedback received today to better improve our radio, so we can continue to help every Airman, Soldier and Sailor return with honor," Stowe said.