March 31, 2007:
The U.S. Air Force is, like all the
other services, hustling to develop a battlefield Internet capability. To that
end, the air force has pioneered digital communications with, and between, its
war planes. Called Link 16, this system enables pilots to share digital
information, including pictures, video and radar data. The air force now has a
system that combines the data from its aircraft, with the army's Blue Force
Tracker (which tracks the location of army troops via GPS) data, to produce
JDICE (Joint Datalink Information Combat Execution). This provides a real time
picture of where the aircraft and ground forces are, and what the aircraft
targeting pods know about enemy activity. Blue Force Tracker also shows
information on where friendly ground troops believe enemy forces are, so JDICE
gives the most complete picture of the combat zone.
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This is great stuff, at least for giving the guy
running the battle (usually an army officer) a more accurate picture of who is
where. But the big problem for the air force is still the guy who talks to the
bomber pilots, and tells then when, and where, to drop smart bombs. The smart
bombs have been very popular with the ground troops, but the increased demand
for close air support has been difficult to meet. The air force has increased
(to about 1,100) the number of JTAC (Joint Tactical Air Controller) teams, the
specialized ground troops that talk to the aircraft and "call in" the smart
bombs. To be JTAC qualified, you have to be able to call in JDAMS, AC-130s,
helicopters, artillery, and so on. This is in line with the new army doctrine
of having people out there with the combat units who can call in all flavors of
what is now being called "fires."
The army wants their own people to be able to call
in smart bombs, but the air force has been resisting that. In response, the
army is relying more on its own GPS guided weapons (227mm MLRS rockets and
155mm artillery shells). This provides the kind of competition that forces the
air force to be more responsive, and more imaginative. But the air force is
particularly resistant to giving up control, via the JTAC teams.
The air force suspects, that the army wants to
reduce bombers to the status of sky trucks, just circling above, and releasing
smart bombs whenever the army commander below needs one. The air force has long
resented the army attitude that the air force simply supports ground combat,
and, aside from ICBMs delivering nukes, has no independent purpose of its own. The air
force hopes to educate the army with systems like JDICE, and demonstrate how
air power can become an independent partner on the battlefield. The current
generation of targeting pods, which enable pilots to make out what kind of
weapons individuals on the ground are carrying, seems to give the air force the
kind of eyes on the ground they have long needed.. Coupled with more
reconnaissance UAVs and spy satellite data, the air force believes it can take
apart an enemy force before the army ever encounters them. The army has heard
it all before, and will believe it when it actually happens. The soldiers and
pilots disagree on how well you can really understand what's happening on the
ground, from 20,000 feet up. The army knows, and the air force tries to ignore,
the fact that, for the last 70 years, the pilots have been continually deceived
by the enemy on the ground. But, the feeling is, with enough information, those
rascals down their will be truly revealed, and finally undone.
