630 ELSS' combat ID technologies meet success during Bold Quest

  • Published
  • By Monica D. Morales
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Whether helping to differentiate a hot rock from a T-72 tank or an enemy from a coalition force, a war fighter's decision making in the cockpit is becoming more streamlined thanks to the work of the 630th Electronic Systems Squadron, which recently showcased two combat identification technologies at the Bold Quest demonstration event.

The 630 ELSS' Combat Identification Technologies Flight developed, supplied, installed, integrated and maintained the two participating Air Force sensor systems -- the Laser Target Imaging Program and the Synthetic Aperture Radar Aided Target Recognition capability.

"The 18 months of complex preparation, coordination and relationship development preceding Bold Quest paid off in the enormously successful demonstration of these CID technologies," said Rod Rendina, Bold Quest technical manager and 630 ELSS Non-Cooperative Technologies chief.

Bold Quest was a three-week theater-level operational demonstration event designed to assess the military utility of coalition combat identification technologies and evaluate resource allocation, maneuvering and fire control decisions.

The event, sponsored by the Air Force, Joint Forces Command and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Advanced Systems and Concepts, was held at Nellis AFB, Nev., and the National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, Calif. Participants included coalition forces from Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and Italy.

In total, Bold Quest involved the participation of about 1,395 military personnel, a support staff of 475 civilians, 45 ground combat vehicles and 270 sorties flown by 40 aircraft. The 630 ELSS team was comprised of about 10 military, civilian and contractors.

The squadron's SAR/ATR aims to provide improved target identification by way of higher-resolution radar images. In Bold Quest, SAR/ATR was installed on the E-8C T3 Joint STARS and let operators better determine whether a moving or still target indicator was a house, truck, tank or aircraft.

"In the past, operators have tracked blobs and watched dots on a screen, but it may have been less clear what type of target it might be," said Rowdy Yates, Radar Vision deputy program manager. "Now, we can actually isolate targets and determine those of greater importance."

And hand in hand with that capability, comes a reduction in processing time which ultimately accelerates decision-making and any subsequent actions.

"With an ISR asset, for example, it can take hours or even days to capture an image, have an analyst take a look at the whole picture and isolate targets of importance," said Captain Yates. "What we're doing with this technology is providing near real-time target ID to the warfighter."

LTIP provides strike aircraft with real-time ID capability by illuminating targets at a much farther range than previously existed. When energy pulses from a focused target are returned to a camera on a Litening Targeting Pod, the images are then relayed back to the aircraft's pilot.

"Previously, the pod allowed pilots to see a target, but without the clarity and resolution that LTIP can provide," said Capt. Scott Frank, Laser Vision program manager.

The efforts to further develop this technology have roots in Operation Desert Storm, when a lack of target clarity resulted in an increase in fratricide.

Feedback from the LTIP's role in Bold Quest yielded positive results - it stopped five out of five incidents of collateral damage or fratricide and doubled the ID accuracy of fielded Forward Looking Infrared systems at nearly twice the range.

"This technology is just one example of how we can save lives in a combat environment," Captain Frank said.

Mr. Rendina said that the technologies meet the mission at hand, while also working to save war fighters.

"With these technologies, we deliver accurate and timely ID," said Mr. Rendina. "And combat ID boosts mission effectiveness and reduces both fratricide and collateral damage by sorting friend, foe and neutrals or non-combatants."

Lt. Col. Dale VanDusen, 630 ELSS commander, said that the technology reflects the evolution of identifying combat targets.

"These CID systems were able to collect high quality, real-time identification information, encrypt it and then send streaming video of it to the event's Coalition Air Operations Center," Colonel VanDusen said. "Bold Quest participants were happily surprised, and target recognition capability for combat ID is maturing."

From a much broader standpoint, the technology demonstration benefited all war fighting participants by simply allowing the opportunity for combat communication between coalition forces.

"It was great to have the chance to communicate amongst all the services and different nations in this type of environment," Mr. Rendina said. "When you think about the context of what's going on in the world, there's always the chance that the participants in this event will be the same ones we team with as a coalition force in the future."