REVOLUTIONIZING AIRBORNE ENROUTE MISSION COMMAND


are connected with their leaders operating a KEN, to receive crit- ical situational awareness updates through the intra-aircraft data and voice capability using services such as chat and radio voice.


Te 2/11 IBCT(A) proved that Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Teams can establish command and control internally with fielded systems, removing dependencies from these external organizations. Trough proper coordination with U.S. Air Force pilots and crew chiefs, Army signal support personnel used the Boeing C-17 Globemaster’s roll-on/off satellite communications panel to patch into and use the existing affixed antennas provid- ing signal transport capabilities. UBI-2590 Battery Eliminator Circuits were also used on AN/PRC-158 multichannel manpack radios to provide continuous uninterrupted power genera- tion using the 120-volt outlets inside the aircraft. Army signal support personnel installed the radios between the number one and number two jumpers, the Airborne commander and brigade signal officer (S6) seats, enabling easy access for radio calls.


Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Teams can establish command and control, removing dependencies from these external organizations.


RADIO ON Te 2/11 IBCT(A) tested the communications from the newly configured command and control setup inside the aircraft during four separate joint forcible entry operations. First, in Arctic Aloha 2024, involving two cross-Pacific JFEOs from March Air Reserve Base in California onto the Transfiguracion Drop Zone in Hawaii, followed by a second JFEO, an eight-hour, cross-Pacific trip from Hilo International Airport, Hawaii, onto the Malamute Drop Zone in Alaska. Te 2/11 IBCT(A) proved the internal setup works a third time during Cobra Gold 2024, executing an 18-hour, cross-Pacific JFEO from Alaska to the Tongmin Drop Zone in Tailand. Tis concept was used successfully again most recently in the first over-the-North Pole JFEO in Norway onto a frozen lake, the Sparrow Drop Zone, during Arctic Edge, also referred to as Northern Edge 2024.


86 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2024


RIGGING THE PLANE


The author, a signal officer for the 2/11 IBCT(A), conducts plane- to-plane radio tests on an installed AN/PRC-158 Mobile User Objective System-capable radio in preparation for an eight-hour, cross-Pacific forcible entry operation during Arctic Aloha 2024. (Photo courtesy of 2/11 IBCT(A))


Tis revolutionary command and control concept enabled the Airborne commander to interface in-flight with the 11th Airborne Division (Arctic) Joint Operations Center on Joint Base Elmen- dorf-Richardson, Alaska, as well as with the drop zone safety officers during all four JFEOs.


To advance this capability further, with increased funding, the 11th Airborne Division can establish digital command and control with AN/PRC-158 multichannel manpack radios using a Klas 8 Voyager in conjunction with a Tactical Relay Integra- tion Kit (TRIK). Te Voyager TRIK provides a lightweight, portable solution for tactical radio networking that serves as a bridge between internet protocol and radio and can be used across


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  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148