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505th Command and Control Wing News

505th Command and Control Wing unit helps expand JSTARS capabilities

  • Published
  • By Jodi L. Jordan
  • 505CCW/PA
MELBOURNE, Fla. --  Bad guys take note: the JSTARS aircraft, known as "Eyes in the Sky," will soon have eyes scanning water as well as land, looking for moving targets. Members of the 505th Command and Control Wing's Detachment 2 here recently completed an important early evaluation of a new capability for the E-8C JSTARS aircraft. 

JSTARS, which stands for Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. It's used to survey the battlespace in near-real time, and provides information about moving and stationary targets to commanders on the ground. The Feb. 24 sortie was a beginning step to provide U.S. and coalition forces an MTI capability over water as well as over land, to help them fight and win in today's conflicts, said Det. 2 commander Lt. Col. Andy Veres. 

The recent sortie included Airmen from Det. 2, members of the 116th Air Control Wing from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Northrop Grumman contracting team members, and participants from Air Force Material Command. The sortie was held in conjunction with a U.S. Navy exercise, and provided an early look at the Enhanced Land Maritime Mode-Advanced Radar Modes, or ELMM-ARM capability. The Air Force is testing the ELMM-ARM capability, a system that will help JSTARS operators track moving targets over water. 

"The JSTARS was built to track movers over land," said Maj. Stuart Williamson, director of operations at Det. 2. "The maritime moving target indicator mode will help JSTARS operators track movement over water in a much more efficient and effective manner. The capability to track over water will give our warfighters even more of the information they need, and that can save lives." 

While on the nearly six-hour sortie over the East Coast, members of Det. 2 executed the mission providing observations, and completing surveys to document the current state of the ELMM-ARM system, which is roughly half-way through its development process. The detachment is currently putting together their observations for a report to Air Combat Command. 

"We took down quite a bit of information about how this capability will work," said Tech. Sgt. Aaron Dudley, Det. 2 surveillance and control operations development technician. "We were involved in every aspect of the test, from planning the mission and execution to documentation. Characterizing how the product will work early in its development is critical for maximizing its success for crews in the field." 

Because ELMM-ARM will track movers over water, it just made sense to conduct the sortie in conjunction with a U.S. Navy Composite Unit Exercise. Maj. Sean Kissinger, Det. 2 assistant director of operations, embarked aboard the U.S.S. Bataan, an amphibious assault ship for ten days to maximize test opportunities. 

"The Navy's Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic was instrumental to the success of this test," said Maj. Kissinger. " The Norfolk-based CSFTL staff provided superb logistical and operational assistance to get me aboard the U.S.S. Bataan and in sync with the Expeditionary Strike Group's battle rhythm. Beyond the test data we captured, we were able to lay a solid foundation for tactics, testing and procedures development and future joint warfighting capability," the major added. "I explained the developmental ELMM capability to the commodore and his staff, and then witnessed firsthand the various Navy warfare commanders integrating JSTARS' command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities into their deliberate planning and execution. It's always great to participate in joint operations, but participating as a liaison officer aboard the Bataan exceeded my expectations. It was both beneficial to the test program and an extremely valuable professional experience." 

Det. 2's mission is to help provide the acquisition, testing and evaluation of systems for JSTARS. The ability to survey the battlespace in near-real time and provide information about moving and stationary targets to commanders on the ground is critical. "The information platforms like JSTARS provides helps commanders make the right decisions at the right time, and that can save lives," Lt. Col. Veres said. "JSTARS' ability to see slow-moving objects is vital to achieving dominance in today's battlespace, and ELMM-ARM will only add to that ability." 

All of the aircrew assigned to Det. 2 are qualified JSTARS operators. They have been part of JSTARS missions, and each is an expert in one of the 14 positions that make up a typical 21-person JSTARS crew. At the top of their game in their career field, they are hand-picked to serve as the link between contractors who are fielding improvements to the platform and the operators who will benefit from those improvements in the field. 

The Det. 2 Airmen don't just bring their prior operational experience to the task of testing and evaluating. Members of the unit augment the 116th ACW, and the small detachment also supports Air Expeditionary Force taskings. At any one time, there could be five or six Det. 2 Airmen getting ready to deploy, deployed, or just returning, said Colonel Veres. Five or six doesn't sound like many, until you realize those numbers represent about a quarter of the total Airmen assigned to Det. 2, he added. "It's difficult when you have a unit as small as ours, but the experience of deploying is invaluable to what we do back here at Det. 2," he said. "We can go over to the theater, see how the operators are really using the platform, and what their needs are. We bring that information back to Det. 2, where we give our real-world inputs to the engineers working on solutions." 

The recent ELMM-ARM sortie was allowed Det. 2 to provide inputs on the operational capability of the program to the JSTARS program office and Headquarters ACC , said Maj. Kissinger. "Even though the ELMM-ARM sortie wasn't an operational sortie, it felt a lot like one," Sergeant Dudley said. "We went through the same steps from planning to execution that we would if we were deployed. It was a great opportunity."

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505th Command and Control Wing unit helps expand JSTARS capabilities

  • Published
  • By Jodi L. Jordan
  • 505CCW/PA
MELBOURNE, Fla. --  Bad guys take note: the JSTARS aircraft, known as "Eyes in the Sky," will soon have eyes scanning water as well as land, looking for moving targets. Members of the 505th Command and Control Wing's Detachment 2 here recently completed an important early evaluation of a new capability for the E-8C JSTARS aircraft. 

JSTARS, which stands for Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. It's used to survey the battlespace in near-real time, and provides information about moving and stationary targets to commanders on the ground. The Feb. 24 sortie was a beginning step to provide U.S. and coalition forces an MTI capability over water as well as over land, to help them fight and win in today's conflicts, said Det. 2 commander Lt. Col. Andy Veres. 

The recent sortie included Airmen from Det. 2, members of the 116th Air Control Wing from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Northrop Grumman contracting team members, and participants from Air Force Material Command. The sortie was held in conjunction with a U.S. Navy exercise, and provided an early look at the Enhanced Land Maritime Mode-Advanced Radar Modes, or ELMM-ARM capability. The Air Force is testing the ELMM-ARM capability, a system that will help JSTARS operators track moving targets over water. 

"The JSTARS was built to track movers over land," said Maj. Stuart Williamson, director of operations at Det. 2. "The maritime moving target indicator mode will help JSTARS operators track movement over water in a much more efficient and effective manner. The capability to track over water will give our warfighters even more of the information they need, and that can save lives." 

While on the nearly six-hour sortie over the East Coast, members of Det. 2 executed the mission providing observations, and completing surveys to document the current state of the ELMM-ARM system, which is roughly half-way through its development process. The detachment is currently putting together their observations for a report to Air Combat Command. 

"We took down quite a bit of information about how this capability will work," said Tech. Sgt. Aaron Dudley, Det. 2 surveillance and control operations development technician. "We were involved in every aspect of the test, from planning the mission and execution to documentation. Characterizing how the product will work early in its development is critical for maximizing its success for crews in the field." 

Because ELMM-ARM will track movers over water, it just made sense to conduct the sortie in conjunction with a U.S. Navy Composite Unit Exercise. Maj. Sean Kissinger, Det. 2 assistant director of operations, embarked aboard the U.S.S. Bataan, an amphibious assault ship for ten days to maximize test opportunities. 

"The Navy's Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic was instrumental to the success of this test," said Maj. Kissinger. " The Norfolk-based CSFTL staff provided superb logistical and operational assistance to get me aboard the U.S.S. Bataan and in sync with the Expeditionary Strike Group's battle rhythm. Beyond the test data we captured, we were able to lay a solid foundation for tactics, testing and procedures development and future joint warfighting capability," the major added. "I explained the developmental ELMM capability to the commodore and his staff, and then witnessed firsthand the various Navy warfare commanders integrating JSTARS' command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities into their deliberate planning and execution. It's always great to participate in joint operations, but participating as a liaison officer aboard the Bataan exceeded my expectations. It was both beneficial to the test program and an extremely valuable professional experience." 

Det. 2's mission is to help provide the acquisition, testing and evaluation of systems for JSTARS. The ability to survey the battlespace in near-real time and provide information about moving and stationary targets to commanders on the ground is critical. "The information platforms like JSTARS provides helps commanders make the right decisions at the right time, and that can save lives," Lt. Col. Veres said. "JSTARS' ability to see slow-moving objects is vital to achieving dominance in today's battlespace, and ELMM-ARM will only add to that ability." 

All of the aircrew assigned to Det. 2 are qualified JSTARS operators. They have been part of JSTARS missions, and each is an expert in one of the 14 positions that make up a typical 21-person JSTARS crew. At the top of their game in their career field, they are hand-picked to serve as the link between contractors who are fielding improvements to the platform and the operators who will benefit from those improvements in the field. 

The Det. 2 Airmen don't just bring their prior operational experience to the task of testing and evaluating. Members of the unit augment the 116th ACW, and the small detachment also supports Air Expeditionary Force taskings. At any one time, there could be five or six Det. 2 Airmen getting ready to deploy, deployed, or just returning, said Colonel Veres. Five or six doesn't sound like many, until you realize those numbers represent about a quarter of the total Airmen assigned to Det. 2, he added. "It's difficult when you have a unit as small as ours, but the experience of deploying is invaluable to what we do back here at Det. 2," he said. "We can go over to the theater, see how the operators are really using the platform, and what their needs are. We bring that information back to Det. 2, where we give our real-world inputs to the engineers working on solutions." 

The recent ELMM-ARM sortie was allowed Det. 2 to provide inputs on the operational capability of the program to the JSTARS program office and Headquarters ACC , said Maj. Kissinger. "Even though the ELMM-ARM sortie wasn't an operational sortie, it felt a lot like one," Sergeant Dudley said. "We went through the same steps from planning to execution that we would if we were deployed. It was a great opportunity."