WASHINGTON — For the primary time, the Air Drive final week carried out three main take a look at flag occasions at three separate places concurrently to see how effectively the service can share knowledge electronically throughout completely different battlespaces.
The Orange Flag, Emerald Flag and Black Flag massive pressure take a look at occasions have been held Oct. 26 in California, Florida and Nevada, the Air Drive stated in a Monday launch.
The Air Drive stated it used a sequence of information switch networks to transmit concentrating on knowledge over lengthy distances. The assessments created their very own airborne Hyperlink 16 networks — the army’s principal tactical knowledge trade community — to transmit knowledge to floor hyperlinks, after which transferred that data between every flag occasion.
Maj. Theodore Ellis, director of the Black Flag occasion on the Nevada Check and Coaching Vary, stated the experiment was successful.
“It took two months of preparation between the three separate bases and connecting 10 completely different businesses to culminate all three flags in a single day, on the similar time, for the primary time,” Ellis stated in an announcement to Protection Information. “We’re nonetheless within the technique of going by way of all the info, however the occasions have been executed efficiently.”
Maj. Daniel Prudhomme, the director of Orange Flag at Edwards Air Drive Base in California, stated it was the primary time the take a look at flag enterprise had tried to attach greater than two geographically-separated areas with low-latency knowledge hyperlink networks. The Air Drive beforehand linked Orange and Emerald flag occasions in June.
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Orange Flag concerned plane such because the F-35A Lightning II and two Common Atomics MQ-20 Avenger drones, which carried the Skyborg autonomy core system for a flight take a look at that lasted a number of hours.
Capt. Joe Haggberg, deputy director of Emerald Flag on the Eglin Gulf Check and Coaching Vary in Florida, stated that take a look at targeted on connecting techniques below the Joint All-Area Command and Management idea. JADC2 ties techniques throughout the companies collectively to securely cross knowledge between forces working in numerous places.
“The [Emerald Flag] staff gleaned priceless data that can basically rework the way in which we predict, battle and make use of capabilities at additional vary,” Haggberg stated.
And the Black Flag occasion concerned testing the digital warfare capabilities of the EC-130H Compass Name, F-15E Strike Eagle, and EA-18G Growler, testing non-traditional fight search-and-rescue strategies, and different capabilities and ways in situations just like what they might encounter in precise fight.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Protection Information. He beforehand reported for Army.com, masking the Pentagon, particular operations and air warfare. Earlier than that, he coated U.S. Air Drive management, personnel and operations for Air Drive Occasions.