Digital close-air support improvements on the way

USAF ^ | 11/30/2010 | Chuck Paone/USAF

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Airmen on the ground whose mission is to help deliver close-air support will soon receive a set of tools that will help them do their jobs better while lightening the loads they're required to carry.

Tactical air control party Airmen are assigned to Army units that engage in all levels of operations, ranging from dismounted patrols to convoy escort duty, and to command elements at operations centers. The TACP is the vital link between the ground commander and the combat aircraft pilot, whose job is to deliver close-air support to troops in contact with the enemy.

The upgrade headed for the field is a small wearable computer that fits into a pouch in a TACP member's body armor. The computer replaces the laptop TACPs possess now, but is much more compact, weighing two pounds rather than eight. This allows them to carry and use the computers for digital CAS communications on dismounted "foot" patrols in the terrain of Afghanistan.

"Perhaps as much as any program in the Electronic Systems Center's Aerial Networking Division, the Tactical Air Control Party-Modernization program exemplifies our vision of joint air-land operations by providing advanced information exchange capabilities to the tactical edge of the battlefield," said Col. Cordell DeLaPena, the division's director.

Referred to as an SWC, the wearable computer will be fielded as soon as TACP Close-Air Support System software version 1.4.2 comes online, said Capt. Sean Carlson, the program manager for the CASS software.

The new CASS software greatly improves the operating picture viewed by close-air support aircraft and the one viewed by the TACPs themselves.

"The previous CASS software had a limited digital capability, where the new software paints a more complete picture of the engagement area: 'friendlies,' threats, targets, attack headings, etc.," Captain Carlson said.

[sinanju]

Here’s hoping it works well. I recall some of those segments on the Military Channel about spec ops units under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan and F-16s and FA-18s overhead all but helpless to support them because they and their enemies were invisible from 5,000 feet up.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Ping

[Portcall24]

I was at Air Ground Operations School (AGOS) on the range at Eglin doing this exact thing when I got my orders to Vietnam in 1967...seems like yesterday.