New satellite terminal provides real-time intelligence

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Marina Pevey
  • 480th Intelligence Wing Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  A new satellite communications system is now operational that will help provide warfighters timely intelligence from U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance flights.

Officials with the 480th Intelligence Wing here brought the Transportable Medium Earth Terminal II satellite communications system online Nov. 30. Six Airmen from the 10th Intelligence Squadron, assisted by contractors, set up and tested the system.

“It was a real learning and training experience for my technicians. They worked a lot of long hours to get the terminal up and running,” said Master Sgt. Sheryl Roselle, 10th IS chief for link systems.

The new system has four times the bandwidth of the old one. The improvement gives intelligence analysts here and at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., the capability to receive near-real-time data from U-2 aircraft flying missions worldwide.

First, data from the U-2 is sent to a forward location in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility. The information is then sent back through secure satellite channels to ground stations here or at Beale. As analysts study the imagery, they can talk to Airmen at the air operations center and to ground forces in theater via a secure computer chat program.

The information is used to meet numerous operational requirements, including targeting, battle damage assessment and force protection, said Capt. Anthony Taliercio, 10th IS logistics sustainment flight commander.

“We did not have enough bandwidth to support the newer sensors in the (U-2) aircraft,” he said. “It slowed down the speed in which we received the imagery to the point where it just was not feasible. The new system is a lot faster.”

It also increases the number of missions the ground station crews can manage, Captain Taliercio said.

Speed is not the only advantage to the system, said Staff Sgt. Jay Pirnie, 10th IS satellite communications maintenance technician. Redundant systems make it more reliable and cheaper to operate.

“The dish is larger with increased sensitivity so it takes less power from the satellite to transmit. The satellite doesn’t need to kick out as much power,” he said.

Lt. Col. Scot B. Gere, 10th IS commander, said it was like going from a dial-up connection to high-speed access to the Internet.

“Newer sensors on the aircraft require more bandwidth to move the information,” said Colonel Gere. “It’s imperative for timely intelligence exploitation and getting the information turned around to orient warfighters to emerging threats, enemy vulnerabilities, and to assess the effects of our operations.”

The system came online two months earlier than originally planned, Colonel Gere said.