Hanscom unit preps new CAOC facility

  • Published
  • By Monica D. Morales
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. (AFPN) --  Members of the 652nd Electronic Systems Squadron here are preparing for the future home of the U.S. Air Force Central's Combined Air and Space Operations Center facility as construction continues in Southwest Asia.

The Air and Space Operations Center Weapons System, officially referred to as the AN/USQ-163 Falconer, is the planning and execution engine of all air campaigns. 

It enables the joint or combined forces air component commander, along with supported and supporting commanders, to exercise command and control of air, space and information operations to achieve the objectives of the combatant commander in joint and coalition military operations.

"This new installation will tremendously enhance the command and control capabilities the (combined forces air component commander) has in his current facility," said Capt. Amber Ward, an Air and Space Operations Center Weapons System program manager.

"After our visit to the CAOC to examine the current and new facilities, it's easy to envision how our upcoming installation will better equip the warfighter with the tools needed to better execute air operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa," said Col. Steve Webb, the 350th Electronic Systems Group commander.

For the approximately 50 systems to be installed in the CAOC, about 400 software applications, along with associated hardware, must also be installed to support their full operation, Captain Ward said.

But before any of that can happen, 9th Air Force officials from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., must modify the new facility to better accommodate current operations.

"The new facility is a hardened one that will provide better protection in the event of an attack," Captain Ward said. "Overall, it's just a better facility to operate in, but some modifications are required to account for the CFACC's dynamic operational tempo."

Key among the structural challenges in the new facility was the discovery that a variable-like energy could complicate operations. Captain Ward said her team discovered the amount of power needed to sustain the CAOC's systems was not available in the new building.

"Our engineers determined that the current building plans just wouldn't provide enough power to support the systems we will install," she said. "So, that meant getting building modifications on contract to meet the systems' needs."

While construction is ongoing, the installation team continues its work to prepare the site for the July installation. Two weeks ago, a 15-member team made up of a mix of military, civilian and contractors checked on site construction and provided input for any last-minute planning and engineering.

"It was really our chance to fine-tune design plans and go over the installation scheduling dependencies with all parties involved," Captain Ward said.

The installation, scheduled to begin in July, will take roughly four months to complete. Once in place, the new systems will provide enhanced capabilities to the warfighter.

"We're providing a greater capability to receive and translate time-sensitive information at a quicker rate, and then get it out to leadership to make the decisions," Captain Ward said. "We're shortening the communications gap and speeding up the decision process by installing these upgrades."

The upgrades will also provide the potential of accomplishing more missions and conducting additional operations based on intelligence coming in at a faster rate.

But just reaching this program milestone of preparing for the installation hasn't come without its own set of obstacles. For a time, one hurdle was gaining access to the facility itself -- the building continues to be occupied by the host nation.

The team; however, rose above the conflicts by turning what might be seen as setbacks into valuable time dedicated to maturing the overall system environment.

"It gave us a good opportunity to conduct risk mitigations and do some testing on specific systems that we normally wouldn't have had time for," Captain Ward said.

While the benefits of the CAOC for the warfighter are evident, seeing the system at work in the field equally motivates the team that's helping to put it there.

"To see the project from the beginning stages to the end, and knowing that our installation team will enhance the central nervous system that's fighting the war, is something we all take pride in," Captain Ward said.

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