Tactical Air Control Party training goes to a new level

  • Published
  • By Stefan Bocchino
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base, NM --  A new Distributed Mission Operations Center Radio Emulator will help train Joint Terminal Attack Controllers in the use of the Tactical Air Control Party Close Air Support System without tying up valuable satellite communications time.

"There was no way to actually train on the TACP-CASS system prior to going downrange," said Tech. Sgt. Darrell DeMotta, TACP simulation manager, 705th Combat Training Squadron. "We've essentially taken a PRC-117 portable satellite communications radio and put it into a laptop computer. What that does is eliminate the need for satellite communications time and allows the JTAC to train on the system prior to going downrange."

Digital CAS allows the JTAC to send up requests to identify targets through the system downrange. This new training device allows JTACs to get realistic training and fills a gap, because there is no other fully trainable avenue available for TACP-CASS, according to Sergeant DeMotta.

"The DMOC radio emulator replaces radio frequency communications with Ethernet communications using the Distributed Interactive Simulation protocol," said Scott Reeder, lead engineer for the DMOC radio emulator. "You can have one unit here at Kirtland and another unit anyplace else, and so long as they have network connectivity they can communicate as if they were line-of-sight or using a SATCOM radio."

The system has been used and tested at Kirtland for the past couple of years, said Sergeant DeMotta. The device software was developed at Kirtland Air Force Base and has been used in four exercises. The first version of the software is about to be released to units for use at their home stations Dec. 1. That way TACPs will be trained at their home station, and can train with anyone across the network.

"The advantage of doing this is as airspace and other resources become more and more constrained in the future, this training allows the current fight to be extended right here, right now, before going down range," said Sergeant DeMotta. "It allows real-time debrief capability. It gives everybody involved a chance to see this is how they are actually going to fight when they get downrange."

Sergeant DeMotta said the device will be used in the Virtual Strike exercise in February. The exercise will connect units all over the United States, including aircraft simulators, enabling them to conduct operations using virtual simulators.

"The Virtual Strike exercise will be enabled through Distributed Mission Operations," said Lt. Col. Dan Pepper, commander 705th Combat Training Squadron. "That's what allows multiple points in the country or around the world, through various network-connectivity architectures, to execute simultaneously, regardless of geography."

The system will be demonstrated at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference in Orlando, Fla., from Nov. 29 through Dec. 2. Personnel from the 705th CTS will demonstrate the system in a booth at the conference.