Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
NATO is participating in a US Air Force experiment to test command and control (C2) concepts for expeditionary operations. The Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) now under way combines live and simulated forces in the second large-scale test of technologies which promise to enhance the capabilities of the USAF's future Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF).
The key goal of the experiment is to demonstrate that, using satellite communications, forward forces can "reach back" for C2, intelligence and other information, so that less equipment and people need to be deployed to support expeditionary operations.
"Last year [in EFX 98] we looked at the plausibility of doing reach-back and maintaining continuity - of maintaining the commander's situational awareness," says Lt Gen Landsford Trapp, commander of JEFX 99. The experiment was marred by problems with some of the equipment being tested. This year, the technology is "very stable", he says.
The objective of JEFX 99 is to determine whether that technology can allow the USAF "to very rapidly respond in an expeditionary manner to provide a decisive halt to help friendly forces," Trapp says.
The experimental scenario is set five years from now, by which time the USAF plans to be able to respond to a contingency anywhere in the world within 48h.
A 17-strong NATO team is "actively participating", says German air force Lt Gen Peter Vogler, deputy commander of JEFX 99. The team is observing the experiment and contributing expertise in coalition operations. US Navy, Marine Corps and Army aircraft and personnel are also participating.
While Vogler says NATO is "moving ahead at a rapid pace" with the exploration of similar "better, faster" expeditionary force concepts, he expresses concern lest the USA moves ahead too fast "and leave the rest of us behind".
The heart of the JEFX is the theatre battle management and control system, which resides in the operations support centre at Langley AFB, Virginia, and is deployed to the forward air operations centre. A palletised version allows commanders to control the expeditionary forces while airborne en route to the contingency.
New concepts being tested in JEFX 99 include use of the Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle (UAV) to provide real-time imagery direct to commanders, and use of a manned Egrett II as a surrogate UAV providing targeting, jamming and decoying support to defence-suppression aircraft.
Satellite datalinks are being used to transmit target images to fighters, to track transports and to distribute intelligence data.
Source: Flight International
