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MARINES FIELD PRECISION TARGETING SYSTEM FOR USE IN AFGHANISTAN

Malina Brown

Harnessing a remarkably fast procurement process, Marines began fielding the Precision Targeting System 180 last month, approximately seven months after troops in Afghanistan declared an urgent need for target location technology.

Known as the PTS-180, the system combats target location error, one of the largest hurdles forward air controllers must face, according to Kevin McConnell, ground combat element branch head in the Marine Corps Combat Development Command's (MCCDC) material requirements division. The service touts the system as a success, McConnell said.

PTS-180, which looks similar to a standard set of binoculars, uses a laser to determine range, magnetic direction and the vertical interval of a target. The Marines bought 180 of the systems -- hence the name PTS-180 -- to provide an interim solution for problems with target location error troops were experiencing in Afghanistan.

McConnell said MCCDC first got an indication that troops needed target recognition technology in February when Marine Corps Assessment Teams reported "target location is a major issue for our forward air controllers." The program will be completely fielded in October.

MCCDC is in the process of writing a report on "lessons learned" from Afghanistan, which will discuss the need for target location technology as well as nearly 400 other items, according to Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Gabrielle Chapin.

The speed of the PTS-180's procurement process, Chapin told Inside the Navy last week, is evidence of the Marine Corps' implementation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's call for better business practices.

Slightly less effusive, John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington-based public policy organization, said the system's turnaround time is "impressive but not astonishing."

"It would be the sort of thing that a developer could promise with some hope of actually being able to deliver," he said, explaining that because it is a small gadget and its "capability is in the software rather than the hardware," it lends itself to shorter production cycles.

There are several precursors to PTS-180. The Modular Universal Laser Equipment (MULE) is a tripod-mounted, 100-pound-plus unit that initially fulfilled needs for a target locator despite shortcomings -- such as its weight and bulk.

As a replacement to MULE, the Marines developed the Target Location Designation Handoff System, which consists of a day-night laser rangefinder, a laser designator, and a Target Handoff System -- a computer component for digital message processing. TLDHS is slated for procurement in fiscal year 2003.

The Marines Corps is also developing the Advanced Eye-safe Rangefinder Observation System, known as AEROS, to replace the AN/GVS-5 Laser Infrared Observation Set. McConnell described AEROS as an improved version of the PTS-180 because it will be interoperable with the Precision Lightweight Global Positioning System Receiver and with the Target Handoff System, giving it digital capability. AEROS also provides an eye-safe laser rangefinder, averting fears of accidental blinding that were raised with previous systems, said McConnell. Funds for AEROS are in the program objective memorandum for FY-04.

Yet neither system was ready to be fielded when "Afghanistan happened," McConnell explained, leading to a plan to rapidly procure an initial interim solution for target location error. The requirements were articulated in a statement of need -- with a time line McConnell described as "the quicker the better" -- which then led to a contract award to Leica systems. McConnell declined to discuss how much money Leica was awarded.

By August, the system was in the hands of operational units, who according to McConnell, have since been clamoring for more.

The type of capability PTS-180 provides is "somewhere between important and essential.," Pike said. "This is basically the thing you are going to be using for any type of close air support engagement with precision munitions. "It makes precision weapons precise" because it allows the troops to determine targets' locations with greater accuracy, Pike said. Specifically, it reduces target location error from what could be thousands of meters to potentially less than 10 meters, McConnell said.

While the system is not perfect, it takes "guess work out of the equation," McConnell added. Alluding to news reports that Afghan civilians were mistakenly killed when troops hit incorrect targets, he said technology like PTS-180 "greatly reduces the chances of error."

Despite the PTS-180's success, McConnell was sure to point out that it only provided part of the solution to target location error. The current system allows soldiers to provide a map location of the target that needs to be relayed to the pilot. Ultimately, the system should permit Marines on the ground to communicate with aircraft and pass targeting data digitally to the aircraft, he said.

The technology necessary for ground and air forces to communicate digitally was not ready when PTS-180 was fielded. For now, communication is still dependent on radios.

Both TLDHS and AEROS will have digital messaging capability.

Another limitation of the PTS-180 is that the person on the ground must be within 4,000 meters of the target. The system is also incapable of seeing great distances at night.

The Marines bought 180 of the systems based on the funding available. However, they have an operational requirement for close to 1,700 systems, McConnell said. So "when we finally start to buy here, we are talking about a lot of systems," he added.

But since neither TLDHS nor AEROS will be fielded until at least the FY-03 time frame, PTS-180 in the meantime can continue to help guide Marines during operations in the war against terrorism, McConnell said. --