88 // JULY 2018 #364 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
Column Commander’s Update Briefing
NEXT MONTH:
Maritime patrol.before electronic signals, voice
data and synthetic aperture
radar (SAR) imagery were also
combined on single platforms.
That said, it’s noticeable that,
even today, many intelligence-
gathering platforms tend to be
specialist in nature and air arms
like the Royal Air Force may
potentially have as many as half-
a-dozen types of specialist ISTAR
aircraft in service simultaneously.
The current RAF ISTAR fleet
comprises the MQ-9A Reaper,
RC-135W Rivet Joint/Airseeker,
Sentinel R1, E-3D Sentry AEW1 and
Shadow R1. They will be joined by
the P-8A Poseidon, scheduled for
introduction to service next April.
Of course, the great advantage of
jet-propelled platforms is the height
and reach they can employ to gain
access to targets, often deep inside
someone else’s territory; however,
it should also be acknowledged
that modern air defence systems
will make this role much harder to
fulfil in a combat scenario. Current
specialist ISTAR platforms are
vulnerable as their sensors are
now increasingly outranged by
modern surface-to-air systems.
Intelligence comes from a variety
of sources and it doesn’t always
have to be classified; the increasing
use of ‘big data’ and open-source
information can provide invaluable
knowledge that helps build a
comprehensive picture and can
narrow down search patterns.
Strategic and tactical
The more specialist air collectors
are designed for a variety of tasks,
with some platforms capable of
meeting a combination of them.
The primary distinction to make,
other than role, is the scale of the
potential search area: space or
strategic air assets such as the
RQ-4 Global Hawk, Sentinel or
Rivet Joint will perform wide-area
searches, capable of monitoring
thousands of square miles in a
sortie or even in a single scan.
These can build a picture of
what ‘normal’ looks like and
establish a baseline from which
more detailed intelligence
searches can be made.
Tactical assets like the Reaper
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) are
more regularly employed on very
specific, detailed tasks where an
‘unblinking eye’ type of surveillance
might be needed to monitor a
single target. It’s for this reason
that you so often see these typesof assets involved in the pursuit of
key single targets or individuals.
Although some aircraft are
specialist ISTAR platforms, most
military aircraft are now capable
of some intelligence-gathering
function. Indeed, there are few
modern combat aircraft that
can’t provide some ISTAR input,
either through on-board systems
or easily integrated pods; even
targeting pods designed for
laser designation, like the RAF
Typhoon’s Litening III, can provide
a raw intelligence function.
Previously, this would have been
labelled ‘tac recce’ – tactical
reconnaissance. However, this is
less common now and there are
very few air forces who specify or
resource such a role. For example,
when the Tornado GR4 is retired
next year, there are no UK plans tocontinue to operate the impressive,
albeit cumbersome, RAPTOR pod.
All is not lost, however, as the F-35
will not only be the best placed, but
also the most capable intelligence
asset in the air commanders’
‘golf bag’. Able to penetrate an
enemy’s anti-access/area denial
system (see Unpicking the A2/AD
threat, January, p86-88), it will also
be able to employ a combination
of internal sensors to gather
detailed information on all manner
of potential threats or targets.
But where I see the greatest
room for progress and potential
advancement is in the CPD
process, where information is
managed in near real time and
potentially on board the strike
platform, without the need for a
large resource to process it or
a secure network to pass it.
The real game-changer here
could be the use of artificial
intelligence (AI) that will be able to
perform the vast majority of the
processing function, quickly, while
fusing multiple sources. While this
possibility remains controversial,
I merely see this as a better way
of informing a decision-maker
(potentially in the cockpit) with the
most accurate and complete picture
possible, and so assisting decision-
making rather than subverting it.
But one thing is certain: the
success of military operations so
often hinges on who knows most
and who sees first. Although
combat effect is often measured
in striking power, ultimately it’s
the information domain where
operations will be won or lost.Above: A modernised S-300PM1 (SA-
10 ‘Grumble’) long-range surface-to-
air missile system on manoeuvres in
Russia’s Rostov region earlier this
year. The growing capabilities of
modern air defence systems mean
that specialist ISTAR platforms are
increasingly vulnerable. Russian MoD
Left: A student pilot and sensor
operator at the controls of an MQ-9A
in a ground-based cockpit during a
training mission flown from Hancock
Field Air National Guard Base,
Syracuse, New York. The Reaper is
frequently ‘platform of choice’ for
tactical surveillance of a single target,
including individual insurgent leaders.
USAF/Tech Sgt Ricky BestThe future face of ISTAR? The
Lightning II (this is one of the UK’s
first F-35Bs) will employ a range of
sophisticated on-board sensors to
provide ISTAR for air commanders,
and will be capable of doing so in
contested airspace while conducting
other missions simultaneously.
Crown CopyrightAFM