 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Defending The High Ground
UPI International Correspondent Washington (UPI) Nov 01, 2006 The 527th Space Aggressor Squadron, based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., trains Air Force personnel to cope with threats to U.S. satellites. Air Force Print News reported Oct. 27 that threats range from deliberate jamming to a sudden unexplained loss of signal from an unmanned aerial vehicle or a Global Positioning System satellite. The 527th, together with its allied 26th Space Aggressor Squadron, a Reserve unit, teach how to differentiate between mechanical failures and other possible causes. Subject areas include war-fighter satellite communications, precision navigation and timing, and they do it by blocking the airmen's access to those capabilities. The 26th Space Aggressor Squadron's Lt. Col. Michael Assid said that while an Airman controlling a UAV receives a "white card" informing him that his or her UAV feed is offline, things change when the UAV data feed simply disappears. Assid said: "Our training audiences observe the effects of jamming, which are largely theoretical to them coming in." A training exercise of particular importance is the "Red Flag" aerial exercises, held periodically at the Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., since 1975. The Red Flag aerial war games are intended to train U.S., NATO and other allied countries' pilots in real combat situations between two teams, the good guys (Blue Team) and the aggressors (Red Team). Although live GPS and satellite communications jamming is fairly new to Red Flag, the combat aviation community is learning quickly how to counter or mitigate these threats. Assid said: "When we first went to Red Flag, the Blue Forces didn't really know what to think of us. Then we started to show how a space-savvy adversary could severely hinder the air and ground campaign. Overnight, we became the number-one time-sensitive target and were prosecuted as such during each exercise scenario. "Education is theory: read a book, write a paper, what have you. Training is practical application. It answers the critical 'Why do I care?' question for the warfighter. We provide real jamming signals -- we want the training audience to feel the effects of the systems and capabilities we emulate. These days, we do a lot of GPS and SATCOM jamming, though we perform some other functions ... and the mission is always evolving. "Every SATCOM transmitter is potentially a jammer. Any reasonably intelligent adversary could acquire information they need to jam a SATCOM signal. It takes a little technical know-how, certainly; but after that, it's just a matter of intent. This threat is here to stay, and people are becoming more receptive to that. I have the best job in the Air Force: I get to be a bad guy, and by doing so, I make the good guys better. If I get a 'splat' call and have to shut down my jammers, I consider that a success."
Source: United Press International Related Links Military Space News at SpaceWar.com
Latest Air Force Weather Satellite Ready For Launch
Vandenberg AFB CA (SPX) Oct 27, 2006The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-17 Block 5D-3 spacecraft, built under contract for the U.S. Air Force by Lockheed Martin, is undergoing final preparation for a launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on November 4. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
