December 2000 - Army Fixed-Wing Assets: Integral  Members of the Warfighting Team

by Maj. Gen. Anthony Jones 

    Battlefield awareness has become increasingly critical in today's dynamic geopolitical climate as we face a range of threats that are both ambiguous and unpredictable. The proliferation of highly sophisticated weapon systems, combined with regional instability, contributes to an ever-increasing need for highly accurate and near real-time targeting and intelligence reporting systems.

      Third-World countries now possess weapons that pose a significant threat to our soldiers and critical warfighting assets. In order to counter these threats, Army fixed-wing aircraft stand ready as integral members of an array of national and theater intelligence-gathering systems designed to provide commanders at all levels with the intelligence needed to understand the battlefield and leverage combat power.

      Integration of these systems allows tactical commanders to "see" the battlefield as never before. By producing an accurate and common picture of the battlefield, these systems can provide the precise location and identification of air-defense weapons, command-and-control elements, combat vehicles and fighting positions.

      Key to this effort is the Guardrail Common Sensor (GR/CS). It is considered to be among the most accurate and timely of signal intelligence (SIGINT) reporting platforms. This system uses Army RC-12 aircraft, an Integrated Processing Facility (IPF), and Interoperable Data Links (IDLs), and collects selected low-, mid- and high-band radio signals; identifies and classifies them; determines the locations of their sources; and provides near real-time reporting to tactical commanders.  

      GR/CS is an essential member of the Precision SIGINT Targeting System (PSTS). PSTS is a joint-service and defense-agency effort that uses both tactical and national systems to provide a near real-time, precision-targeting, sensor-to-shooter capability.

      As a corps-level asset, GR/CS is currently deployed in major theaters throughout the world, including Korea and Europe. Army GR/CS aircraft fly missions every day in support of national intelligence requirements, and in the past have operated from forward locations in support of operations in South America and Bosnia. 

      Another Army fixed-wing intelligence asset that has proven to be an essential member of the warfighting team is the RC-7 Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) aircraft. The RC-7 is a versatile, multifunction, day/night and all weather airborne reconnaissance system. It provides tactical commanders with near real-time airborne communications intelligence (COMINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT) collection.  

      The RC-7 is self-deployable and self-sustaining for seven to 10 days. The system is designed for forward deployment to host countries and can provide an immediate down link. It also provides direct support for wartime contingency operations and operations other than war.

      The RC-7s were initially deployed with U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in 1993 to assist in counterdrug surveillance operations and later deployed to Haiti in support of U.S. peacekeeping operations. In 1996 an RC-7 was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to support NATO's IFOR peacekeeping force. Army RC-7Bs equipped with moving target indicators (MTI), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and infrared and video sensors (IR/EO) are currently patrolling the demilitarized zone in Korea. Tasked to monitor military and civilian movement along possible North Korean invasion routes, the RC-7Bs provide both theater and tactical commanders with a vital intelligence source. When combined with intelligence data from other national and theater assets, including GR/CS, the RC-7B provides an indispensable contribution to the overall picture of the battle space.

      Army aviators, the majority of whom have many years of experience in aviation and other combat arms branches, fly these state-of-the-art aerial intelligence platforms and bring with them a first hand understanding and unique perspective of the ground commanders intelligence requirements.  

      The Operational Support Airlift Command (OSACOM) is also an important member of the warfighting team, performing operational support airlift and providing a continental United States rotation base for the Army's fixed-wing aviators. OSACOM maintains a pool of highly proficient and seasoned fixed-wing aviators ready to support both airlift and intelligence operations abroad.

      Today's rapid rate of technological change, combined with an ever-evolving threat, requires flexible intelligence platforms that can cover a wide spectrum of intelligence collection, yet provide increasingly accurate and timely intelligence reporting to warfighters.

      The Army is moving to meet this challenge with the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) initiative. ACS will combine the capabilities of GR/CS and ARL into one wide-spectrum aerial intelligence platform. The aircraft and its collection systems will be able to self deploy and enter operations immediately upon arriving in theater, thus providing warfighters with a collection system capable of rapidly responding to developing intelligence requirements. 

      As integral members of the warfighting team, current and future Army fixed-wing intelligence aircraft will provide tactical commanders with an organic, rapid-response intelligence system. These battlefield assets, when leveraged with other intelligence and combat systems, will produce a battlefield dominance through superior situational awareness. 

Maj. Gen. Anthony R. Jones is commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., and chief of the aviation branch.