Main experiment under way for JEFX ’06

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ross Tweten
  • Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment ’06 Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) --  After three spirals spanning five months, the main experiment for the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2006 is finally under way here.

JEFX combines live-fly, live-play ground and naval forces, simulation and technology insertions into a warfighting environment.

This year, JEFX is assessing eight new initiatives in technology. The processes are designed to increase command and control capability, enhance predictive battlespace awareness, and decrease the time it takes to find, fix, target, track, engage and assess a given target.

The experiment is a venue for testing new and emerging technologies, leading edge thought, processes, tactics, techniques and procedures, and provides accelerated capabilities to the warfighter.

According to Scott Sampson, execution director, JEFX consists of three spiral events and a main experiment.

Spiral 1 is essentially a technology demonstration of the command and control tools or "initiatives" where warfighters provide feedback to developers which the developers use to modify the initiative before Spiral 2 and 3.

During Spirals 2 and 3, the warfighters, manning an operationally representative combined air operations center, use the initiatives and systems, assess them for their operational utility and submit desired changes.

The developers use this assessment feedback to modify the systems before the main experiment.

“Simply put, the previous spirals have been that spiraling process of development, risk reduction and assessment of capabilities in an operational realistic environment and scenario,” said Col. Chuck Parks, Air Force Experiment Office director. “All along, we’ve had the 8th Air Force warriors alongside the developers and testers, validating the operational utility of these initiatives and providing invaluable feedback. We will take initiative assessments from the main experiment and focus on providing fielding recommendations to the (Air Force chief of staff) at the end of JEFX.”

“The involvement of the warfighter from the beginning, along with the testers and developers, is truly agile acquisition in motion directly supporting the warfighter,” said Col. Dallas Thompson, mobilization assistant to the commander of 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and Air Force Component Commander, United States Strategic Command, Offut AFB, Neb. 

During Spiral 3 and the main experiment, the focus is more on the use of the initiatives in the prosecution of combined air operations center, or CAOC, processes. A synthetic battlespace is used to stimulate the activity in the spiral events and main experiment.

The CAOC is the experiment’s environment, designed to execute the air and space component of a war, combining operators and systems from all different air assets and coalition forces to make one integrated system.

“We are employing about 40 models and simulations to create the synthetic battlespace for JEFX ’06,” Mr. Sampson said. “During the main experiment we incorporate approximately 39 live aircraft in addition to the models and simulations to serve as a ‘graduation exercise’ and validation of the results obtained during the simulation activity."

JEFX involves coalition, all services, joint and other Department of Defense agencies from bases across the United States, England, Australia and Canada. Airmen, Sailors and Soldiers are all participating in the exercise for the Main Experiment. There are 35 allied participants occupying operator positions throughout the CAOC.

The JEFX ’06 Main Experiment is scheduled to end April 28.