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Following the mission brief and pre-flight checks, an aircrew
consisting of an officer pilot in command and a career enlisted
aviator sensor operator observe a target in an area of
responsibility overseas from a cockpit in the United States and
waits for the green light from a joint terminal attack controller on
the ground.
Anticipation heightens as the JTAC confirms the
target and gives the aircrew the clearance to attack. The aircrew
then reviews checklists before engaging, adrenaline begins to seep
in and the whirring from electronic components in the cockpit
recedes from awareness. Their concentration sharpens and as the
pilot squeezes the trigger, and a laser guided AGM-114 Hellfire
missile is released. The sensor operator hones in on the objective
at hand by keeping the laser designator crosshairs precisely over
the target and guiding the missile. The countdown begins until
impact...10, 9, 8…
Unbeknownst to most people, the multi-role MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9
Reaper strikes are coordinated through specific routing chains well
before weapons employment to ensure the fulfillment of combat
directives, combatant commanders’ requirements and overall rules of
engagement.
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November 16, 2016 - An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at
Creech Air Force Base, Nevada. The MQ-9 provides persistent attack
and reconnaissance capabilities for combatant commanders and
coalition forces involved in 24/7/365 combat operations abroad.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class James Thompson)
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Even more unknown is the fact that these aircrews follow
the same weapons employment process as those in other
traditional fighter and bomber aircraft.
“Anytime a
munition is employed or dropped by any platform to include
our MQ-1s and MQ-9s, those rules of engagement must be
satisfied,” said Maj. Brian, 432nd Wing/432nd Air
Expeditionary Wing Weapons and Tactics assistant director of
operations. “They define the specific requirements as far as
who, what and when something can be targeted for the
employment of a weapon.”
Brian explained that, like other aircraft, there are two
different types of strikes that occur in theater. One is a
deliberate strike and the other is a dynamic target
situation.
“The deliberate strikes are all targets
that have been nominated, gone through a vetting process and
ran through the Combined Air Operations Center for
validity,” said Brian. “They go through target nominations
and then it’s passed off to targeteers, as well as the
individual units, that will execute those strikes to conduct
the weaponeering and through the CAOC, they satisfy the
legal requirements in terms of ROE, weapon alignment and
specific collateral damage estimation for that target.”
Upholding the laws governing the use of military force
is paramount to every aircrew in ensuring that the enemy can
be eliminated without harm to civilians and friendly forces
while, also, strictly aligning with the Law of Armed
Conflict to meet legal and moral requirements.
Brian
said most of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing strikes are
conducted in a dynamic target situation.
“Dynamic
targeting is executed using close air support doctrinal
procedures,” said Brian. “Within the CAS doctrinal
procedures, once a target is identified on the ground, a
JTAC contacts the aircrew and starts to generate a plan as
far as how they’re going to conduct and execute that
strike.”
A dynamic target strike is a coordinated
effort between the aircrew and a ground team within a joint
operations center.
“Once we’ve found valid targets,
I’m going to notify the JTAC and from there he’s working on
his side to get approval for the strike,” said Capt. Chris,
42nd Attack Squadron MQ-9 pilot.
Along with
communicating with the aircrew, the JTAC coordinates with
his ground force commander.
“The ground force
commander is working in sync with a targeteer for collateral
damage estimation and a judge advocate to ensure that Law of
Armed Conflict in terms of proportionality, use of force and
all legal requirements are satisfied,” said Brian. “Once he
confirms that we have a valid target and the proportionality
and collateral damage estimation is acceptable based on the
commander’s intent and guidance, he then seeks target
engagement approval Airman 1st Class James Thompsonity from the first one-star in his
chain of command.”
If the situation and circumstances
are aligned the commander Airman 1st Class James Thompsonizes the strike and at that
point the aircrew is given clearance to then engage the
target using the designated weapon as decided by the
aircrew, Brian said.
“When the strike is approved,
he will pass me a game plan 9-line. At that time, I will
brief the sensor exactly how this weapons delivery will be
carried out,” said Chris.
The CAS doctrinal
procedures apply to all aircrew performing close air
support, regardless of the aircraft used.
“It’s [CAS
procedures] the same for all U.S. military,” said Brian.
“It’s a joint publication that defines those procedures and
how it works.”
Certain factors determined by the CAS
doctrine and the varying length of time in the confirmation
of targets, emphasizes the need for persistent and precise
attack capabilities provided by the multi-role MQ-1s and
MQ-9s.
“Personally, I’ve eliminated enemy forces that
were engaging friendlies 15 meters away, so it’s extremely
important to employ quickly and effectively and the MQ-9 is
one of the best assets in the Air Force to accomplish this,”
said Chris.
The routing chain from target
identification to strike can take anywhere from a few
minutes to several hours depending on the significance and
situation of the strike. Any strike done with a JTAC goes
through the same process regardless of what platform is
employing the weapon.
“One advantage that the MQ-1
and MQ-9 has over some of our more traditional aircraft is
its persistence,” said Brian. “Since our mission durations
are so long, we’re able to maintain custody of that target
for an extended period of time and provide an in-depth
characterization of the target, ensuring the target is
hostile.”
Brian added, because of their sensor
capabilities and persistence over a target, MQ-1 and MQ-9
aircrews are able to integrate the entire targeting process
from identification to final destruction and strike
evaluation into a single platform versus requiring different
multiple assets to accomplish the mission.
Along
with bringing a streamlined impact to the fight and having
the capability to provide CAS in dynamic situations,
aircrews also have emergency procedures to follow, in case
the targeting situation changes unexpectedly.
Brian
said that there are two methods to ceasing an attack after
the order has been given. The first method is when the JTAC
gives the abort command and the aircrew foregoes releasing
the weapon, resets and waits for those legal or collateral
requirements to be satisfied before another clearance to
strike is given.
He explained a post-launch abort as
the second method and is designed to avoid collateral damage
or civilian casualties, if the situation changes after the
laser guided weapon had been released. The JTAC will give
the order, and the sensor operator will adjust the endpoint
for the weapon with the laser designator to an area where
there is no risk of collateral damage.
Brian went on
to say that MQ-1 and MQ-9 aircrews receive special training
to understand ROE as well as the commander’s guidance and
intent for a particular strike; this complete understanding
demonstrates a high level of proficiency in flying daily
combat missions to support multiple theaters abroad.
Taking the fight to the enemy requires all aircrews to
follow strict guidance in order to eliminate the enemy and
safeguard friendly and coalition forces. The aircrews flying
the multi-role MQ-1s and MQ-9s follow the same doctrine in
support of 24/7 combat operations daily while adding an
extremely professional and precise persistent attack and
reconnaissance force to the Joint and coalition team engaged
on the battlefield.
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class James Thompson
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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