46th Test Squadron support communications, datalinks testing

Published May 28, 2009
By Noel Getlin
Team Eglin Public Affairs

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- This is part of a series exploring the cradle-to-grave process of air armament. These stories will focus on some of the units involved in the acquisition, development and testing of weapons systems at Eglin Air Force Base.

Just one glitch in a software system can mean the difference between destroying a target and missing it -- or worse, hitting something else.

A major part of the mission of the 46th Test Squadron is to track down these minute errors embedded in millions of lines of code so they never affect the warfighter.

Advances in Command and Control, communications, and computer technology have changed the way the U.S. military engages the enemy in combat. Commanders rely heavily on computer information systems to provide real-time data in order to plan and execute a mission engaging an enemy target. The 46th TS is responsible for testing integrated computer information systems and their individual components.

"We can pinpoint where the miscommunication occurs, from server, client and keystroke," said Lt. Col. Skip Stolz, 46th TS operations officer. "To accomplish our mission, 'We militarize electronics. We flesh out the kill chain.'" The kill chain is the sequence of events that must successfully occur for a threat to be identified and neutralized.

The squadron's area of expertise is within the C2, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and defensive systems arenas. The squadron, whose origins were in electronic warfare, began testing hardware and software-based systems in the 1990s. Today, it specializes in several areas, including aircraft defensive systems, tactical data links, information assurance, and C2 systems.

The squadron currently has seven flights, one detachment and six operating locations, with perhaps the most diverse workforce of any one test unit. The 461-member squadron includes aircrew, special ops personnel, engineers, analysts, and even professional computer intrusion specialists.

The squadron's C2 Systems test flight conducts developmental test and evaluation of integrated air defenses, computer security, space C2, and base defense systems. The C2 function is the ability for a central commander to assess the battlefield conditions and direct appropriate actions. C2 capabilities provide commanders situational awareness of the battlefield environment, which includes the real-time location and status of enemy and allied forces. This ability allows commanders to take immediate action against any changes in the environment, including defending against an assault on allied forces.

The flight also tests weather information systems, an important factor in warfare, and the Battlefield Air Operations kit to be used by Air Force Special Operations Airmen. The kit includes a micro unmanned aerial vehicle, radios, ruggedized miniature computers, and targeting devices.

The squadron's Air and Space Operations Center test facility is used to simulate a command center in the AOR. The unit tests systems using subject matter experts and specially programmed automated computer scripts that can simulate multiple servers or users accessing the central system simultaneously. Using special tools, they can track down errors caused by the server, computer-user or even individual keystrokes that crash the systems.

The data link test flight handles tactical data links, such as Link 16, Situation Awareness Data Link, Tactical Targeting Network Technology, the Joint Tactical Radio Systems, satellite communications, and interoperability testing. Link 16 allows for real-time, machine-to-machine information exchange between aircraft, ships and any other military vehicles in a given region. Crucial information, like onboard weapons, current position, and the amount of fuel, can be relayed in real-time to an AOC where it is projected onto a global map. Link 16, also adopted by the Navy and other allied services, has been integrated onto several fighter jets, bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.

These data links shorten the kill chain to take out a target. Each step in the chain -- find, fix, target, track, engage and assess -- involves communication links through individuals and machines. The kill chain has have moved from persons inputting or verbally passing information to another person to an automated information exchange between machines.

"It used to be, all these steps were done by a team of forward air controllers to air liaison officers to the Air Operations Center to the aircrew," Colonel Stolz said. "Now the kill chain is faster. Military assets use data links, like Link 16, to speed up the process and reduce the possibility of errors."

Another type of data link, called Situation Awareness Data Link or SADL, is used to identify joint combat forces in the air or on the ground. It's also used in conjunction with the Army's Enhanced Position Location Reporting System. This type of data link allows troops on the ground, through a transponder, to automatically relay location and status to commanders, local friendly forces, and the AOC.

"We can instrument the system-under-test to find the problem," said Colonel Stolz about their ability to test C2 systems. "[Within] the Department of Defense, there's not another facility that does what we do."

Additionally, the squadron has the capability to connect with other geographically separated test ranges and facilities to provide a suite of systems operationally representative of the kill chain to evaluate information exchanges across the spectrum.
As an example of the data links use in battle, troops on the ground in Afghanistan are being fired upon from an unknown enemy position. They can use their BAO kit to send the estimated enemy location and their own position to the AOC via radios or data link.

Because Link 16 has provided the locations of nearby U.S. and allied aircraft to the command center, the exact coordinates are relayed to the closest fighter pilot. Now, the pilot can use SADL to differentiate between friendly and hostile forces engaged in the firefight and destroy the enemy targets without putting the friendlies at risk. After the attack, the AOC can use UAV or satellite imagery to determine if the enemy targets have been destroyed.

The squadron also has laboratory facilities built using actual aircraft systems, such as aircraft avionic components, displays systems, and controls.

The sensors and defensive systems test flight evaluates self-protection systems that protect aircraft from advanced enemy surface-to-air weapons. These systems include missile warning, electro-optical and infrared countermeasures, radio-frequency countermeasures, and directed energy systems. The flight also performs multi-spectral signature characterization or enemy weapon systems, as well as flight test of new seekers and sensors against real, ground enemy targets under Project Chicken Little.

The Information Assurance test flight works to foil attempts by computer hackers that try to infiltrate networked systems.

"Most are engineers," the colonel said. "You won't find any teenagers on the payroll. They need professionals who are sophisticated and can get high-security clearance."

The Mission Planning Systems test flight plans, executes, and reports on all combat and mobility Air Forces and several foreign nation's mission planning tests. Their programs encompass the three Air Force mission planning systems including legacy UNIX systems, the new Joint Mission Planning System, and the Portable Flight Planning System.

The squadron performs thousands of test missions a year, with 90 percent of their tests done in labs. Ten percent of their missions are actual ground and flight tests, primarily testing area sensors, electronic warfare, and aircraft defensive systems in real-world environments.

Part of the reason for the increased demand comes from the Crows ability to ensure these systems work as expected.

"We have the ability to test systems that affect military personnel in the fight on the ground, in the sky, and in the command center," said Colonel Stolz. "It's what makes us different from other test squadrons."