Warfighters get ‘sneak peak’ at JEFX Published Aug. 4, 2004 By Senior Airman Becky J. LaRaia Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2004 Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) -- Battle management in the Air Force is changing, and 58 Airmen and two Soldiers from 14 different home bases are helping to shape its future.The Battle Control Center-Experimental, currently being tested and evaluated at the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2004, is a bridge between the Air Force’s current forward-deployed command and control system and a new innovation called the Battle Control System-Mobile. It is the forward-deployed ground-based battle management capability that provides a link between the Combined Air and Space Operations Center and aircraft in theater.The BCC-X is showcasing future technologies and capabilities to air battle managers, weapons directors, surveillance and maintenance people, and other warfighters who will potentially use the facility in battle. By participating in the experiment’s simulated war, these experts will be able to provide useable feedback to refine the overall system requirements, said Jason Hamblen, an Odyssey Systems Consulting Group engineer supporting Battle Control System-Mobile.“JEFX gives operators the opportunity to tell us what they like and don’t like, and we can incorporate that into our future acquisition strategy,” Mr. Hamblen said.The need for the innovation came from the Air Force’s use of outdated concepts and equipment in its control and reporting center. This system was developed in the late 1980s. Along with the new technologies, the staff is also looking at new tactics, techniques and procedures.“The mission will not change,” he said, “but the way we do the mission might.”This equipment modernization allows operators to access radar and radio communications from a larger area. It gives them the ability to control radars and radios remotely, to include host-nation radars.“The benefit of this is it reduces our forward-deployed footprint,” said 1st Lt. Danyawn Miles, the BCC-X project manager from Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.Considering two Air Force deaths during Operation Iraqi Freedom occurred at control and reporting center locations, being able to minimize the number of troops on the front line is a valuable asset, he said.The facility itself is also being updated. Both the unit command center, which houses the battle commander, intelligence, maintenance control and mission planning, and the tactical operations center, where the majority of airspace management occurs, can now be set up and run within about two hours, said Mr. Hamblen.Innovation is not limited to the actual structure. The capability of having all eight operators, the battle staff coordinator and mission crew commander in the same room, instead of being set up in four different operating modules is an improvement in the tactical operations center.“It gives the commander the capability to see what is going on and easy-access to his troops,” he said.The facility also showcases a touch-screen radio communication link and commercial off-the-shelf computer monitors and video screens.“We don’t have to have it specially made and we can have the users and maintainers evaluate it,” said Mr. Hamblen.He explained that using commercial equipment makes it easier and more cost-effective to replace the equipment and update parts.“As technology progresses, we have to progress as well,” he said. “The only efficient way to do that is to use commercial equipment.”JEFX has also incorporated an Army air defense artillery fire control officer into the tactical operations center. This position serves as the BCC-X link to the Army’s Patriot batteries.“That’s important because it reduces fratricide (friendly fire) and improves the Patriot’s kill chain,” said Lieutenant Miles. “What we provide to the Patriots is a beyond-the-line-of-sight air picture, thus increasing their situational awareness and fire support coordination. By providing the Army a bigger picture, the shooter has more time to make a decision.”Beyond their own experimentation, the BCC-X is also supporting other aspects of JEFX by providing network connectivity to the Army’s Future Combat Systems, processing simulation data received from Hurlburt Field, Fla., and backing up the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.General observations collected from the BCC-X players will be used to finalize this project which should be fielded in 2006, said Lieutenant Miles.