Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing tcml-3
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355th Electronic Combat Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona
Buried in the depths of Colonel Scott's briefing charts on the 366th CONOPS plan is a note about a pair of aircraft known as EC-130H Compass Calls that will deploy with the Gunfighters. Festooned with an array of antennas, these odd-looking variants of the Lockheed Hercules are Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) platforms, with powerful jamming packages aboard. They act as virtual electronic vacuum cleaners, sucking up almost everything in the electromagnetic spectrum. After analyzing it to provide real-time targeting data on enemy command posts, SAM and AAA radar sites, and other electronic emitters, they pass them along via a JTIDS data link to other aircraft. They can also conduct standoff jamming of SAM and AAA radars, as well as communications jamming. Though there are only a handful of these valuable birds (residing in two squadrons, the 41st ECS and 43rd ECS of the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan AFB near Tucson, Arizona) and their availability will always be limited, several of them with their highly skilled technicians would be assigned to the 366th in the event of an overseas deployment. Should the entire fleet be unavailable, ACC can also turn to a clip-on system known as Senior Scout, which can be installed as a package in any C-130 transport.
Joint Surveillance and Targeting System (Joint STARS)
While there is no active unit currently flying the E-8C Joint Surveillance and Targeting System (Joint STARS) radar aircraft, such a wing of these aircraft will be formed in the next few years with about two dozen planes assigned. It is likely that the new unit will be based at Tinker AFB, since so much work is done there on the old reliable 707-series airframes. Based around an SAR radar system with the ability to detect and identify moving and stationary ground targets, Joint STARS is probably the most important new aircraft being acquired by the USAF today. Given the fantastic performance of the two E-8A Joint STARS prototypes in locating and tracking Iraqi ground forces during Desert Storm, it is unlikely that the 366th would ever be sent into a crisis without this far-seeing eye in the sky. As soon as enough E-8Cs become operational in the late 1990s, ACC will probably provide a three aircraft detachment so that the 366th Wing will be able to monitor ground space as well as airspace.
Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO)
When armies finally began to operate aircraft in the early 1900s, the first mission important to ground commanders was taking photos of enemy positions. Reconnaissance imagery is vital to a JFACC staff, because you have to be able to see a target before you can hit it. Then you need more pictures of the targets you have hit so that you can evaluate the damage. Unless a JFACC has photo-reconnaissance assets under his direct control, the whole process of planning, striking, and bomb damage assessment (BDA) starts breaking down. The bad news is that the USAF has just a few dozen aging RF-4C Phantom II tactical photo-reconnaissance aircraft in two Air National Guard squadrons. During Desert Storm, the lack of U.S. military tactical photo-reconnaissance forced the CENTAF staff to improvise, with a combination of aircraft and satellite systems controlled by different agencies, making effective BDA almost impossible. Following the war, Secretary of Defense William Perry took the lesson to heart, and created the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) to coordinate all reconnaissance within the earth's atmosphere. DARO shares space in the Pentagon with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO — the agency that controls the Earth-orbiting reconnaissance satellites), and is run by Major General Kenneth Israel. DA-RO'S charter is to take over all U.S. aerial recon programs and bring some order out of the chaos.
The famous "Mother of All Retreats" radar picture obtained by one of the prototype E-8A Joint-STARS aircraft during Operation Desert Storm.
Northrop Grumman
While many programs run by DARO remain highly classified, we do know that the staff in the Pentagon has initiated a series of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or pilotless drone) programs designed to replace or augment existing manned tactical systems. Since they are unencumbered by the weight and life-support requirements of a crew, or the need to return them safely in the event of a hostile response, UAVs will be more effective than manned aircraft in acquiring photo-reconnaissance data. UAVs can also loiter over an area of interest and study it, instead of just flying by at "the speed of heat" and snapping a single picture. At the same time, users of imagery products will need to develop some new attitudes and techniques. For example, rather than taking pictures of a particular target or Direct Mean Point of Impact (DMPI or "dimpy," as it is called), UAVs will monitor large areas, such as all of Kuwait or Bosnia, updating the situation map several times a day (and night). This means that while a JFACC staff may not see specific targets right before or right after a strike, they will be obtaining more and better information over time. In the long run, this big picture will provide better data for operational-level planning, especially when combined with high-quality post-strike videotape from FLIR systems. During Desert Storm, these short video clips, when properly cross-referenced with other data, proved to be invaluable for BDA.
So far, none of the new UAV systems are operational, and only a few flying prototypes have seen any action. One of these, the Predator-series UAV manufactured by General Atomics Corporation of San Diego, California, is reported to have flown CIA-sponsored surveillance missions over Bosnia from a base in Albania and the Predators appear to have done well. These new systems, as well as the remnants of our older capabilities, should provide strike planners with adequate targeting data, as long as the satellite systems hold up. Nevertheless, airborne reconnaissance assets are going to be thin for at least a decade.
A General Atomics Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on a test flight.
General Atomics
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
Though there are a number of intelligence-gathering shortcomings at the tactical and theater levels of the American military, the United States has fortunately built an extremely robust capability for intelligence gathering from space. While it is no secret that America uses satellites for strategic-level intelligence gathering, the details of specific programs have until recently been closely held secrets. The first orbital photo reconnaissance satellites began operations in the 1960s under a covert CIA program called Corona, which had a NASA cover story as part of an orbital research program called Discoverer.
An early wide-area surveillance photo of a Soviet bomber base, taken by a Corona photo reconnaissance satellite in 1966. Much of the 366th's targeting information in a combat situation would come from such spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
Official DOD Photo
Luckily, the end of the Cold War has made available for wider use some space-based assets previously dedicated to watching the former Soviet Union. NRO has made an exceptional effort in the last few years to provide their "product" to a wider base of users within the U.S. military services. Today, the folks at the Central Imagery Office (CIO), the agency which handles and interprets imagery from both DARO and the NRO, are busy developing tactical systems to obtain and distribute satellite reconnaissance "products."
50th Space Wing/U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM)
Coordinating America's military space activities is a major unified command, the U.S. Space Command based at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and commanded by General Joe Ashey. He also commands the USAF Space Command, and the North American Defense Command (NORAD), also based in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, area. Currently, those activities and their products include:
• Ballistic Missile Warning—Under a program known as the Project 647/Defense Support Program (DSP), several geosynchronous Earth-orbiting satellites with IR telescopes have the job of providing the National Command Authorities with warning of ballistic missile launches and prediction of their probable targets. Originally designed to provide warning against attacks by Soviet ICBMs and SLBMs, the latest models of the DSP birds provided warning during Desert Storm of SCUD launches out of Iraq. Since then, they have been modified
under a program called Talon Shield to provide warning and targeting for theater-level commanders to alert air defense warning and engagement systems (like the Patriot PAC-3/ERINT missile system).
• Weather Data—Pilots are very concerned with the weather they must fly through to reach their targets. For over three decades, the key element in military weather prediction has been a program called the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), which is designed to provide weather data of interest to military planners.
• Communications—Without question, the modern communications relay satellite, along with micro-electronics and computers, is one of the wonders of the modern world. Currently, the military operates at least four types of communications satellites, with a fifth coming on-line. The first four are the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS)-II and — III-series relay vehicles, as well as the NATO-III and Fleet Satellite (FLTSAT) communication birds which have been in use for some time.
In 1995, the first of DoD's new secure communications relay systems named MILSTAR is coming on-line. One low-data-rate satellite is currently being checked out in orbit and five more are on order, the last four greatly enhanced with medium-data-rate payloads. Hardened against anything an enemy might throw at it except a direct hit, it was designed for great resistance to enemy interception and jamming at the cost of limited (low) data rates and a limited number of channels. The program is therefore being restructured to provide much greater tactical utility to a wider community of users than just the National Command Authorities and strategic deterrent forces. One of the more interesting ideas being kicked around these days is that tactical aircraft like the F-15E Strike Eagle or F-16C Fighting Falcon might be fitted with MILSTAR-compatible communications terminals to receive targeting coordinates while in flight.
A Defense Support Program (DSP)-1 spacecraft is launched from the cargo bay of a space shuttle. DSP spacecraft like this would provide the 366th Wing with early warning of ballistic missile launches, as well as rough targeting of the launch sites.
Official U.S. Air Force
• Navigational Support—I have often sung the praises of the NAVI-STAR GPS program every chance I can, for good reason. More than any other space-based system, this one will soon touch the life of almost every person on Earth. The system is based around twenty-four satellites in six circular orbits. Aboard each bird is a series of highly accurate atomic clocks, which are calibrated daily from the control center on the ground. Each satellite transmits synchronized timing pulses from the clocks, and a highly accurate receiver measures the differences between the arrival times of signals from different satellites. The receiver does some fancy trigonometry and develops a highly accurate positional fix, as well as other data. The real beauty of the system is that it places the burden of "smarts" on the receiver system, which can be engineered into packages of amazing compactness and utility.GPS is set up to provide two different levels of precision: super-precise for military users with the appropriate code key, and less precise for everyone else, including the enemy. This means that civilian receivers are accurate to within about 100 meters/330 feet, and military receivers can generate 3-D positions to within 16 meters/52.8 feet, while also providing an anti-spoofing/anti-jamming capability. In addition, the receivers can generate time readings accurate to within 100 Ns, and velocity readings accurate to within.1 meter per second/4 inches per second, which translates to errors of less than.2 knots/.37 kph! GPS receiver designers have found many uses for the system, from basic flight navigation to guiding weapons like cruise missiles and bombs. All this is possible in virtually any weather conditions, anywhere on Earth, or even in orbit around the Earth. Current DoD plans envision acquiring over eighty thousand GPS receivers, with over two thousand aircraft being built or modified to use the system.
While the systems mentioned above are owned by a variety of federal and military agencies, the operations of the birds are mostly controlled by a single organization, the 50th Space Wing (SW), based at Falcon AFB, Colorado, just down the street from NORAD and USSPACECOM headquarters. Currently commanded by Colonel Gregory L. Gilles, the 50th SW is something new in the space community, an operationally oriented unit designed to get the products of space into the hands of "real" users in the field. Broken into squadrons, it controls the operations and uses of literally tens of billions of dollars of orbital hardware. Yet when you look at the young men and women of the 50th SW, you see a lot of thick glasses and laptop computers, along with more than a few science fiction novels. Don't be fooled, though, because these young space warriors are every bit as professional and dedicated to their tasks as are the aircrews in the ejection seats. In fact, their prideful motto, "In your face from outer space," says volumes about how they feel.
Each of the 50th SW's Space Operations Squadrons (SOSs) controls the satellites of a particular program or function. Some of the units of the 50th SW include:
• 1st SOS—Provides support during launch and checkout of a variety of different satellite programs. For example, they are currently heavily tasked with checkout of the first MILSTAR orbital vehicles.
• 2nd SOS—Is responsible for day-to-day operations, calibration, and maintenance of the GPS satellite constellation. Every day, they check and adjust, if required, the accuracy and timing of the onboard systems for every one of the GPS satellites.
• 3rd SOS—Responsible for the operations and maintenance of the twenty-two operational DSCS-II and — III, NATO-III, and FLT-SAT communications satellites.
• 4th SOS—Will, when it comes on-line, conduct the operations and maintenance of the constellation of MILSTAR communications satellites.
• 6th SOS—Located at Offut AFB, Nebraska (adjacent to STRATCOM headquarters), this squadron controls the DMSP-series of meteorological satellites for USSPACECOM.
There are undoubtedly other SOS-type units assigned to control of "black" programs like the imaging and ELINT/SIGINT programs, but their story will have to wait for a future telling, after it has been declassified.
Space-based systems can be extremely valuable to a force going into combat. While many of these systems were directly tied to strategic missions during the Cold War, and thus closely held by the National Command Authorities, the end of that conflict has allowed almost every military commander to have some use for space. For many it will be the beautiful simplicity of things like the hand-held GPS receivers used during Desert Storm. For the 366th Wing, it will be the vital data flow delivered by the satellite dishes of the 366th Communications Squadron, which will distribute the products of the space infrastructure to the wing's users.
CATS AND DOGS — OTHER ATTACHED UNITS
In this chapter, you have seen how virtually anything can be plugged into the 366th Wing structure. Some of the specialized units that might be added to the wing on an "as required" basis by the National Command Authorities (NCAs) include:
• Stealth Bombers/Fighters—The B-2As and F-117As of the 509th BW and 49th FW respectively are irreplaceable national assets, closely controlled by the NCAs. Nevertheless, given the importance of the missions that the 366th would undertake, a detachment of F-117s might be assigned to the wing, or a strike by B-2s might be authorized, once they acquire a Precision Guided Munitions capability in the late 1990s.
• Cruise Missiles—The 366th does not currently have a capability to employ the AGM-86C aboard their B-1Bs, so any air-launched cruise missiles would have to come from one of the B-52 units equipped to do the job, such as the 2nd BW at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana. The B-52Hs of the 2nd BW can carry several types of standoff weapons, including the AGM-86C ALCM, and the AGM-142 Have Nap standoff missile. With their precision guidance systems, these formidable weapons could be launched from outside the range of enemy defenses. As an added bonus, the B-52s could be launched on their missions directly from the continental United States, much as they were on the first night of Operation Desert Storm. In addition to the B-52s, the wing might also be able to task U.S. Navy ships and subm
arines to fire U/ BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs). This would be possible now that the new GPS-equipped Block-III guidance systems have made it to the fleet. The use of GPS guidance systems greatly simplifies the process of mission planning for both the TLAMs and ALCM-Cs, requiring a minimum of support from the Defense Mapping Agency and other organizations.
• Tankers—One resource that Dave McCloud would tell you he never has enough of is airborne gas. It is almost certain that additional tankers would be assigned to the 366th Wing in the event of an emergency deployment. Most desired, of course, are the big KC-10A Extenders, because of their ability to take gas from other tankers, their truly huge giveaway capacity, and their ability to fuel either USAF aircraft with their boom receptacles, or USN/USMC/NATO aircraft with their drogue-and-probe units at the same time. Most likely, though, the reinforcing tankers would probably come from AMC's large pool of KC-135Rs, which have several decades of service ahead of them.