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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The Forward Area Air Defense Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (FAAD C3I) System is a network that connects the command posts, weapons, and sensors of the FAAD Battalion. In addition, the FAAD C3I system is one of the five components that make up the Army Tactical Command and Control System (ATCCS). The Ground-Based Sensor (GBS) provides air surveillance, target acquisition, and target tracking information to the weapons in the FAAD Battalion. The FAAD C3I and GBS systems provide information superiority to help ensure a dominant maneuver force.

The FAAD C3I system consists of computer hardware, computer software, and communications equipment. The computer hardware includes central processing units and display screens. FAAD C3I software performs air track and battle management processing functions. The communications equipment consists of the Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System, the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System, and the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System. In essence, FAAD C3I is an automated system that provides command, control, targeting, and other information to air defenders on the battlefield. The TPQ-36A radar is a modified version of the Army's FIREFINDER counter-battery radar. The GBS is a three-dimensional radar system that uses a phased-array antenna and an Identification Friend or Foe device. The GBS system is mounted on a High-Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle and a Towed Trailer.

The first operational test of the FAAD C3I system was the Limited User Test (LUT) conducted in January and February of 1993 at Ft. Bliss, TX. The Army made a Low Rate Initial Production decision to procure and field the FAAD C3I system to one light division, the 101^st Air Assault Division, following the FAAD C3I LUT.

The FAAD C3I and GBS IOT&E were conducted from September-December 1994 at Fort Hood and Ft. Bliss, TX. Testing at Ft. Hood assessed the capacity of the FAAD C3I system to interoperate with other components of the ATCCS architecture. During testing at Ft. Bliss, command and control information, as well as air track data collected from the GBS radar and other sensors, were passed throughout the FAAD C3I system.

The FAAD C3I and GBS IOT&E were adequate to assess operational effectiveness and suitability. Baseline testing using the Army's current air defense capabilities was also conducted during the IOT&E. Thus, direct comparisons of the test results could be made between the FAAD C3I and GBS systems and the baseline, despite inherent test limitations.

A major finding from the IOT&E was that when there were no friendly aircraft flying, FAAD C3I and GBS clearly demonstrated an improvement over the baseline system, and was considered to be effective. However, when friendly aircraft were added to the operational scenario, the fratricide experienced by both the baseline and FAAD C3I units was unacceptably high, making FAAD C3I useful only when friendly aircraft are not present or as a self-defense system. The FAAD C3I and GBS systems were judged to be operationally suitable, although there were shortfalls in the generator and software reliability of the GBS system, and mobility issues in both the FAAD C3I and GBS systems.

A new version of FAAD C3I software, version 4.R, was tested in an Early User Innovative Test at Ft. Bragg, NC, in June 1997. The version 4.R software is a re-hosting of the current FAAD C3I software on the Army's next generation Common Hardware and Software-2 hardware that replaces the current Common Hardware used by FAAD C3I. Additional regression testing of the version 4.R FAAD C3I testing followed the Early User Innovative Test. GBS reliability was examined in 1997 during the Performance Verification Developmental Test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. Previous reliability problems were determined to be fixed but a new one associated with the trailer was identified.

Testing of the FAAD C3I system during FY98 has been limited to developmental tests of the upgraded version 5.1 system software. Developmental testing was primarily carried out in the contractor's facility.

The FAAD C3I and GBS systems significantly enhance the accomplishment of low-altitude, short-range air defense missions when compared to the previous capability. The ability of STINGER-equipped units to engage hostile aircraft at longer ranges, particularly before ordnance release, offers greatly improved protection of friendly ground units. At longer ranges, positive identification of "unknown" aircraft is more difficult, and fratricide (as observed during the IOT&E) becomes a serious problem. During the IOT&E, friendly air defense fire units frequently engaged friendly aircraft because the aircraft were identified as "unknown" to individual air defense gunners. This situation is operationally realistic, and exists due to the inability of today's electronic identification devices to correctly identify all friendly aircraft. Thus, soldiers must perform visual identification of all "unknown" aircraft as either "friend" or "foe." Until such a highly reliable means of identification is available, FAAD C3I will most commonly operate in the more restrictive "weapons tight" or "weapons hold" postures. All future OT of FAAD C3I and GBS should examine the important issue of fratricide, and should employ both friendly and hostile aircraft.

Future OT should also examine the interoperability between FAAD C3I and the other Army Tactical Command and Control Systems. Finally, the FAAD C3I and GBS systems should be tested to determine whether they are able to keep up with the maneuver force during highly mobile combat operations such as Operation Desert Storm.

The reliability problems discovered in the IOT&E and associated with the GBS radar subsystem were fixed and successfully tested during the Performance Verification Test. This test revealed a design flaw in the high mobility trailer used to transport the GBS system that makes the trailer unsafe to use. The Army has recently identified an interim solution, and a materiel release was issued in November 1998.

The next major operational test of the FAAD C3I system is an FOT&E of the version 5.2 system, a major software and hardware upgrade of the FAAD C3I system. This test is scheduled for 4QFY00.

The fratricide problems identified during the IOT&E would not have surfaced if operationally realistic combat identification and engagement procedures had been excluded. Previous testing, such as the LUT, did not have high fratricide rates because the testing only examined the ability of the FAAD C3I system to pass information around the battlefield. The LUT did not require Army gunners to use the FAAD C3I information to complete an engagement.