Falcon eyes roam Iraqi skies

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jason Ridder
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  For years the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the premier multi-role fighter in the Air Force inventory, but recently F-16s here have been expanding their list of capabilities by performing non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, or NTISR.

“NTISR is when a platform such as the F-16 does ISR typically reserved for other assets, such as the Predator, U2 or Global Hawk,” said Lt. Col. Peter Gersten, 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander.

In a conflict where dropping a bomb is not always the best answer, this use of the F-16 is proving to be a vital tool for forces on the ground.

“The methodology of war is always changing and our mission is to support the ground troops,” Colonel Gersten said. “We do that with both traditional kinetic and non-kinetic effects available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

The sensor that is used for NTISR -- the litening pod -- has been carried on the F-16 for a while. The pod contains a laser that is used to guide munitions to their target. The difference now is the targeting pods are being used to gain valuable information on an elusive enemy and give real-time information to commanders on the ground.

“We can be the eyes and sensors for things that the ground forces can’t see in the two dimensions they operate in,” Colonel Gersten said. “We can track movement and overlook positions in a 3rd dimension and feed that information to our forces to give them a tactical advantage.”

While Balad’s F-16s cover the entire country of Iraq, their capabilities are often employed in a base defense role right here.

“The F-16s are doing an awesome job for the Joint Defense Operations Center here,” said Master Sgt. Paul Thomas, a joint terminal attack controller with the 19th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron. “The information they provide is critical to helping us find the bad guys.”

The 4th EFS has two major NTISR missions -- one is monitoring ground convoys to look forward for IEDs, suspicious situations or ambushes. This includes conveying that information to the convoy commander.

They also support ground forces by observing objectives and tracking anything the ground forces can’t. That can be a vehicle, a group of people or a single person. The F-16 pilot can track the target until the ground commander has the resources to take action against it.

“The litening pods have such a good sensor that we can stay out of noise range and still complete the mission,” said Capt. Dan Sanders, F-16 pilot. “Most of the time the guys on the ground want to catch the bad guys in the act, not scare them off, so we stay high enough or far enough away that the bad guys don’t hear us.”

The pods used for NTISR are targeting pods by design. They allow an F-16 to drop ordnance at high speeds and lock the weapon onto a very specific target with pinpoint accuracy. However, in 2002 Brig. Gen. William Rew, the former U.S. Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force director of operations, came up with the idea of using the litening pods for ISR.

“Previously a large portion of the time a tactical aircraft was on airborne alert or on the way to and from a target was non-productive time,” Colonel Gersten said. “Using the litening pods for ISR has made that time extremely productive.”

According to Colonel Gersten, the pilots in his squadron are excited to provide an asymmetric view of the battlefield to ground commanders.

“It feels good to be able to help the guys on the ground with the detailed images from our sensors,” Captain Sanders said. “It’s good for one platform to be able to provide images and information and also employ kinetic effects when they are needed, instead of having to call for a tactical aircraft; we are already there to give them what they need.”