http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #364 JULY 2018 // 87
collect-process-disseminate, or
CPD, process. For deliberate
or on-call kinetic operations it
can also be referred to as the kill
chain, in which the operator aims
to ‘find, fix, track, target, engage
and assess’ a particular target.
Quite often most of the focus
of ISTAR is on the platform or
the collector, but the two equally
critical elements are the quality
of the information derived and
the timeliness of its passing.
Actionable intelligence is the
buzzword, and although counter-
insurgency (COIN) operations often
have the luxury of a measured
pace of limited events, more
intense forms of conflict will require
operators to contend with a deluge
of information and with a finite
(probably short) time to exploit it.Evolving surveillance
The earliest employment of
manned fixed-wing aircraft in
combat in the early 20th century
was for surveillance missions in
support of the army, and especially
the artillery. Here, aircrew initially
relied on the human eye before
adding some rather basic cameras.
Subsequently, turbine-powered
vehicles were able to exploit the
visible or electro-optical spectrum
for imagery using increasingly
sophisticated lenses and sensors,Above: RC-135W ZZ665 of the RAF’s No 51 Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base,
Nevada, during Exercise Red Flag last year. The Rivet Joint represents the larger
end of the ISTAR aircraft scale. Its sensors enable the crew to intercept and
exploit emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum, providing both strategic
and tactical level intelligence. Crown Copyright Below: No 31 Squadron Tornado
GR4 ZA611 is loaded with a RAPTOR pod before a sortie from RAF Marham,
Norfolk. Retirement of the Tornado and the RAPTOR pod next year will bring to
an end the service’s traditional fast jet ‘tactical recce’ remit. Crown Copyright
Above: Imagery taken by a RAPTOR
reconnaissance pod carried by a
Tornado GR4 during operations
in Afghanistan, showing coalition
vehicles manoeuvring. The standoff
range of the pod’s sensors enables
the Tornado to remain outside
heavily defended areas, minimising
the aircraft’s exposure to enemy air
defence systems. Crown Copyright