ARMY AL&T
However, the improvement is not necessarily related to changes made on the two types of panels and the Phoenix IR Light. Increased performance has been advanced by the optical technologies used to view them, such as the Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3), first and second genera- tion forward-looking IR (FLIR), and NVGs—all of which have improved and, therefore, enhanced the abil- ity of Soldiers, Marines, and NATO forces to identify friendly forces.
Fielding Since fi rst coming online 15 years ago, more than 80,000 JCIMS have been fi elded for use by the Army and USMC. The systems are protecting everything from M1 Abrams tanks to high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles to Stryker vehicles. Currently, the Army is installing the 3-component system on Maneuver Brigade Combat Team (BCT) vehicles in both the active component and Army National Guard. Additionally, USMC has mandated that JCIMS be incorporated onto the vehicles for all deploying Marine Expeditionary Units.
Fielding of JCIMS will continue through FY11 with 8–12 BCTs being equipped and trained each year. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command institutional training centers, as well as the combat training
Soldiers with 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, move in a convoy in Stryker armored vehicles, to Taktehpol, Afghanistan. Their vehicles can be positively ID’d by coalition forces because of JCIMS. (Photo by TSgt Francisco V. Govea, U.S. Air Force.)
centers at Fort Irwin, CA, and Fort Polk, LA, have been equipped with JCIMS, so units can train with the actual system during maneuver exercises prior to deployments.
JCIMS Future The future for JCIMS includes new mounting methods that will ensure the panels stay affi xed to the vehicle they are protecting, which is a response to lessons learned in OEF/OIF. As new vehicles are introduced into the U.S. ground forces inventory, PD TIMS is planning to interface JCIMS with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and other modernization ground platforms.
U.S. ground forces using the LRAS3 in conjunction with the JCIMS can verify friendly forces when targeting. (U.S. Army photo.)
JCIMS, which was once a quick-fi x solution and the result of a Combat ID General Offi cer Steering Committee directed by former Chief of Staff of the Army GEN Gordon Sullivan in 1991, has become a mainstay in the Army and USMC inventory. “For more than a decade, JCIMS has proven to be a
simple but effective lifesaving capability for U.S. ground forces and will con- tinue to provide the friendly force target ID needed by our warfi ghters to avoid incidents of fratricide,” said Michael Karpie, Acting Director, PD TIMS.
An additional boost for combat ID is in the works as the Army and USMC work out the requirements of the Joint Cooperative Target ID-Ground (JCTI-G) system, which would be a more robust, active cooperative target ID capability. The JCTI-G would provide Soldiers and Marines with a greater understanding of the battlefi eld and build upon the success that JCIMS has brought in terms of preventing fratricide. It is anticipated that the JCTI-G program will enter the Materiel Solution Analysis phase this fi scal year.
BRANDON POLLACHEK is the Program Executive Offi ce Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors Public Affairs Offi cer, Fort Monmouth, NJ. He holds a B.S. in political science from Cazenovia College and has more than 10 years’ experience in writing about military systems.
APRIL –JUNE 2010 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
