Marine Corps News Release Release #:
Division of Public Affairs, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, Washington, DC 20380-1775 Commercial: (703) 614-7678/9 DSN: 224-7678/9 FAX: (703)697-5362
Date: 10/25/96 Story by NAVSPACECOM
COMBAT ID TOOL PROVIDES BETTER BATTLEFIELD PICTURE
NAVAL SPACE COMMAND, Dahlgren, Va. -- A new combat identification technology developed by the Navy to track "friendly" assets and reduce fratricide, was successfully integrated with other service Command, Control, Computer, Communications, and Intelligence networks during an exercise conducted this summer by the All-Service Combat ID Evaluation Team.
The Situational Awareness Beacon with Reply, is a leading edge technology development effort that uses the capabilities of space systems to help reduce battlefield fratricide. Comprised of a small transceiver, Global Positioning System receiver, and simple packaging scheme, SABER enables a platform to report its position -- automatically or on demand -- through UHF satellite communications or UHF line of sight to a variety of users. Data is relayed via SABER to a variety of joint global command and control systems.
During the ASCIET exercise held at Camp Shelby, Miss., SABER was linked to the Army's Enhanced Position Location Reporting System and the Air Force's Situational Awareness Data Link aboard F-16 Falcon aircraft. SABER was also tested with the Army's GRENADIER BRAT beacon, which uses the Collection of Broadcast from Remote Assets waveform.
SABER met all interoperability test objectives during the exercise. A SABER command and control terminal -- comprised of a TAC-3 computer running Unified Build 3.0 software -- and a Hughes situational awareness display terminal were used to translate SABER, EPLRS, and COBRA data into Unified Build data sets. This merged picture was then passed to all SABER-equipped platforms, including M-60 tanks, manpack units, and a military utility vehicle.
Soldiers carrying manpack versions of the SABER beacon for ground navigation maneuvers during the exercise were able to receive the EPLRS and GRENADIER BRAT tracks and graphically display them on a hand-held terminal unit, a ruggedized, hand-held computer. Previously, EPLRS users received text-based messages only, and individual GRENEDIER BRAT users did not receive information on other users except at the command post display terminal.
During the ASCIET field test, all position data were transmitted to SABER users through a line-of-sight relay at Camp Shelby and through SATCOM using 25kHz and 5 kHz channels on a Fleet Satellite Communications spacecraft and the UHF follow-on spacecraft. In addition, SABER tracks and all merged data were remotely broadcast to a command and control terminal in Gulfport, Miss., using a SABER beacon mounted on an aerostat. The "common operational picture" was also sent to other networks, including the Global Command and Control System and the Officer in Tactical Command Information Exchange System. (NAVSPACECOM)
