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APPENDIX E

EARLY WARNING

This appendix describes the purpose of early warning and how it provides reliable alerting and cueing information to air defense units and early warning alerting to other combat, combat support, and combat service units. Alerting allows units time to apply active and passive air defense measures. The accurate and timely dissemination of this information enhances the effectiveness of air defense weapon systems and the accomplishment of the air defense mission. Alerting information tells the unit an aerial platform is approaching its position. Cueing information tells the unit the direction of the aerial platform, its location, and its tentative identification. This enables the unit to focus attention in that direction to detect the aerial platform at a greater range.

The BSFV platoon leader must coordinate activities for any sensors in the supported force area of operations. In the event command and control for sensors cannot be provided by the parent ADA organization, the BSFV platoon leader may have to provide command and control.

DIGITAL EARLY WARNING

Digital early warning track data will be the primary means of early warning communications to the BSFV platoon. Voice early warning will be the alternate method. The air battle management operations center (ABMOC) and Army airspace command and control (A²C²) clement receive track data simultaneously from the airborne warning and control system (AWACS). The JTIDS track data, along with weapon control status, and air defense warnings (ADWs) are transmitted to the tactically employed sensors by using the enhanced position location reporting system (EPLRS), or single channel ground and airborne radio system (SINCGARS). The sensors correlate that information with their own local track data (lightweight and special division interim sensor (LSDIS) with a 20-kilometer detection range and ground-based sensor (GBS) with a 40-kilometer detection range) and send it to the BSFV platoon. Early warning dissemination using SINCGARS requires line of sight (LOS) between the sending and receiving nodes. Early warning dissemination using EPLRS does not require LOS alignment. EPLRS also provides the capability to net sensors with the ABMOC and A²C² element. This network facilitates sharing track data and graphics digitally at all echelons. See the AWACS and Local Data illustration.

CONTENTS

Digital Early Warning

Voice Early Warning

Directed Early Warning

Local Air Defense Warning

Ground-Based Sensor

Simplified Handheld Thermal Unit

VOICE EARLY WARNING

Voice early warning is the method of disseminating directed early warning. It is the alternative to digital early warning. See the Voice Early Warning Network Illustration.

DIRECTED EARLY WARNING

Directed early warning is designed to alert a specific unit or area of the battlefield of an immediate aerial threat. It is passed over the supported unit command net or a net designated by the supported unit commander. Directed early warning defines the local air defense warning and states whether the aerial platform is unknown or friendly, location of the aerial platform, provides a cardinal direction of approach for the aerial platform, and if known, the element most likely affected within the force.

Directed early warning is quick, simple, redundant in nature and given in clear text. The unit's SOP will specify the exact procedures to be used. The following elements of directed early warning will be determined by unit SOP:

• Preface.
• Identification.
• Local air defense warning.
• Direction.
• Size.
• Affected asset.

LOCAL AIR DEFENSE WARNING

LADWs are described in Chapter 2. The following is an example of an LADW. LADW is designated as DYNAMITE, LOOKOUT and SNOWMAN. They parallel air defense warnings RED, YELLOW, and WHITE, but the level of warning is determined by the tactical air defense artillery commander. They are used to alert a unit of an impending air attack.

GROUND-BASED SENSOR (GBS)

GBS with C³I node provides ADA fire units with a sensor radar device meeting all-weather surveillance and detection requirements. GBS is the FM sensor for all heavy maneuver ADA units. GBS is an EW sensor that provides FAAD units with cueing, alerting, and other EW information.

GBS with C³I node capabilities are as follows:

• GBS detects one square meter targets to an instrumented range of 40 kilometers and altitudes of 0 to 4,000 kilometers.
• All-weather. FAAD C³I is IFF-compatible.
• Provides visual display of target location in azimuth and range.
• Uses military power sources (10-kilowatt generator) to include organic vehicle power sources.
• Two-man emplacement or march order of GBS.
• Two-man emplacement or march order of C³I node.
• GBS is operable by one man.
• Capable of sharing division picture with other sensors (and ABMOC/A²C²), using EPLRS.
• GBS provides cueing (specific and timely range, azimuth, and elevation) data on aircraft within a designated range of a weapon system. This cueing quality data permits orienting the weapon systems to a potential target.

The platoon will have six sensors (GBS) with six C³I nodes for deployment. The GBS section consists of two teams. One team consists of a team chief, a sensor operator, and a driver. The other team consists of a team chief/operator and a radio operator/driver.

SIMPLIFIED HANDHELD TERMINAL UNIT

The simplified handheld terminal unit (SHTU) is a state-of-the-art military light-weight battery operated, handheld communications terminal designed for "man on the move" operation and providing digital communications over advanced communications systems. The SHTU has a modular and open architecture, allowing for internal and external expansion. Separate numeric keypad and cursor controls provide user friendly operation under adverse conditions. An LCD display provides both bitmappable graphics and text capability.