Bold Quest Plus wraps up in Florida

  • Published
  • By Casey Bain
  • United States Joint Forces Command
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) --  Bold Quest Plus, which included units from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and coalition partners from Canada and the United Kingdom, wrapped up this week, highlighting innovative ways to enhance future U.S. and coalition warfighting capabilities. 

The two-week U.S. Joint Forces Command sponsored event  held at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, brought together more than 600 individuals.

Bold Quest Plus used previous work conducted during Bold Quest at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and Ft. Irwin, Calif. in September 2007, for the demonstration of coalition combat identification technologies.

"The purpose of this demonstration was to help provide warfighters with CID technologies that will maximize their combat effectiveness on today's asymmetric battlefield. We're trying to give our coalition team the tools that will allow them to sort through the dust and fog of war to be faster and more accurate in a gunfight," said John Miller, the USJFCOM's Bold Quest Plus operational manager.

USJFCOM's Joint Fires Integration and Interoperability Team and the 46th Test Wing helped host the demonstration, which focused on system testing and refinement of tactics and techniques through a variety of air-to-ground CID technologies.

"The CID server is a perfect example of how we could potentially improve our capabilities and combat effectiveness for our coalition team," said Bob Summitt, the JFIIT senior analyst. "The CID server provides the pilot with an on-demand request capability for friendly force location information. The pilot can initiate a request for information from the CID server located on the ground and receive real-time situational awareness data in the cockpit where he can quickly verify friendly locations in the area of interest to enable a more efficient response to the ground commander's request for close air support."

"The (event) has provided an ideal opportunity for our U.S. and coalition partners to continue their assessment of advanced CID technologies," said Jim MacDonald, a 46th Test Squadron test engineer. "These technologies could significantly improve our ability to identify friendly objects on the battlefield and help enable quicker shoot -- don't shoot decisions that are critical in today's fight."

"We're focused on the tools required by aircrew and ground controllers who coordinate the attack or drop bombs on targets," Mr. Miller said. "Ensuring that these technologies are built coalition interoperable will enable them to do that more quickly and effectively...and will ultimately result in saving lives."

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