In the sky over Iraq, technology developed in the 1940s helps fight a 21st century war. From their unique vantage point, the Kirkuk long-range radar surveillance site searches the sky. It’s almost as if the slow cyclonic pace hypnotizes everything in the airspace to spill their deep dark secrets -- friend or foe?

At the site, Airmen work around the clock searching for threats and maintaining air superiority. The Kingpins, named so because they are in control of the sky, are using technology that’s been around since World War II, but has evolved into a field of microchips and computers.

While their radar has been upgraded, the significant change lies in the receiver and its capability to process information. The difference now is how that information gets used. Complementing the radar is a combination of off-the-shelf technology adapted for military use and next-generation computers.

The old and the new blend together to produce battlespace awareness for more than 180,864 square miles of Northern airspace. The information the Kingpins of Northern Iraq produce is used to make decisions at levels ranging from the cockpit of a fighter to that of the combined forces air component commander.

Battle for the skies
Supplied with data received from other air bases in Iraq, Airmen of the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron provide command and control capabilities for more than 270,000 square miles of airspace for the Control and Reporting Center. Capt. Aristides Jimenez leads this group of vigilant warriors from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard.

“If it flies, we see it,” he said.

The entire sight picture for Iraq is sent to Kirkuk from the CRC. This information is pushed out to aircrews, providing them battlespace awareness beyond their line of sight. The information is also supplied to the Combined Air Operations Center, providing coalition forces the entire air sight picture.

“We have the capability to connect to aircraft flying missions in Iraq. In Balad, they also have the capability to link and pass information to surface-to-air missile batteries in Iraq,” Captain Jimenez said. “We can talk to anyone, anywhere and act as a link between ground forces and the aircraft. We are an important piece of the puzzle.”

Even though the squadron has the ability to talk directly with coalition aircraft, this aspect of their capabilities is controlled by the CRC, said Master Sgt. Rafael Rodriguez, ground radio superintendent.

“Because of our location and capabilities, we allow the uplink between the CAOC, ground and air forces and other deployed radar sites,” Sergeant Rodriguez said.

Ground radio technicians Senior Airman Francisco Rivera and Staff Sgt. Javier Mercado maintain the equipment and they know how much is riding on the information they provide.

“Since we provide the ability for long-range communication, if other sites’ antennae can’t reach up to the Northern part of the country, they use us,” Sergeant Mercado said.

Special equipment allows the Airmen to link up with air and ground forces but it’s the radar that helps them see all.

“We were able to achieve air superiority because of our radar capabilities,” Captain Jimenez said. “We have the long range capabilities to adapt and react to anything flying.”
Senior Airman William Freytes, who is one of the unit’s electronic protection technicians, agrees.

“We can defeat radar jamming coming from non-coalition forces but no one can jam us,” he explained. “We see them but they don’t see us. It’s my job to make sure they don’t,” he said.

Name and status
As an aircraft enters the radar’s territory it is interrogated and convinced to give up its aircraft identifier. This number classifies the aircraft as friend or foe.

“We see everything that moves in our airspace. Even if an aircraft, such as a fighter, tries to hide under a larger aircraft, we can still see it,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jose Hernandez, maintenance superintendent. “Our systems communicate electronically with the aircraft in the air and if those planes don’t identify themselves, we push that information forward and appropriate action is taken.”

What makes this possible is Tactical Digital Information Link. Military aircraft and command and control units in Iraq are equipped with TADIL. It provides a picture of the combined air and ground battlefield and is useful for the close air support aircraft supporting ground forces fighting the insurgency.

“Because air and ground forces don’t speak the same electrical language, TADIL acts as a translator between the two,” said Staff Sgt. Antonio Acosta, digital maintenance technician. “In the theater of operations, the ground and air picture is combines so both know what is happening either above or below them.”

TADIL-equipped aircraft can create their own air-to-air network or join an existing ground network. Aircrews can view cockpit displays showing both airborne and ground activities.

Blips on the radar
Radar technology was used for the first time as early warning systems to detect enemy aircraft approaching ally forces. Before World War II, airspace control and deconfliction were rarely issues. The planes, airships and balloons of the day were few in number, slow and easy to identify.

The introduction of air defense missile systems, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles to the modern battlefield increased the services’ theater airspace control requirements. The modern challenges of joint air operations require a more complex and dynamic airspace control system.

The equipment in use by the squadron has both manned and remote capabilities. One relic left behind with the Cold War was the requirement that scopes be manned. Now the equipment has remote operation abilities.

“We can operate the radar from this site or send the signal someplace else,” said Staff Sgt. Jose Saavedra, radar maintenance technician. For the mission here, the radar is sent remotely from the hilltop to the valley. “We are a target sitting on top of the hill.”

The radar puts out a huge radio frequency signature. Because of this, sometimes threats such as anti-radar missiles may be headed toward the radar, something electronic protection technicians like Staff Sgt. Luis Nazario counteract.

“We have several options in the way we can respond if that happens,” Sergeant Nazario said. Currently, insurgents operating in Iraq don’t have this capability, but other countries do.

“We have to be aware and we’re the first to see threats either coming our way or coming into our airspace,” he said.

The squadron is a 24/7, remote operation, which allows for fewer Airmen to man the site, increasing their ability for rapid redeployment to anywhere in the AOR. The facility at Kirkuk is a fixed site which will remain as long as the coalition forces are in Iraq. When not employed as a fixed site, the ACS is able to deploy anywhere in the world and be operational in just hours, day or night.

The Kingpins' radar system is capable of providing radar azimuth, range, height and identification friend or foe information for the entirety of Northern Iraq and its borders. The system provides long range radar data to support operations and control of tactical aircraft.

The radar receiver allows the operators to determine the range, direction and altitude of the threat, making identifying it a lot easier. From the radar’s lofty position, the unit is the first one aware of a foe infiltrating Iraqi airspace.

“When we see something, we know where it’s coming from by its position on the radar,” Sergeant Nazario said. “We are the eyes and ears of Northern Iraq.”

The ground radar set is designed to conduct long-range search and altitude-finding operations simultaneously. The self-contained data gathering system operates independent of inclement weather and jamming. The all-weather capable system weighs about 8,400 pounds. The antenna operates from sea level to 10,000 feet in conditions that include high winds, antenna icing, high humidity and the high temperatures.

The unit has more than 80 pieces of equipment and supplies all of their own power and maintenance. Master Sgt. Jose Banuchi manages the more than 2,000 parts the squadron must maintain. Due to their location, many parts have a long delivery time.

“We pre-position parts at this location so we can ensure our downtime is kept to a minimum,” he said.

Keeping parts in stock and Airmen on site allows a 99 percent equipment and communications uptime rate.

“We’re not just achieving it, we’re maintaining it,” Captain Jimenez said. “In the field conditions we are in -- and in a combat environment -- we have exceeded the standards set by U.S. Central Command Air Forces.”

Air Expeditionary Force rotation 9/10 marks the first time Air National Guard members have complete control over the skies in Iraq. The three sites are operated by a combination of Airmen from the 117th ACS, Georgia Air National Guard and the 141st ACS, Puerto Rico ANG.

For the EACS unit here, most of the Airmen are from Puerto Rico but one is from the 117th and another is from the Utah Air National Guard’s 109th Air Control Squadron.

“For us it’s about coming here and doing a job and to make a statement,” Captain Jimenez said. “We are not just in the Air Force -- we represent the Air National Guard and we represent Puerto Rico."