Air Force print news (April 28, 2006): CROWS gets airmen out of the turret.

KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq -- A new weapon system in the Air Force arsenal takes airmen out of the gun turret and into the safety of a fully up-armored Humvee.

The 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron operates the only Common Remote Operated Weapon Station, or CROWS, in the Air Force inventory. As one of three security forces squadrons in Iraq with an outside-the-wire combat patrol mission, CROWS offers an additional capability for the unit.

The CROWS sensor unit includes a daylight video camera, a thermal imager for night operations, and a laser rangefinder. It is furnished with a fully integrated fire control system that provides ballistic correction.

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CROWS is a stabilized gunner-operated weapon system, which allows the gunner to engage targets from inside a moving vehicle. It mounts to the M1116 up-armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly known as a Humvee. It provides the ability to remotely aim and fire a variety of weapons. The mount is capable of continuous 360-degree azimuth rotation and a minus 20- to 60-degree elevation movement.

"CROWS increases our situational awareness and allows us to see things we might never have known were there, especially at night," said 1st Lt. David Bolin, security forces flight leader. "It's an asset on the types of mission we do here."

Airmen have taken CROWS-equipped vehicles on more than 25 combat missions. The range of the system exceeds that of the human eye so it has the ability to aid the gunner in looking for threats that may not be immediately visible. It also allows the fire team to find things they may not have known were there. One such mission resulted in the seizure of a large weapons cache.

"On one mission, we were scanning the countryside looking for threats and spotted a bunker a substantial distance away," said Senior Airman Jeffrey Oats, security forces gunner. "When we approached the area, we came upon a cache of more than 100 pieces of unexploded ordnance."

Although the system has been used by the Army since early 2005, CROWS is still being tested by the Air Force, which is determining the role it could play in future operations. The 506th ESFS mission outside the base perimeter offers the chance to see CROWS in action. "We are continually evaluating it and passing information back to U.S. Central Command Air Forces," Bolin said. "The system has many capabilities, on and off base."

The CROWS control module, which mounts inside the vehicle, is the gunner interface, allowing operation from within the vehicle's ballistic protection. Its main components include a display unit, switch panel unit and a joystick-type hand controller. The system provides full remote control of the weapon system via onscreen menus presented on the display.

"I believe this weapon system to be very useful for the military," Oats said. "It increases our ability to observe and locate the enemy and eliminates the threat of sniper fire for the turret gunners."

Barrett is with the 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs.

Staff Sgt. Kristina Barrett, USAF