Function As "Eyes In The Skies" For Convoys
The convoy travels down
the dusty desert road. Soldiers keep watchful eyes, surveying the
barren landscape surrounding them. Today, their minds are slightly
at ease. Overhead, an armed F-16 in direct contact with their team
is watching the road ahead. No one will be lost today.
The concept of using fighter aircraft with targeting pods to
monitor the battlespace is known as nontraditional intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance. NTISR operations began only four
years ago in the US Air Force, and are the result of increased
demand for complete battlespace awareness, officials said.
With the production and development of traditional ISR
capabilities such as the unmanned Predator aircraft struggling to
keep pace, leveraging fighters, bombers and air-mobility aircraft
in a similar role is helping to ensure information dominance.
"Before NTISR, we had fighter aircraft with surveillance
capabilities burning holes is the sky, just waiting to be tasked by
ground commanders," said Maj. Marco Fiorito, deputy chief of
collections management at the Combined Air Operations Center here.
"Instead of wasting these resources, we've begun to use them to
fill some of the gaps in our traditional ISR operations."
Central Command Air Forces policy prohibits disclosure of the
center's location.
NTISR multiplies the commander's capability, without the
logistical and financial implications of creating more forces; but
that is not its only benefit.
"NTISR increases the cross-talk between the Army and the Air
Force in joint operations," Fiorito said. "The majority of the
time, NTISR aircraft aircrews communicate directly with ground
units. This fosters a greater understanding of what ground units
are looking for and thinking."
This understanding enables air and ground units to work on
mutual operational objectives. Most recently, two F-15E Strike
Eagles proved the value of this capability during a mortar attack
on Balad Air Base, Iraq.
The aircraft were called to the scene by the base's Joint
Defense Operation Center. Using their electro-optical and infrared
sensor capability, they quickly located three insurgents fleeing in
a vehicle from the scene.
After following the suspects to a house, the aircraft relayed
their location to ground forces. All three individuals were
successfully detained.
"This engagement is an exceptional example of how air forces are
contributing to the counterinsurgency campaign," said Royal Air
Force Air Commodore Ray Lock, Combined Air Operations Center
director. "In this case, we realized the overwhelming advantage we
have in the innovative use of fighter aircraft for NTISR."
In addition to these capabilities, from a ground perspective,
NTISR aircraft are a comfort factor for troops in hostile
areas.
"These jets are overhead for them," said Fiorito. "These
aircraft can scout ahead of convoys, looking for possible ambush
sites or any other threat."
More importantly, the aircraft can quickly respond to a skirmish
or firefight and help the troops on the ground, he added.
NTISR also has the potential to be a player in the fight against
improvised explosive devices.
"We're working around the clock to find a good way of employing
NTISR and other assets to the counter-IED fight," said Fiorito.
"There are a lot of good people trying to come up with a viable
solution."
While employing this type of technology is now an everyday
practice, Fiorito admits there have been some growing pains.
"We're in a unique situation, because we don't want to turn the
fighter into an intelligence asset; we just want to get the
information to the warfighter in a simplified and quick manner," he
said. "Right now we're developing a streamlined process, from
beginning to end, that has a single tasking process."
The intelligence community, along with ground and operations
personnel, is working toward this goal while exploring the
effectiveness of NTISR in combat. Admittedly though, it is only one
facet of the bigger fight against anti-coalition forces.
"If you concentrate on one aspect of warfare, you lose sight of
everything else," Fiorito said. "There's no magical solution, you
have to hit the enemy at multiple points - counter-IED, ISR and
NTISR, convoy support, direct-actions support - all of these pieces
make him reel back so he's fighting on your terms, instead of
his."
(Aero-News salutes Air Force Staff Sgt. Melissa Koskovich,
US Central Command Air Forces Forward public affairs)