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Author's Note: The last names of certain
Airmen are withheld in accordance with operational security
requirements.
JALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - In a small, fenced-in compound on
Jalalabad Airfield, an equally small unit of Air Force pilots and
sensor operators are playing a large role in the Department of
Defense's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission.
Although the Air Force is progressing toward an all-MQ-9 fleet
by fiscal year 2019 as the MQ-1s are phased out, the 62nd
Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron Detachment 1's mission is very
much alive in Afghanistan.
The MQ-1B, an
armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely
piloted aircraft is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection
asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.
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An MQ-1B Predator from the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron Detachment 1 takes off from the flightline at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 4, 2016. The MQ-1B is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets. (U.S. Air Force photo
by Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys)
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“We have two combat air patrols in support of Operation
Freedom's Sentinel,” said Capt. Steven, 62nd ERS Detachment
1 commander. “We provide full-motion video ISR as well as
close air support capabilities to troops on the ground and
feedback back to our home station and headquarters.”
The Predator carries the Multi-Spectral Targeting System,
which integrates an infrared sensor, color/monochrome
daylight TV camera, image-intensified TV camera, laser
designator and laser illuminator. The full-motion video from
each of the imaging sensors can be viewed as separate video
streams or fused. The aircraft can employ two laser-guided
missiles, Air-to-Ground Missile-114 Hellfire, that possess
highly accurate, low-collateral damage, and anti-armor,
anti-personnel engagement capabilities.
In
Afghanistan, the MQ-1B provides a unique capability to
perform strike, coordination and reconnaissance against
high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets.
“Here at Jalalabad, we do the launch and recovery aspect of
the MQ-1,” said Steven. “We don't fly any missions here. We
launch a plane and then hand it over to a stateside mission
control element crew who will fly the sortie and come back,
and then we will land it.”
The primary concept of
operations, remote split operations, employs a
launch-and-recovery ground control element for take-off and
landing operations at the forward operating location, while
the crew based in the United States executes command and
control of the remainder of the mission via
beyond-line-of-sight links.
Remote split operations
result in a smaller number of personnel deployed to a
forward location, consolidate control of the different
flights in one location, and as such, simplify command and
control functions as well as the logistical supply
challenges for the weapons system.
That does not mean
that the 62nd's mission isn't a critical one in Afghanistan.
“Without us here at JBAD, the planes don't get airborne
and the missions don't fly,” said Steven. “The importance of
that is, it keeps costs down for the Air Force. It allows
them to deploy a few pilots to launch and recover 24-hour
operations verses deploying dozens of pilots who have to fly
the constant sorties.”
The basic crew for the
Predator is a rated pilot to control the aircraft and
command the mission, and an enlisted aircrew member to
operate sensors and weapons as well as a mission
coordinator, when required. The crew employs the aircraft
from inside the ground control station via a line-of-sight
data link or a satellite data link for beyond line-of-sight
operations.
This basic configuration is often one not
known or understood by those outside of the remotely piloted
aircraft community.
“The misunderstood aspect of
this is that people often use the word ‘drone,'” said
Steven. “The Air Force doesn't like that term because it
implies autonomy. Our planes are not autonomous in any way,
shape or form. At all times a pilot and a sensor operator
are in control of that aircraft. There is no point in time
where there isn't a pilot in control.”
In fact, any
kinetic strikes performed by MQ-1B Predators are more
coordinated that many would expect.
“As an RPA pilot,
I've been over the same target for a week, watching the same
building, watching the same person, every day, building
patterns of life. If I've been watching a target for 10
hours on just a one day alone, I know who's in the area,
what's safe, what's not safe, where children are, where the
school is, where the mosque is, which buildings to avoid,
and I know which people are the bad guys with utmost
certainty. Any pilot or sensor operator that that takes
control of the aircraft at any given time is intimately
aware of the layout of the village or location.”
Sensor operators at the 62nd ERS Detachment 1 play an
equally important role in the mission at Jalalabad.
“The sensor operators here act more as a copilot than they
do a sensor operator. In the launch and recovery portion
there's no ISR to do,” said Steven. “They back us up when we
do the engine run-ups. They scan temperatures, fluid levels
and things like that. When we are airborne they are backing
us up on making sure we are at appropriate air speeds for
takeoffs and landings, checking altitudes, and boresighting
lasers used for targeting.”
Stateside, the sensor
operators are in control of the camera and help find and
develop targets. Pilots and sensor operators work in unison
to put the aircraft and camera in the best position possible
to get the best view for ISR and weapons delivery.
“Stateside we'll run the camera and track targets. Here,
we're more of a copilot,” said Senior Airman Adam, 62nd ERS
Detachment 1, MQ-1B sensor operator. “We're running
checklists for the pilot, monitoring systems on the airplane
and making sure everything is good to go, as well as
calculating speeds and weights for the aircraft in flight.”
All in all, the 62nd ERS acts as the tip of the spear by
monitoring and mitigating enemy activity without adding
unnecessary human risk to U.S military personnel.
“Our mission is real,” said Steven. “We're flying full-sized
aircraft with live ordinance on board, taking care of the
mission and eliminating threats to the American people.”
By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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