Gridlock technology brings coordinates to warfighters

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Christine D. Millette
  • Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2004 Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) --  Gridlock, or precision Geo-registration of Imagery from Airborne Platforms, provides a machine-to-machine capability for military imagery interpreters that can do in one minute what a targeteer, or target designator, would take between 20 minutes to never to accomplish.

This technology for tomorrow’s warfighters is being tested during Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2004 which began July 26 and runs through Aug. 5.

“Unlike most of the initiatives, which are heavily process based, Gridlock is a pure technology-based initiative that will create new processes,” said Jeffrey Rauscher, the lead Gridlock initiative assessor. “It drives improvements in the speed and accuracy of the coordinate identification process, and changes the processes of the interpreters.”

Air Force officials requested a system from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that could take tactical imagery from airborne collection platforms and improve the imagery’s utility for targeting, said Mr. Rauscher.

“The NGA used the Air Force guidelines to develop a system to accelerate and quickly designate points for targeting through the use of traditional and nontraditional imagery,” Mr. Rauscher said. “The coordinates that are provided by this system are very, very accurate. They replace a manual, time-consuming process that, when manually performed, was not even guaranteed to be accomplished.”

The need for this system, said Mr. Rauscher, was driven by the lack of synchronization between tactical imagery that was collected, and the targeting of weaponry. The system is designed to address and minimize target location error.

“The Gridlock system takes not only the latitude and longitude of the target, but also its elevation, which makes a big difference when trying to achieve a particular effect, or hit a precise target,” he said. “The system references the Digital Point Positioning Database, and drapes the electronic, digital image onto the coordinates through automatic registration.”

Using this system can mean a much faster, more accurate relay of targeting coordinates for dynamic or emerging targets in theater, said Col. Jeffry Smith, JEFX 04 Combined Air and Space Operations Center director.

“The targeteer can use the Gridlock system to identify the coordinates of an emerging target and relay them up the chain,” said the colonel. “A B-1 [Lancer] that happens to be in the area performing close-air-support missions can be re-tasked to hit the target with a 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition using the exact coordinates provided. [It can] then return to the original air tasking order with little impact to the original sortie, but huge impact to the coalition ground unit nearby the target that could have had to engage at a much closer, more dangerous range.”

While the benefits of the system could be immeasurable, the challenge of using Gridlock in an experimental or exercise environment, said Mr. Rauscher, is the fact that unlike other initiatives, Gridlock requires real imagery.

“We are only allowed to take imagery in very limited areas during this experiment and other exercises, so that limits us in ways that don’t affect the other initiatives,” said the assessor.

Although limited, the experimentation is invaluable to the development of the system, Mr. Rauscher said.

“Through this experimentation, I’ll assess the system for the Air Force and at the conclusion make a recommendation for the future timeline of the program,” said Mr. Rauscher. “I’ll make recommendations based on how it performed here and when it should go to the Transformation Center at Langley Air Force Base, Va., for more integrated and rigorous machine-to-machine testing.”

The Gridlock system was developed by the NGA at the request of the Air Force in 2003 under a contract with British Aerospace Electronics. Mr. Rauscher said the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration is planned to run through 2007, but the Air Force is looking at the first products during its run here at JEFX 04, and if successful, these products could be incorporated into active-duty service within nine to 18 months.

“JEFX is a good venue for our preliminary look at Gridlock,” said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Brooks, Gridlock test director from the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. “It is also a good venue for proof of concept. Gridlock has had success integrating into the CAOC system, but is still in its early stages of development. As it matures, we will continue the military utility assessment, and gather data to make sure that changes that need to be made to make the system user-friendly are made early on.”