The U.S. Army is Eying More Missions for the C-12

[buglerbilly]

The U.S. Army is Eying More Missions for the C-12

The U.S. Army is embarking on an acquisition program of a new aerial surveillance manned aircraft designated 'Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System' (EMARSS), augmenting tactical ground units with persistent surveillance, intelligence gathering and situational understanding, supporting their 'Overwatch' capability. The new program of record represents a low-risk approach to field advanced, critical intelligence gathering capabilities based on the field operationally Hawker Beechcraft 350ER (C-12) aircraft. The EMARSS will be equipped conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition operations in support of ground combat units in overwatch and to maintain a persistent presence over demonstrated at-risk areas. The program calls for the delivery of four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft within 18 months of contract award. The Army will have an option to buy four additional aircraft as part of the low-rate initial production phase. These aircraft will support the Army's Aerial Exploitation Battalions (AEB), operated under the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

Unlike the Guardrail and other Signal Intelligence (SIGINT)-specific platforms that operate in groups, EMARSS is designed to operate as a single platform tasked with tactical missions, flying at medium altitude to optimize sensor data collection on the target area of interest while avoiding known threats. Flight tracks may be selected to strike a balance among the capabilities of multiple sensors (low level circles for imaging sensors, long, high altitude tracks for Communications Intelligence (COMINT). This operational concept represents a shift from the Army's previous concept of using Airborne Common Sensors (ACS) employing SIGINT and visual Intelligence (VISINT) assets on a common platform, tasked at the operational and theater level.

Through the modification process, the aircraft will be fitted with the EMARSS system, comprising Electro-optic/Infrared (EO/IR) Full Motion Video (FMV) sensor, a COMINT collection system, an Aerial Precision Guidance (APG) system, line-of-site (LOS) tactical and beyond line-of-site (LOS/BLOS) communications suites, two operator workstations and a self-protection suite. The system will provide a future manned multi-INT Airborne Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AISR) system providing persistent capability to detect, locate, classify/identify, and track surface targets in day/night, near-all-weather conditions with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy.

Proposals for the program were submitted in June 2010. The program calls for the delivery of four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft within 18 months of contract award. The Army will have an option to buy four additional aircraft as part of the low-rate initial production phase. Northrop Grumman, Boeing and L-3 are known to compete for the program as prime contractors. While Boeing and Northrop Grumman are eying the program which surfaced as a major C4ISR program of record, L-3 is well positioned to compete with the experience it gathered through the Liberty MC-12 platform. The C-12 has also been operating successfully on airborne counter-IED missions, supporting Task Force ODIN in its IED hunting activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

© Copyright 2010 - Defense Update, Lance & Shield Ltd.

[buglerbilly]

Northrop Grumman to Compete for U.S. Army Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System


Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER (Photo: David James Clelford)

07:45 GMT, July 5, 2010 HERNDON, Va. | Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) announced today that it will compete as the prime contractor for the U.S. Army's Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS).

According to the Army's request for proposals, the EMARSS program includes a low-risk, low-cost enhanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft design. This includes four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft to be delivered within 18 months of contract award and an option for delivery of four more low-rate initial production aircraft within 12 months of execution of the option.

"Advanced ISR solutions, such as EMARSS, are required by our men and women in uniform decisively engaged in irregular warfare in Afghanistan today," said Tom Vice, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services. "Our EMARSS proposal is strengthened not only by our superior performance on similar programs, but also through combining the core ISR capabilities that reside across the Northrop Grumman Corporation."

EMARSS is the new program of record for the U.S. Army for integration, modification and delivery of Hawker Beechcraft 350ER aircraft. The mission of EMARSS is to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition operations in support of ground combat units in overwatch and to maintain a persistent presence over demonstrated at-risk areas.

"Our warfighters need total situational awareness for the tactical overwatch mission in today's asymmetrical battlespace, and no one understands that better than Northrop Grumman," said Bob Gamache, director of global materials and surveillance programs for Northrop Grumman Technical Services Integrated Logistics and Modernization Division. "As a leader in Army ISR integration, we take "uncertainty" out of the equation by delivering real-time, actionable intelligence to the commander on the ground."

Northrop Grumman is an industry leader in both manned and unmanned ISR systems as demonstrated by such programs as Joint STARS, Global Hawk, Guardrail and the MQ-5B Hunter.

[buglerbilly]

The USAF gets on board as well..............

USAF Eyes Blue Devil For Afghanistan

Jul 14, 2010



By Amy Butler

U.S. Air Force officials are exploring new ways to marry signals and imagery intelligence collection to find enemies on the ground in Afghanistan.

One such project collocates collection of these two types of intelligence on slow-flying tactical Hawker Beechcraft King Air 90s.

The program, dubbed Blue Devil, is designed to help operators more easily locate and quickly identify dismounted adversaries and enemy tactical communications. This is an Air Force-led project, with support from the Air Force Research Laboratory and Pentagon Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force.

The key to the project is the marriage of a wide-area surveillance camera system with signals intelligence, an Air Force official says. The goal with Blue Devil is to track individuals by using communications intelligence cues to help operators direct their imaging sensors. SAIC is the lead integrator on Blue Devil.

Operators in Afghanistan have complained they often are challenged to precisely locate individual combatants on the ground when having to scan a wide area with only imaging sensors.

The operational concept also could work in reverse as well. Using the wide-area camera system, large swaths of land can be surveyed and explored for evidence of communications networks. And, once located, signals intelligence can be positioned to listen in. House defense authorizers pushed for Blue Devil funding in the war supplemental budget for Fiscal 2010, and they say in a committee report that the Air Force should use it to assess the value of wide-area airborne surveillance (WAAS) technology in general. Blue Devil is viewed as a precursor to the Gorgon Stare project, which aims to put WAAS on the Reaper UAV.

The Air Force Blue Devil effort also takes a step in the direction the Army would like to go with its Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (Emarss) project, the outgrowth of the now defunct Aerial Common Sensor that will also be based on King Air aircraft. By late September, the Army is due to choose a systems integrator that will propose elements of the intelligence suite, such as the communications intelligence payload.

The Army wants to buy four development systems, with the intelligence suite to be fitted on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER and provide 5-hr. mission endurance time (with 7 hr. desired). Emarss also would include a radar sensor for all-weather operations.

Credit: USAF

[buglerbilly]

Ares

A Defense Technology Blog

Blue Devils Over Afghanistan

Posted by Paul McLeary at 7/16/2010 11:46 AM CDT

Over at Aviation Week, Amy Butler has the scoop on a fascinating new Air Force program that is coming up with new ways to combine signals and imagery intelligence collection in Afghanistan using reconfigured Hawker Beechcraft King Air 90s. The program, dubbed Blue Devil, is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of the Air Force trying to play catch-up with the Army’s hugely successful Task Force ODIN, which has been operating in Iraq and Afghanistan for several years now. ODIN is a mix of manned and unmanned air assets that conducts route surveillance, IED detection, and intelligence and information gathering operations in addition to flying lethal missions, and has become an integral part of both wars.

Butler writes that “the goal with Blue Devil is to track individuals by using communications intelligence cues to help operators direct their imaging sensors,” and that:


The operational concept also could work in reverse as well. Using the wide-area camera system, large swaths of land can be surveyed and explored for evidence of communications networks. And, once located, signals intelligence can be positioned to listen in. House defense authorizers pushed for Blue Devil funding in the war supplemental budget for Fiscal 2010, and they say in a committee report that the Air Force should use it to assess the value of wide-area airborne surveillance (WAAS) technology in general. Blue Devil is viewed as a precursor to the Gorgon Stare project, which aims to put WAAS on the Reaper UAV.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:27/10/10

SOURCE:Flight International

US Army delays contract for EMARSS surveillance fleet

By Stephen Trimble

Contract award for the next spy aircraft in the US Army fleet was delayed as the four competing teams prepared to submit final proposal revisions on 27 October.

The army had planned to award the enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance system (EMARSS) contract on 25 October, but asked for a new round of proposals three days earlier, say industry observers.

A contract award is now expected by the end of the year, with the army to select between Boeing, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

EMARSS was launched in the aftermath of the cancellation in 2006 of the Aerial Common Sensor aircraft, an Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet adapted by Lockheed into a signals intelligence collector.

The army decided to shift to a smaller turboprop with the EMARSS competition. Each bidder is required to select the Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprop, and integrate a communications intelligence payload, electro-optical/infrared sensor and two workstations operating the Raytheon distributed common ground system (DCGS).

Boeing has acquired signals intelligence specialist Argon ST partly in preparation for the EMARSS contract. L-3 is advertising its role in adapting the King Air 350ER for the US Air Force's MC-12 Liberty programme. Northrop, meanwhile, is the incumbent supplier for the army's RC-12 Guardrail fleet.

Lockheed, the original ACS vendor, has teamed with Sierra Nevada for EMARRS. The latter provided a version of the aircraft without the DCGS workstation for the US Army's task force ODIN campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:01/12/10

SOURCE:Flight International

Boeing claims SIGINT prize with US Army contract

By Stephen Trimble

Boeing has won a US Army contract to deliver a new fleet of signals intelligence aircraft called the enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance system (EMARSS).

The army's communications electronic command (CECOM) awarded Boeing an $88 million contract on 30 November to launch the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.

Boeing officials were not immediately available to comment on the EMARSS victory, but details about the contract have been disclosed by competitors.

Last month, L-3 Communications chief executive Michael Strianese described EMARSS to Wall Street analysts as a $1.5 billion programme for at least 30 aircraft. The EMD phase includes orders for six aircraft, plus options for six more aircraft in low rate initial production, Strianese said.

Boeing will integrate a multi-intelligence sensor and data processing system on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprop. The aircraft's role is to eavesdrop on signal and communication transmissions, and use an electro-optical and infrared camera to identify potential targets from stand-off range.

The concept for EMARSS emerged in the aftermath of the cancellation of the aerial common sensor (ACS) programme in 2006. Rather than launch another acquisition programme to convert a jet-powered aircraft into a surveillance aircraft, the army instead to decided to modify the King Air 350ER.

Last June, Boeing outlined its bidding strategy for EMARSS. At the time, the company was a new competitor in the signals intelligence market. Several of the army's major suppliers, including L-3 Communications, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon - also submitted bids for EMARSS.

But Boeing executives believed that the company's background as a systems integrator on large acquisition programmes would be a key discriminator in the EMARSS competition.

L-3 had already converted the King Air 350 into a surveillance platform for the US Air Force, with orders for 43 MC-12 Libertys. But Boeing noted that the Project Liberty programme used a fast-track acquisition process that differed from the army's more traditional approach on EMARSS.

Boeing also has worked in the past two years to position itself to grow in the signals intelligence market. Earlier this year, the company acquired Argon ST, a communications intelligence supplier to the army.

The EMARSS contract signing is also a major victory for the King Air 350ER, which has gained a new prominence in the special missions market since 2006. The contract also is a boost for Hawker Beechcraft, the aircraft manufacturer, and King Air modification specialists, such as Raisbeck Engineering.

[buglerbilly]

New U.S. Intel Aircraft Efforts Take Flight

Dec 23, 2010

By Amy Butler
Washington



The U.S. Army and Air Force are continuing to field intelligence-collection equipment—especially for detecting and following individuals on the battlefield—to support intensifying operations in Afghanistan.

These new systems include sophisticated wide-area surveillance cameras as well as signals-intelligence (sigint) collectors, and they represent a step forward in the Pentagon’s efforts to counter improvised explosive devices (IED). But the services are only making rudimentary strides in linking the intelligence provided from them; this is forcing manpower-intensive operations to exploit the data from these new aircraft.

However, a recent Army effort to quickly field a new sigint collector has been stalled by contractor protests.

Northrop Grumman and L-3 Communications each filed protests in mid-December with the U.S. Government Accountability Office over their losses to Boeing for the $323-million contract to develop the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER-based Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (Emarss). Boeing’s contract, signed with the Army Nov. 30, was expected to deliver aircraft for use in Afghanistan 18 months later, though that plan is likely to be dashed while federal auditors review the Army’s source selection. Auditors have until March 25 to render a decision.

A Lockheed Martin/Sierra Nevada team also lost the competition. Bids from Raytheon and SAIC were rejected during an earlier phase of the program. Emarss is a scaled-down version of the defunct Aerial Common Sensor program, which was canceled in 2006 owing to weight issues and integration problems by the Lockheed Martin/Embraer team.

L-3 was considered the frontrunner in the competition to develop this communications-intelligence system. L-3 is wrapping up similar work modifying Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ERs for the Air Force’s MC-12W Project Liberty program. Based on the Army contracting officer’s documentation, L-3 bested Boeing in two of four key areas. L-3’s price, $273 million, was lower by about $50 million, and L-3 received higher marks for its ability to integrate subcontractors, including small businesses. The two companies were equally rated in both technical performance and past performance.

The Army put the most emphasis on technical performance. Next in priority came cost, then past performance. The subcontractor and small business plan took the lowest priority. “The non-cost factors, when combined, were significantly more important than the cost/price factor,” says the Army’s documentation. “Pursuant to these guidelines, Boeing was determined to provide the best overall value to the government in proposing the most objective level performance capability and a design that facilitated future growth to the system.”

Lockheed Martin/Sierra Nevada is less likely to protest because Boeing’s bid won on technical and past performance, the intelligence official says. Boeing is well-versed in the protest process; the company objected to a win by Northrop Grumman/EADS of the Air Force’s KC-135 replacement contract and won. As a result, Boeing and EADS are once again competing for that work, estimated to be worth $35 billion.

Roger Krone, who heads Boeing Network and Space Systems, says one discriminator for his company’s Emarss bid was probably the use of Defense Receiver Technology (DRT), a signals-intelligence equipment manufacturer purchased by the company in late 2008. “We’ve been in the tactical area really for a couple of years,” Krone says, noting that much recent work has been on small-scale but strategic projects. “It has been a focus area for us. We just see it as a growth area.”

The newly acquired Argon ST, which specializes in communications and intelligence, also was an integral part of the Boeing campaign, he says. “We think the Boeing value added [was] inside the skin of the aircraft, not the aircraft piece,” Krone adds.

Boeing’s campaign team was headed by its Phantom Works division, and once the contract was won, it shifted to Krone’s division.

At the suggestion that Boeing was an underdog, Krone says, “one might just look at the landscape and say, ‘if I were the customer I don’t know if I’d want to double down’” by selecting L-3. “I might want somebody else in that business.”

Krone declines to say where Emarss modification work would be completed.

Meanwhile, Air Force officials are wrapping up production of the last five MC-12W Project Liberty aircraft at L-3’s facility in Greenville, Texas. This plant’s performance was a major factor in the company’s proposal for Emarss.

A government official says that 30 of 37 MC-12Ws are forward-deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support ground troops there. The remainder are used for training in Mississippi. The program was hastily initiated in July 2008 after Defense Secretary Robert Gates chided the Air Force for lackluster in-theater intelligence-collection. The first Project Liberty aircraft flew its first combat sortie in June 2009. The Pentagon plans to buy five more MC-12Ws; two for the Army and three for the Air Force. Though expected for delivery within a year, they are not yet on contract.

Air Force officials are planning to upgrade the first seven aircraft with a Ku-band satellite link; the first aircraft off the production line were provided with Inmarsat communications links, according to a government official. That modification could take as long as eight months, as “we basically have to gut it out and start over” to install the equipment, the government official says. Additionally, the service plans to eventually add glass cockpits to the entire fleet. The full-motion video (FMV) is relayed via the Ku-band system.

Though Project Liberty was fielded primarily for its FMV capability, the camera also includes an infrared component and the aircraft carries some signals-intelligence collectors.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is continuing to experiment with various wide-*area surveillance systems. One is the Blue Devil project. The aircraft component, dubbed BD-1, is fielded on the King Air 90 and includes a wide-area camera as well as signals-intelligence systems. The concept of operations calls for this system to track individuals using the FMV sensor based on sigint cues, such as cellular phone usage. SAIC is the prime contractor and the fleet will be contractor-owned and -operated.

Blue Devil adds to the wide-area surveillance capability on the earlier Air Force Angel Fire aircraft. The Blue Devil camera will provide a better swath size than Angel Fire and it adds an infrared capability (allowing for night operations looking for individuals planting IEDs) along with the sigint capability, according to another government official.

The same King Air 90s used for Angel Fire in Afghanistan were brought back and modified; they are now carrying the BD-1 equipment. Industry officials say BD-1 executed its first flight in U.S. Central Command this month, and there are four Blue Devil aircraft overseas. Angel Fire was not unlike the Army’s Constant Hawk project, which is managed by L-3, in that the system was used as a forensics tool in the IED fight. The wide-area camera is designed to stare and, if an event occurs, officials can backtrack through the images to see who planted the IED and from where they came.

BD-1 will also feed into the Pentagon’s Distributed Common Ground System and allow soldiers near-real-time access to data via the laptop-based Rover system. BD-1 is a project jointly sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Office of the Secretary of Defense Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force.

A government official says that while the Army and Air Force have rushed to field the collectors, less work has been done to integrate the data collected by them on the ground. In some cases, airborne equipment only talks to a single tactical operations center, which might be located adjacent to another system’s ground station. But the two do not communicate or share data. The ultimate goal would be for industry to find a way to digitally connect the feeds from these sensors and provide visual tools for ground-based analysts so they may quickly react to a changing battlefield and reduce the amount of manpower needed to analyze the data.

The Air Force is also planning to field an airship-based version called BD-2; this project is being managed by the service’s Big Safari rapid acquisition office. The effort began under the Army’s oversight, but shifted to the Air Force after the Army turned its attention to Northrop Grumman’s Long-Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEM-V) airship program.

Because it can be fielded sooner, BD-2 is viewed as a bridge to LEM-V. The airship is expected to be delivered in about 10 months; the prime contractor is a little-known company called MAV6, according to government officials.

The objective operational concept is to park the 350-ft.-long airship about 20,000 ft. over an area and hold position for 3-7 days. The reconfigurable payload store, envisioned to handle at least 2,500 lb., would carry sigint and imagery systems, including wide-area surveillance. The initial payload will be almost identical to that used on BD-1.

The BD-2 will be housed on a TCOM Polar 1000 airship, which is a larger version of some airships built by the company. In the meantime, the Air Force will conduct pilot training and payload testing on the Navy’s MZ-3A manned airship. The objective system would be manned for ferrying into theater and testing but operate in unmanned configuration.

Finally, the Air Force is continuing its work to field a Reaper-borne Gorgon Stare wide-area surveillance system. Two increments of the system are planned; both call for the use of two pods, one on each MQ-9 wing. Three aircraft have been modified to carry the pods and three shipsets have been delivered by Sierra Nevada (which oversees both increments). The final shipset for Increment 1 is expected in mid-2011.

Gorgon Stare is designed to provide 10 separate FMV feeds, or “chip outs,” as Air Force operators call them. These provide high-resolution video imagery of a specific target. Blue Devil has a similar capability to track multiple targets within the camera’s field of view. Today, Reaper is confined to following only one moving object.

The key upgrades on Gorgon Stare Increment 2 are considerably improved field of view and slightly improved resolution, government officials say. Three shipsets for Increment 3 are expected to be delivered in 2013.

[I]Photo: USAF

[buglerbilly]

Project Liberty reaches milestone, 5,000 sorties

Posted 12/31/2010 Updated 12/31/2010

by Senior Airman Tong Duong
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs


JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- A contract field service technician, guides an MC-12 out of a hangar Dec. 30, 2010. The aircraft is on its way to execute the 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron’s 5,000th sortie in just 18 months. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Keyonna Fennell)

12/31/2010 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Wheels up and under the cover of darkness, 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron crewmembers piloted a MC-12W Liberty, the Air Force's newest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, reaching a milestone flying its 5,000th sortie Dec. 30.

Circling among the clouds, these eyes in the sky provide ground commanders near real-time ISR; information that is critical to mission success.

"We are breaking new ground in the Air Force by dedicating a platform specifically to tactical ISR. This is the first time since the Vietnam War," said Lt. Col. Kevin Kennelly, 362nd ERS commander, who is deployed from the Pentagon. "We are specifically tasked to work with the ground force to find, fix and finish the target(s)."

The MC-12W Liberty is a special-mission turboprop aircraft that carries communication equipment and a specialized crew of four Airmen. They come from nearly every weapons system platform in the Air Force inventory.

Given a specific target, MC-12 crew members track and locate terrorists, wanted criminals and persons of interest and relay the information to the U.S. Army's ground or helicopter assault force to 'roll the guys up.'

"We monitor and do force protection overwatch as well. If (the suspects) try to run away, we'll find them and have the soldiers on the ground capture them," the Fredericksburg, Texas, native said.

Seeking a way to better support warfighters on the ground in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates established the ISR Task Force in April 2008, fielding MC-12s to the AOR and thereby reactivating the 362nd.

"The MC-12W is the fastest-fielded major weapons system since the P-51 Mustang of World War II. From concept to having an aircraft on the flightline took less than nine months, which is very unusual as it normally takes decades to acquire. The program is a big thing in the ISR world and it plays an important role in the Air Force community. Everybody is pretty proud of it."

U.S. Air Forces Central commander, Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage, who also pilots the MC-12W, touts it as a "game changer."

The first MC-12W combat sortie flown over Iraq was June 10, 2009, and in the 18 months since the squadron's reactivation, members of the 362nd are ecstatic to play a part in the success.

"Being on the 5000th Iraq sortie flight is an awesome experience, especially for being a non- flyer prior to this deployment," said Senior Airman Nicholas Corbett, 362nd ERS MC-12W airborne ISR operator deployed from Ft. George G. Meade, Md. "We've done a lot of good things out here. There have been many great reviews from the Pentagon to distinguished visitors. It's amazing that the Air Force has such an interest in this program and that I get to be a part of it."

A native of Chapman, Kan., Airman Corbett is four months into his six month rotation and has flown more than 500 hours, averaging 27 sorties a month.

According to Colonel Kennelly, the squadron takes credit for more than 200 combatants killed or captured and several improvised explosive ordnances and weapons caches found, 'that's obviously a good play.'

For 1st Lt. Brandon Murphy, 362nd ERS MC-12W first pilot who is deployed from Vance Air Force Base, Okla., being a part of the combat mission is a blessing.

"It's amazing. There is no other opportunity like this - for me to come straight out of student pilot training and contribute to the fight within a few months. Not to mention this aircraft platform directly supports the ground forces," the Kansas City, Kan., native said. "My peers are still being spun up on their specific aircraft, and it may be another year before they can get in the fight."

While the aircraft does not employ a weapons system, the MC-12 features a variety of intelligence systems on board and, along with ground support, serves as a complete collection, processing, exploitation, analysis and dissemination system. It augments other downrange ISR capabilities and helps military leaders make battlefield decisions.

"It's another solution to the ISR problem," Colonel Kennelly said. "If Soldiers were running an assault and someone crept on the roof with a weapon, that bit of information is important for them to know immediately, as opposed to finding out when they get there. That's where we make our money."

The 362nd ERS' heritage dates to the Vietnam War. The unit was known as the 362nd Tactical Electronics Warfare Squadron and flew the Douglas C-47 over Southeast Asia locating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese radio transmitters. The 362nd TEWS operated from 1967 and was deactivated at the end of the conflict.


JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Maj. Bryan Murdock, 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron chief of tactics, checks the engine of an MC-12 before leaving for a mission Dec. 30, 2010. Major Murdock is a native of San Diego and is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Keyonna Fennell)

[buglerbilly]

DATE:13/01/11

SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

Three companies protest EMARSS contract

By Stephen Trimble

Three bidders have protested the US Army's $88 million contract for Boeing to deliver a new fleet of aircraft carrying multiple intelligence payloads.

The protests filed in late December with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) freezes the acquisition of the enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance system (EMARSS) at least through March.

Despite the contract dispute, the army hopes to accelerate the programme. EMARSS was among a handful of army programmes singled out for extra funding on 6 January by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

However, if the GAO sides with the losing bidders -- L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin/Sierra Nevada and Northrop Grumman -- the army may need to repeat the year-long competition to win the EMARSS contract.

The $88 million deal awarded to Boeing on 30 November calls for the delivery of six Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ERs equipped with an electro-optical/infrared sensor, a signals intelligence system and two onboard processing stations.

Follow-on contracts could raise the total fleet to 30 aircraft -- redesignated as MC-12s -- that will replace the RC-12 Guardrail fleet.

Boeing's victory in the EMARSS competition marks a strategic coup for the company, which plans to dramatically expand its presence in the market for signals intelligence aircraft.

But the contract award also disappointed the army's traditional signals intelligence suppliers. Northrop, for example, is the army's incumbent supplier for intelligence-gathering, fixed-wing aircraft. L-3, meanwhile, delivered a similar capability to the USAF with the MC-12 Liberty programme. Finally, Lockheed's partner Sierra Nevada delivered the original MARSS system to the US army, which transferred the aircraft to Iraqi forces.

Boeing, however, has been eying the intelligence market for several years. The comapny has unveiled plans to adapt the submarine-hunting P-8A Poseidon into an signals intelligence aircraft for the navy and air force. Last year, the company also acquired signals intelligence payload specialist Argon ST.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:08/02/11

SOURCE:Flight International

Northrop Grumman delivers first two upgraded Guardrail aircraft

By Stephen Trimble

Northrop Grumman has delivered the first two of 14 upgraded RC-12X Guardrails to the US Army.

The army commissioned the structural and sensor upgrades to keep the electronic eavesdropping aircraft viable through 2025 following the cancellation of the Aerial Common Sensor programme in 2006.

Northrop says the Guardrail modernisation programme introduces "new payloads" to address new signal emissions rapidly emerging from both irregular and conventional targets.

One of the payloads is understood to include Northrop's airborne signals intelligence payload (ASIP), which is aimed at intercepting communications channels in the low-band of the spectrum.

The first two aircraft have been delivered, but the new capability is not scheduled to become operational until the second quarter, Northrop says.

The company is "eager to continue to work with the army to make the system operational as soon as possible", says Trip Carter, director for Northrop's airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance initiatives.

Earlier this week, Northrop also unveiled the multi-band synthetic aperture radar (MB SAR) payload, which the company plans to install on the army's King Air fleet. The RC-12 Guardrail is a sub-set of that fleet.

Meanwhile, the army is still waiting to launch a programme to eventually replace the existing RC-12 Guardrails.

In November, Boeing was awarded the contract to develop the enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance systems (EMARSS), which is also based on the King Air 350ER.

However, three losing bidders filed protests with the Government Accountability Office, which has halted the EMARSS programme through at least late March.

The army launched the EMARSS acquisition process about three years after cancelling the Lockheed Martin ACS after the contractor miscalculated the size and weight of the sensor payload.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:11/02/11

SOURCE:Flight International

Northrop reveals army interest in new upgrade for RC-12X

By Stephen Trimble

Northrop Grumman has revealed interest by the US Army in a concept to upgrade the RC-12X fleet with a full motion video (FMV) payload.

"We have put together estimates for the army on what it would cost to put FMV on our [aircraft]," says Trip Carter, Northrop's director of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "The army specifically asked us to go off and look at that. We have that study done. Northrop Grumman would be ready to execute that if the customer decides to do it."

The estimates were submitted based on the army's request for a study on converting the RC-12X platforms into multi-intelligence systems.

In January, Northrop delivered the first two of 14 RC-12Xs to the army. The army has spent about $250 million so far to modify about half of the Guardrail/Common Sensor fleet into the RC-12X configuration.

The new intelligence system includes a high-band communications intelligence system and an electronic intelligence capability. Carter says a single RC-12X will be able to geo-locate the source of a signal emission to within a 150m radius within seconds. The same job required 20-30min and three aircraft for triangulation with the Guardrail payload.

The RC-12X, however, must hand-off the target's location to a different platform with an FMV system, such as the US Air Force MC-12 Liberty or the army's C-23B Constant Hawk, to visually confirm the target.

"When you think about Guardrail you think about a Cold War application - a strategic, stand-off asset that looks out more than it looks down," Carter says. "With our modernised RC-12X payload, it couldn't be further from the truth. We still have the ability to do the stand-off mission. But equally important we can to that over-watch mission very effectively as well."

The army launched the RC-12X programme after the cancellation of the Lockheed Martin aerial common sensor (ACS) in 2006. Northrop received a sole-source contract with a ceiling of $500 million to modify 14 Guardrails. So far, the army has spent about half of that amount to integrate the new payload and deliver the first two RC-12Xs, Carter says.

The 14 modified aircraft will have about 12-14 years of service life remaining. The army is currently planning to replace the legacy Guardrail fleet with the enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance (EMARSS) system, which was awarded to Boeing in December. Three losing bidders, including Northrop, filed protests, which remain under review by the Government Accountability Office.

Carter noted that the army also has the option to convert another 14 Guardrail systems to the RC-12X configuration.

"Bottom line in the fight today is performance," Carter says. The RC-12X "is up and running quickly. The proof is in the deployment and use. With other systems being deployed, we'll see what the department decides to do."

[buglerbilly]

Army Re-Examines Intel Aircraft Bids

Mar 31, 2011

By Amy Butler
Washington



The U.S. Army is once again having problems acquiring a new intelligence-collection aircraft, and this latest snag is likely to squelch its plan to field the new system by mid-2012.

The service agreed this month to reassess proposals that were submitted last year from bidders for the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (Emarss) after an acquisition mishap came to light during a government audit.

This is not the service’s first problem in procuring an intel aircraft. Emarss is a scaled-down version of the Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), a Lockheed Martin/Embraer project terminated in 2006 owing to overweight systems and cost overruns. The primary focus for Emarss is to conduct communications intelligence, including spying on cellphone conversations. The Army intended to deploy the first aircraft in the summer of 2012, 18 months after contract award. It’s unclear when the system will be delivered as a result of the procurement issue.

In December, losing bidders L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin/Sierra Nevada and Northrop Grumman all protested the Army’s November selection of Boeing for the $323 million Emarss contract, which includes four development aircraft. Options also allowed for the purchase of two more development aircraft and the first six low-rate initial-production units.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which oversees source-selection protests, dismissed the bidders’ claims on March 18 once an agreement was made between the Army and the companies.

“At the end of [a] hearing, the agency decided not to defend its position further,” Ralph White, who oversees procurement law at the GAO, tells Aviation Week. “They are taking corrective action,” he adds.

“The Army has agreed to re-evaluate certain areas of the competition and, following those re-evaluations, the Army will make a new award decision in the near future,” according to a statement from the Army office overseeing the procurement.

A stop-work order for Boeing that was put in place by the Army remains in effect; this is typical in the event of a protest.

Based on the Army’s original strategy, the service selected the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER as the Emarss platform and competed the systems integration work. Some in government questioned the selection of Boeing at the outset; the company was seen as being a dark horse in the contest. Already, L-3 has a hold on the market for modifying this aircraft for intelligence purposes. It is wrapping up work on the Air Force Project Liberty program, which produced aircraft in a similar configuration.

Based on the Army contracting officer’s documentation from the competition, L-3 bested Boeing in two of four key areas. L-3’s price, $273 million, was lower than Boeing’s by roughly $50 million. And L-3 received higher marks for its ability to integrate subcontractors. The two were on equal footing in the areas of technical performance and past performance, the data show.

Based on the competition parameters, the Army placed the most emphasis on technical performance. Next came cost, then past performance. The subcontractor and small-business plan was the lowest-priority factor.

“The non-cost factors, when combined, were significantly more important than the cost/price factor,” according to the Army’s documentation. “Pursuant to these guidelines, Boeing was determined to provide the best overall value to the government proposing the most objective level performance capability and a design that facilitated future growth to the system.”

Despite the acquisition problems, the Pentagon still supports the program. In the fiscal 2012 budget proposal sent to Congress in February, the Pentagon added six aircraft, bringing the low-rate initial-production buy to 18.

Photo: USAF

[buglerbilly]

U.S. Senate Committee: Transfer MC-12s to Army

By SCOTT FONTAINE

Published: 17 Jun 2011 12:53

The U.S. Air Force's MC-12 program could soon be transferred to the Army if an amendment to the defense authorization bill becomes law.


An MC-12 Liberty prepares for takeoff March 11, 2010, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. (Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman / Air Force)

The amendment in the Senate Armed Services Committee markup of the bill requires incoming Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta to "develop and implement a plan for the orderly transfer" of the fleet. It is unclear who introduced the amendment because the markup took place during closed sessions. The language does not appear in the House version of the bill.

The turboprop aircraft are Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350s modified with sophisticated ISR capabilities. Each aircraft costs $17 million, and the Air Force plans for a fleet of 37 planes.

This isn't the first time the Army has been poised to receive the Liberty. Two years ago, the Pentagon proposed transferring the Liberty to the Army and moving the C-27J from the Army to the Air Force. While the Air Force eventually took control of the C-27, it also retained control of Liberty.

The MC-12 is the product of Project Liberty, a $461 million program launched in 2008 in the wake of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' criticism of the Air Force, which he said was not deploying ISR assets into combat quickly enough. The plane made its combat debut in June 2009 with a sortie over Iraq.

Built to provide instant ISR data to troops, the MC-12 is a complete collection, processing, analysis and dissemination system of airmen. The plane is flown by four airmen: two pilots, one sensor operator and one signals intelligence specialist. The sensor operator controls the full-motion video camera, and the SIGINT specialist operates "Pennant Race," an advanced version of the SIGINT package found on unmanned MQ-9 Reapers.

[buglerbilly]

Possible Liberty Transfer Surprises U.S. Army, AF

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

Published: 30 Jun 2011 18:08

Neither the US Army nor the USAF has asked for this! Wot? Yet HASC decided its a good idea, a bunch of Politicians decided it was a good idea..............do they ever talk to the Forces?

U.S. Army and Air Force officials admitted the proposed transfer of the MC-12 Liberty program surprised each service when it appeared in a bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee.

It is rare that Congress ever surprises U.S. military leaders, but the proposal has left both services scrambling to figure out how to transfer the program from the Air Force to the Army. Liberty aircraft have collected aerial battlefield surveillance data over Iraq and Afghanistan since 2009.

"I wouldn't use the word shocked, but definitely surprised," said Army Lt. Col. Kodjo Knox-Limbacker, with the Army Intelligence and Security Command's Aviation and Air Sensors operations directorate.

He said the Army expects to know for sure in the next two months if the service is absorbing the Liberty program. No official date has been scheduled for the full Senate to vote on the 2012 defense authorization bill.

The House Armed Services Committee did not include the proposal in its markup of the authorization bill.

Army officials anticipate the Air Force's Liberty aircraft will replace the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance Systems (EMARSS) aircraft that the Army expected to buy, Knox-Limbacker said.

Funding for EMARSS got slashed in defense authorization markups by the House and Senate Armed Services committees. The House proposed cutting $524 million and the Senate $452 million from the $540 million laid out in the 2012 budget request to buy 18 aircraft.

Army EMARSS aircraft and Air Force Project Liberty MC-12s are both enhanced Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350s with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors installed. Each of the twin-engine turboprops costs $17 million, and the Air Force plans a fleet of 37 planes.

"EMARSS and Liberty ships are so similar [that] it makes sense," Knox-Limbacker said.

The Army had planned to replace its RC-12 Guardrail fleet with the EMARSS. The transfer was supposed to be a gradual process, replacing one Guardrail plane for each EMARSS built. However, if the Army absorbs the entire Project Liberty fleet, then the Guardrail would be phased out much more quickly, Knox-Limbacker said.

It's still unclear when the transfer would occur even after the vote on the bill. The amendment in the Senate markup requires incoming Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to submit a report by 2013 "to develop and implement a plan for the orderly transfer" of the fleet. Panetta's report also "must estimate the costs" the government would save by canceling the EMARSS program.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates launched Project Liberty in April 2008, after saying at the Air Force War College that deploying ISR assets was like "pulling teeth." After a brief delay, the Air Force launched its first Project Liberty combat sortie over Iraq in June 2009.

Service leaders had to get creative to form the fleet to meet Gates' demands. Air Force acquisition officials bought the first few Liberty aircraft from private citizens - one from a businessman who had installed a system inside his turboprop to transport wine.

The Air Force announced in April that Beale Air Force Base, Calif., will become the new home of the Liberty program. Three aircraft have arrived at Beale, which will receive five for mission qualification training. The rest of the fleet will remain deployed.

Maj. Chad Steffey, an Air Force spokesman, said the service is waiting for the authorization bill to pass into law before finalizing any plans for the program at Beale.

This isn't the first time the Army's takeover of the program has been proposed. In 2009, the Defense Department proposed transferring the Liberty to the Army and moving the C-27J Spartan twin-engine transport plane from the Army to the Air Force. While the Air Force eventually took control of the C-27J, it also retained control of the Liberty.

When the Air Force took the helm of Project Liberty, it puzzled many Army officials. Army aviation had traditionally taken on the tactical ISR mission while the Air Force has focused on strategic missions. Liberty aircraft fly more tactical missions with ground units.

In their first missions, the Air Force processing, exploitation and dissemination teams struggled while sending intelligence collected by the sensors aboard the Liberty aircraft to ground commanders, an Army official said. Many thought in those first few years that the Air Force and Army would form split teams, with Air Force pilots in the front and soldiers controlling the sensors and making radio calls to units in the back of each plane.

Four airmen fly inside the MC-12 Liberty: two pilots, one sensor operator and one signals intelligence specialist. It's unclear how many airmen would be affected by the move to the Army, since the Liberty airmen are qualified on other airframes.

The Army has flown RC-12 Guardrails since the 1970s and currently flies 136 in different configurations, such as the Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System and Aerial Reconnaissance Multi-Sensor.

Knox-Limbacker said the Army is considering different options to train soldiers who will fly and operate the MC-12s if they're transferred. Either the service will allow soldiers to train on the aircraft at a U.S. base, or it will maintain operations in Afghanistan and "do a hand receipt" and provide the training while deployed, he said.

Training will not be the hardest part of the transfer; synchronizing the communications equipment on board the planes with the Army's networks is the larger challenge, Knox-Limbacker said.

"The two aircraft are so similar to what we fly already that the hardest part of the transfer will probably be the comms and making sure we have those right," he said.

[buglerbilly]

DATE:17/07/11

SOURCE:Flightglobal.com

RIAT: L-3 unveils Spydr surveillance aircraft

By Craig Hoyle

In an unusual move, a major US defence contractor has launched a new product for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft market at the Royal International Air Tattoo in the UK.

L-3 Communications’ Mission Integration Division (MID) has flown in a modified Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER, which can be equipped with multiple sensors and the company’s own processing, exploitation and dissemination system to support a perform a variety of military and civilian tasks.

Registered as N352BC, the King Air has an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared sensor payload mounted in a ball turret beneath its rear fuselage, and various airframe modifications. The latter include the addition of a large fairing to accommodate satellite communication equipment, several antennae, a line-of-sight tactical common data link and a self-protection suite.


© Craig Hoyle/Flightglobal

“The aircraft is the result of a research and development project by our company for the small ISR aircraft market,” said Bob Spivey, L-3 MID’s vice-president, special programmes. “This is a multi-year investment in multiple technologies.”

L-3 is promoting the system with a menu of sensor options, including signals intelligence equipment. Another potential addition currently being explored could lead to the integration of Selex Galileo’s PicoSAR lightweight synthetic aperture radar, Spivey said.

Following its appearance in the static display at RIAT the aircraft will be returned to the USA, where it will have a new, elongated nose section installed. To extend the King Air’s overall length by 0.6m (2ft), the new design will enable the company to add a second EO/IR ball turret at the front of the aircraft.

The King Air-based Spydr version should be deployed to the Dubai air show in November, with L-3 currently seeking the export licence approvals required to enable it to brief potential customers about the system’s capabilities. It is then expected to fly the aircraft back to the UK, where it will be involved in some unspecified trials activity.

Versions of the mission system and various payload options could be offered for carriage by larger platforms such as the Alenia Aeronautica C-27J Spartan or Lockheed Martin C-130, Spivey said, or scaled down for integration with unmanned air vehicles.


© US Air Force

Spydr builds on L-3’s experience in modifying 46 King Airs for the US armed military, including for the US Air Force’s Project Liberty acquisition (MC-12 pictured above), under which its first delivery was made within just over six months. “The results have been excellent,” Spivey said. “Now our thought is what’s next, and what could we do internationally.”

L-3 decided to give the Spydr its public debut at RIAT, due to it being attended by senior armed forces personnel and procurement officials from multiple nations from around the globe. “This is the perfect place to unveil it, as the world’s largest military air show,” said vice-president next-generation ISR special programmes Mark Johnson.

The company believes that it could eventually sell around 150 such aircraft, with several potential buyers already having been identified in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Civilian roles could include forestry duties, maritime surveillance and fisheries protection, L-3 said.

[buglerbilly]

Army 'Builds for Today But Thinks for Tomorrow' with Reconnaissance Surveillance System

(Source: U.S Army; issued July 28, 2011)

ARLINGTON, Va. --- Following a bidding war with protests beginning December 2010 against the Army and its selection process, Boeing was finally awarded the contract when the stop-work was lifted on June 16 to begin building the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System, or EMARSS.

The contract includes an option for additional two Engineering and Manufacturing Development units and options for Interim Contractor Logistics Support, as well as, options for a total of six Low Rate Initial Production units and corresponding support.

"(Because of the protest) the GAO (Government Accounting Office) asked the Army to review its areas which did the selection," said Lt. Col. Dean Hoffman, product manager for the Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System.

"The Army did that, went back to the source selection authority, and gave its determination of which, once again, the authority decided that Boeing is the best value for the government," Hoffman said.

The three losing bidders -- L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin/Sierra Nevada, and Northrop Grumman -- filed protests with the U.S. Government Accountability Office after Boeing's Nov. 30 win of the contract. As a result, the Army put a stop-work order in place for Boeing.

"When the contract stop-work was lifted on June 16, we began talking with Boeing immediately (in preparation for our first formal meeting). On July 11, the last day any protest could be submitted, you can probably imagine, we were all excited to get right to work and that's exactly what we've done," he said.

The kick-off meeting between the EMARSS program and Boeing was held on July 12 through 14.

An EMARSS program press release described the aircraft as "a manned multi-intelligence system that (will) detect, locate, classify, identify, and trace surface targets in day and night, near-all-weather conditions with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy. (It) will provide direct support to Brigade Combat Teams with a vital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability."

"You can see how fast we went into it," Hoffman said. "Based on the schedule and the emphasis of this program, the Defense Acquisitions University came in and helped facilitate that kick-off meeting and I can tell you right now, that was a huge plus to us."

"It really helped us (make) sure that our Integrative Product Team structures were properly organized, our charters were properly aligned, we had the right people in the right position and we could get the work done faster. We came up with a battle rhythm," he explained.

Part of how the program proceeded, said Hoffman, is based on what Gen. David Petraeus, who has served as the senior combatant commander in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has repeated over the past few years.

"We don't need the 100 percent solution (years from now). We need the 50 or 70 percent solution (now). Get it out to the warfighter and then build upon that," Petraeus said.

"Whatever we put out in the field in the future, has to have a baseline and be sustainable," Hoffman explained. "I think that's really the future of where we're going with this project. I'm constantly (asking) how do we start baselining the aircraft, as far as cockpit to help facilitate training -- baselining the interior and the boxes (enclosures that contain processing equipment)?"

"But, we also (need) modular-type architecture that allows us to grow as we face this irregular threat and I think that's a key thing there. It has to be modular. Even though today, (I'm already asking) what's the next greatest box or capability or technology that's coming, and if we put a platform out there that's not able to adapt to that, we're going to be in trouble," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said his team just recently had a "lessons learned" meeting where they asked about preparation to accept new technology in a baseline platform.

"When we sat down with the Boeing engineers, they really got that we can't make this a one-off platform that can't grow as technology and capabilities grow," he said.

"What I'm trying to stress is build for today but think for tomorrow. This means we have a direct requirement and that's exactly what we're going to build today. But we know that that requirement, once it's out there in 18 months, in 24 months we're going to need more capability on that platform," he said.

Essentially, Hoffman said, his team needs to be thinking of all the capabilities that could possibly go on a platform when setting up.

"Where are we going to put antennas, how are we going to lay out the racks and the positions in the actual platform, thus allowing us -- as different capabilities come along, boxes get smaller, and we get weight reduction things -- we can adapt and do this plug and play," Hoffman said.

Boeing's EMARSS will consist of a commercial derivative aircraft -- the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 -- equipped with an electro-optic and infrared full-motion video sensor, a communications intelligence collection system, an aerial precision guidance system, line-of-sight tactical and beyond-line-of-sight communications suites, two operator workstations, and a self-protection suite.

Its capabilities include an electro-optical/infrared with full motion video sensor, a communications intelligence sensor, and an Aerial Precision Guidance sensor -- all supported by line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight communications.

EMARSS operates as a single platform in support of tactical missions, but through connectivity to tactical and national networks, also contributes to the joint overall aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or AISR, constellation.

This combination of attributes, plus many others, provides the ground tactical commander an assured near-real-time operational view of the battlespace, enabling tactical ground forces to operate at their highest potential.

Asked if budget cuts might affect the program, Hoffman said he has the funding to get the program to the 18th month.

"The government has always been good about awarding success," he said, adding that everyone is excited to start building aircraft, everybody knows the mission and the time-frame they have to do it in, and since that kick-off meeting, it's been fast forward.

"What we're hoping is to be able to have the first platform deployed as a Christmas present in the 2012, early 2013 time-frame," Hoffman said.

-ends-

[buglerbilly]

Enlisted in the World of Airborne Spying


Senior Airman Tiffany Trojca/U.S. Air Force
An MC-12 Liberty, a refitted King Air, returning from its first combat sortie at Joint Base Balad, north of Baghdad in Iraq.

By CHRISTOPHER DREW

Published: September 6, 2011

For four years, a doctor commuted between his clinics in Texas in a $5 million turboprop with jazzy metallic stripes and ruby stones embedded on the drink cabinet inside. The plane featured exotic wood veneers and polished chrome, and his daughter’s initials were in the tail number.

But after a mysterious buyer snapped up the plane in 2008, it ripped out the fancy appointments, painted it a dull gray and sent it on a more dangerous mission. Unknown to the doctor, his prized King Air 350 had become a spy plane, one of the first of a new military model that is now easing the load on the unmanned drones for the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a military that loves to create shiny hardware from scratch, dipping into the used-plane market is a rarity, done only under the most urgent conditions. Remotely piloted drones have been the intelligence stars of the wars, but the Pentagon cannot build them quickly enough to meet the demand.

So the Air Force bought eight used King Airs and equipped them with video cameras and eavesdropping gear as part of a broader effort to supplement the drones with manned aircraft. The Army has also retooled similar planes to track insurgents who plant bombs.

In turning to the King Airs, the Pentagon has appropriated an aircraft that is commonly associated with business executives flying to meetings and wealthy vacationers to weekend ski outings. King Airs have also drawn celebrity pilots like the late actor and comedian Danny Kaye.

The military has used older King Airs to carry V.I.P.’s and conduct other operations in the past. Now, military commanders say the twin-propeller planes, which carry two pilots and two sensor operators, have carved out a niche in working more closely than the unmanned drones with soldiers on hazardous missions.

The crews on the planes, now called MC-12s, are in nearly constant radio contact with convoys and troops in firefights. They can chat more easily with them than the drone crews, which are based in the United States, to position the spy gear and interpret data about enemy movements.

With budget cuts looming, Air Force officials say the rapid fielding of the MC-12s also shows how the military could make greater use of commercial products to reduce costs and contracting delays. In addition to the used planes, the Air Force has fielded 29 new King Airs with the surveillance gear, and the Army would like to buy 36.

“For me, this is a precursor of what we’re trying to do across the board,” said David M. Van Buren, a top Air Force acquisition official, though that could be easier said than done with more complex weapons.

Mr. Van Buren said the Air Force turned to the used planes after Robert M. Gates, then the defense secretary, ordered it to rush more spy planes into the air. Each of the used planes — some had been owned by law firms and companies — were outfitted differently.

One had a stereo and high-definition television system. The manufacturer, Hawker Beechcraft, had picked the ruby theme for the doctor’s to celebrate the model’s 40th anniversary in 2004. And perhaps in a foreshadowing that the plane would eventually be put to a broader use, the words “Free Enterprise,” a motto of one of Beechcraft’s founders, were emblazoned under the cockpit window.

An Air Force contractor, L-3 Communications, found the eight used planes with the least wear and tear. It then ripped out the plush interiors.

Bubinga wood veneers gave way to computer stations for the surveillance specialists and miles of wiring for three communications networks at different secrecy levels. A camera ball was hung from the belly, and 16 antennas were added.

Meanwhile, the Air Force gave a no-bid contract to Hawker Beechcraft to build 29 extended-range planes at $7.5 million apiece, the average discounted price for commercial customers. An L-3 plant in Texas then worked around the clock to install the spy gear, which cost $13 million a plane.

At least eight corporate plane buyers let the military slip ahead of them in the production schedule. Several more slots opened as the recession forced others to cancel orders. Terry Harrell, a Hawker vice president, said Hawker had risked $35 million to $40 million of its own money to start building the planes before the contract was signed.

“It’s been a nice little case study in industry and the Air Force working together to get something done quickly, and at low cost, in a very pragmatic fashion,” he said.

The first of the converted planes began flying in Iraq in June 2009. It was soon joined by the other used ones, most of which are still flying there.

The planes are popular with many troops, because while armed drones offer protection and can conduct longer stakeouts of enemy compounds, their operators and analysts are half a world away, and they communicate as much through computer chat rooms as by radio. The MC-12s, which are unarmed but have more radio links, tend to be in closer touch with the commanders on the ground.

“If you’ve got a convoy that you know is going into harm’s way, you’re going to need a lot of interaction with those ground forces, and generally the MC-12 is going to be the one you’d pick for that,” said Maj. Gen. James O. Poss, a top Air Force intelligence official.

The Army wants to update its King Airs, and a Senate committee recently suggested that the Air Force could instead transfer its MC-12s to the Army to keep from having too many of the planes when the wars end. But both the Air Force and the Army say the planes could be useful in other hot spots and are resisting the suggestion.

Hawker Beechcraft and L-3 see an export market for the planes, and other contractors are also pitching civilian planes as spycraft. Lockheed Martin has taken a wet bar out of a used Gulfstream III business jet and turned the plane into a laboratory for such conversions. The former owner? The Jack Daniels liquor distillery.

[buglerbilly]

Budget cuts shift U.S. Army EMARSS program to Air Force

Posted by Chris Kelly | October 12th, 2011 | AUSA 2011


Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350

BY MICHAEL HOFFMAN – A simple twin-engine turboprop that carries a host of complex intelligence-collecting sensors over Iraq and Afghanistan can’t seem to find a home in the U.S. military.

The House Armed Services Committee recommended in June the Air Force’s Project Liberty move over to the Army. On Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Robert Lennox, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Army programs, said the Army program to build its own version of the intelligence-collecting turboprops will be shuttled to the Air Force in a budget efficiency move.

Lennox said the first four planes built under what’s called the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System will go to the Air Force and the rest of the program will be canceled.

The transfer is part of a larger Defense Department-wide effort to cut out repetitive programs among the services. Others mentioned by Army officials include the purchase of the C-27J.

“We don’t have a choice,” Lennox said. “Not that we aren’t always, but we have to find the best uses for our money, and it doesn’t make sense to buy similar things.”

Army EMARSS aircraft and Air Force Project Liberty MC-12s are both enhanced Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350s with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors installed. Each of the twin-engine turboprops costs $17 million, and the Air Force plans a fleet of 37 planes.

The Army had planned to replace its RC-12 Guardrail fleet with the EMARSS. The transfer was supposed to be a gradual process, replacing one Guardrail plane for each EMARSS built.

EMARSS looked to be in trouble after the House and Senate Armed Services committees slashed funding in defense authorization markups. The House proposed cutting $524 million and the Senate $452 million from the $540 million laid out in the 2012 budget request to buy 18 aircraft.

Some suspected in June the move of Project Liberty to the Army would replace EMARSS.

However, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said this summer he never expected Project Liberty to leave the Air Force.

[buglerbilly]

Military opposes MC-12 transfer

October 12, 2011 11:35:13 PM

By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat


U.S. Air Force photographer
A Liberty Project MC-12W Air Force aircraft taxis on the flight line Jan. 9 at Key Field Air National Guard Base. Key Field Airmen provide mission qualification training here for the tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. It has trained and deployed more than 124 active duty crew members since Project Liberty's initial training began last March.

The Air Force and Army secretaries have sent the House Armed Services Committee a letter requesting the MC-12 "Liberty" spy plane program be kept with the Air Force, and thus at Beale Air Force Base.

But a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, said the letter might not mean the MC-12's move between service branches is dead.

"Congress could still do something against the wishes of the armed forces," said Herger spokesman Matt Lavoie. "But these guys are the experts, and it means an awful lot for them to weigh in."

In the Sept. 20 letter, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Army Secretary John McHugh said the plane mission the MC-12 would replace in the Army has different specifications than the Liberty planes.

"Replacement would significantly decrease warfighter support due to the extensive internal aircraft modifications required to accommodate these different missions sets, thus impacting current intelligence collection missions supporting the warfighter during ongoing combat operations," the letter said.

Donley and McHugh also said moving the MC-12 while it's actively engaged in missions in Iraq and Afghanistan would disrupt those missions.

"We acknowledge that scenarios exist which may create an environment favorable for aircraft transfer, but given the current military situation, we strongly recommend continued operation of the MC-12W within the Air Force," the letter co cluded.

A copy of the letter was also sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee, which in June approved a defense authorization bill by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., including the transfer of the plane mission.

The version of the bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this year did not include the transfer, and Herger, whose district includes Beale, opposed the move.

An official with the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmed receiving the letter but had no additional comment. The Senate bill has yet to come up for a vote.

Yuba County Supervisor John Nicoletti, who often works on Beale issues, said the letter is an important consideration.

"Really, the value of the MC-12 mission isn't so much the function of the plane, but the intelligence the plane gathers," he said.

There's also more efficiency by keeping the program at Beale because pilots trained on the MC-12 are also being trained to remotely pilot the Global Hawk reconnaissance aircraft, he said.

Base and local officials expect the MC-12 program, formally assigned to Beale earlier this year, to bring hundreds of new airmen, contractors and support staff to the base and its surrounding area in the next few years.

Residents in nearby Linda have reported seeing the planes training overhead during the day and at dusk.

CONTACT reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4786.

Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/letter-110584-plane-force.html#ixzz1aiTdrGN6

[buglerbilly]

MC-12 reaches major milestones in Afghanistan

Posted 11/2/2011 Email story Print story

by Capt. Korry Leverett
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs


An MC-12 Liberty taxies out toward the runway Oct. 19, 2011, at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The flight marked the 10,000th combat sortie flown in support of ground operations that led to the capture or elimination of more than 4,000 targets. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Krista Rose)

11/2/2011 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Airmen from the 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron here achieved three major milestones in the month of October supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The squadron, which operates the MC-12 Liberty, surpassed 10,000 sorties flown, 50,000 flight hours and supported ground operations that led to the capture or elimination of more than 4,000 targets.

"The program was brought to Bagram (Airfield) in June 2009 and in less than two years with roughly two dozen airplanes we've been able to fly 10,000 sorties and 50,000 flying hours," said Lt. Col. James Thompson, the 4th ERS commander. "It's been amazing. According to Headquarters Air Force, we are the No. 1 sortie rate per manned aircraft in the Air Force. "

In April 2008, then Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates established a Defense Department-wide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force to identify and recommend solutions for increased ISR assets in the Central Command area of responsibility. Gates tasked Air Force officials July 1, 2008, to acquire 37 C-12 aircraft to augment remotely piloted aircraft.

"If you take a look at the start of the MC-12 Liberty program, it was created in about six months," Thompson said. "Because of the speed at which this platform was brought to the fight, the program was named in honor of the Liberty Ships, which were mass produced during World War II."

According to Thompson, the MC-12 is the workhorse of the Air Force. Aircrews hit the maximum flying hours authorized every month, he said. Airmen from the 4th ERS work seven days a week, with virtually no days off for six months.

Not only do the Airmen work every, day but so do the aircraft. An F-16 Fighting Falcon or F-15E Strike Eagle is typically retired when it hits approximately 8,000 flying hours. In the two years since the program was created more than 4,000 hours have been put on the MC-12s.

To maintain proficiency of the pilots and crews during combat operations, Thompson instituted a simple process he said he learned as an air officer commanding at the United States Air Force Academy.

"The way we do it is to have the seniors teach the freshmen," Thompson said. "The first month your job is to study. The second through fifth months your role is to work, and the final month is to teach the new folks. By making it a cyclical process, it only continues to improve and get better."

With this basic program in place, the squadron has doubled the number of sorties flown since Thompson arrived in November 2010, with the same number of aircraft, and increased flight times by 20 percent. Combined with new tactics and procedures, the unit members have more than doubled the amount of support provided to troops on the ground.

"Ours is but a small piece in the puzzle," Thompson said. "This is an 100 percent support asset, and our motto is the customer is always right. We've received countless feedback -- things like 'We don't want to operate without you,' or 'You are a godsend.'"

[buglerbilly]

MC-12 spy plane mission will stay at Beale

December 13, 2011 12:09:17 AM

By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat

The MC-12 spy plane mission will remain with the U.S. Air Force and stationed at Beale Air Force Base, according to a final defense spending authorization bill to receive a vote this week in Washington, D.C.

In conference committee between the U.S. House and Senate, representatives eliminated a provision transferring the mission to the U.S. Army, as a bill passed out of a Senate committee earlier this year stipulated.

"We're definitely very pleased the MC-12 is staying with the Air Force," said Bryan Cleveland, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico.

Cleveland said he believed joint letters from the secretaries of the Air Force and Army encouraging the plane be kept with the Air Force made the biggest impact on committee members.

Herger, as well as both California U.S. senators and several other Northern California congressional representatives, wrote a letter to the conference committee last week also encouraging the provision's elimination.

"We believe it would be unwise to ignore the united concern and recommendation of the Air Force and Army as our armed forces continue their mission in Afghanistan," stated the letter, dated Dec. 8.

The proposal to move the MC-12 to the Army came out of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where a member had apparently pushed for the move as part of voting for a defense spending bill.

Because hearings for the committee are closed, Cleveland said, exactly who did so may not become public.

Janice Nall, a member of the liaison committee between Beale and its surrounding region, said the news was wonderful. "I don't think there's anyone at Beale or in the community that isn't pleased," she said, adding retention of the mission at Beale helps the base maintain viability in a time of budget cuts. "Our group was working really, really hard with Congress and the Air Force to make sure everyone saw the advantages of keeping it at Beale."

John Fleming, Yuba County's economic development coordinator, said keeping the MC-12 with the Air Force was an early Christmas present for the region.

"Each new mission ups the ante for improving the local economy," he said, adding even at the outset, a lack of on-base housing means people serving the mission have to look in places like Plumas Lake, Olivehurst and Linda for places to live.

The MC-12 mission is expected to ultimately bring hundreds of airmen and support staff to Beale.

Beyond housing, those mission members also spend their money locally, he said.

"From a retail perspective, there can be a multiplier effect of three or four times," Fleming said, as dollars flow from Beale through airmen and support staff to local businesses.

"There's always concern when any business decides to pack up and move, or close, and this is analogous to that," he said of the MC-12 mission staying where it is. "Beale has lost missions in the past."

The combined conference bill on defense spending will be voted on in the House before the end of the week, according to Cleveland. Exactly when the Senate will vote on it was not immediately clear.

CONTACT reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4786.

Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/mission-112194-beale-force.html#ixzz1gTPbiwQL

[buglerbilly]

Boeing: U.S. Army EMARSS Delivery in December

By DAVE MAJUMDAR

Published: 11 Jan 2012 21:03

Boeing is set to deliver four Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) intelligence gathering aircraft to the U.S. Army in December, a company official said Jan. 11.

With a contract award last June, Boeing is obliged to deliver an operational aircraft within 18 months, said Waldo Carmona, Boeing's director of networked tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR).

"We have an 18 month contract to deliver four aircraft, fully integrated and tested to deploy, by December 2012," he said. "I tell you firmly today, that we're on schedule to go do that."

According to Carmona, the Boeing team has an internal target to beat that delivery date.

Dan Goure, an analyst at the Arlington, Va.-based Lexington Institute, said that he was impressed at how quickly the program is proceeding.

"This was quite amazing in the sense of how fast they were able to get a program of record up, moving and, now, the first four vehicles in the field," he said. "It's quite impressive."

To make sure the company delivers on time, Boeing has purchased a Hawker-Beechcraft King Air 350ER which it will modify to aerodynamically match the actual EMARSS aircraft, said Carmona.

The modified aircraft will have an extended nose where the operational plane would have its retractable electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) camera ball and it would have all of the antennas mountings of the real thing.

"From an external configuration, our risk reduction prototype is going to look just like the real airplane," Carmona said.

The prototype will fly in May, said Carmona. He said he hopes the aircraft will be FAA certified by no later than early June.

"That's one of the reasons that will allow us to meet the schedule," he said, adding that the FAA certification will simplify testing for the Army when it receives the first aircraft.

Simultaneously, a Joint Integration Test Facility operated by Boeing and the Army will test the intelligence gathering hardware and software in a lab in Aberdeen, Md. The lab facility will also look at future upgrades to the system, Carmona said.

Flight testing with all of the hardware and software onboard the aircraft will happen later this year after the FAA certification is completed.

Once airborne developmental testing is done, the four EMARSS aircraft will be sent to Afghanistan for limited user trials, Carmona said. In essence, operational testing will be during real-life combat missions.

"The whole plan is to put it in a real environment and assess its capability," he said.

While the EMARSS is not a revolutionary leap in capability, it does offer better performance than older aircraft like those used by the Army Task Force ODIN or the Air Force's MC-12 Project Liberty planes, said Goure.

"It makes absolute sense in the long-run to now put together a program of record that gets you everything you want, replaces the existing aircraft and lasts 25 years," he said. "It's a substantial improvement in capability and maintainability."

Carmona said that in addition to its powerful Wescam 15 EO/IR camera, EMARSS will carry a signal intelligence and communication intelligence payload. It also carries line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight high bandwidth data-links and can link to the Army's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS-A). There are provisions for three intelligence analyst stations onboard, one of which can be configured for special mission packages. The EMARSS has provisions to carry 400 pounds of special intelligence payloads that are not part of the regular aircraft suite, Carmona said.

In the cockpit, the pilots are afforded a Situational Awareness Data-link (SADL) display, which enables the aviators steer the aircraft onto the crew's intended quarry.

Despite the weight, drag and power requirements, the aircraft will have seven hours of endurance, Carmona said.

Currently, the Engineering Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract is for four aircraft only, Carmona said. The Army has a requirement for 36 production planes, but the money for those planes is not in the budget.

The EMARSS program's budget has been caught in a political battle between the Army and the U.S. Air Force, said Goure.

"The issue here is politics," Goure said. "The Army essentially zeroed this out of the [Program Objective Memorandum] because it was afraid that, like on the C-27s, that it was going to put up the money, the program was going to go to the Air Force and the Air Force would just walk away with the money."

The problem will persist until the Pentagon sorts out who runs manned tactical airborne ISR, Goure said. Moreover, the Air Force is not willing to guarantee the availability of the aircraft to the Army whenever it asks because it manages assets across the entire theatre of operations, Goure said. Logically, the mission should be part of Army's repertoire, he said.

"It's a fundamental issue of how you manage tactical ISR," Goure said.

The Army needs to push for the EMARSS program to prove that it can successfully acquire and manage a program properly and in less than a 10-year span, Goure said.

"You need a win," Goure said. "Why would you pick this program to torpedo?"

Goure noted that EMARSS is amongst the most successful of Army procurement efforts in terms of execution, budget and timeliness.

Carmona said hopes to convince the Pentagon of the value of the EMARSS by demonstration just how good the aircraft really is over Afghanistan. A Milestone C decision on whether the Army will ultimately buy the plane is expected in the first quarter of 2013, he said.