Coalition Aerial Surveillance and Reconnaissance: the CAESAR project.Coalition Aerial Surveillance and Reconnaissance or CAESAR is an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance An activity that synchronizes and integrates the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, and dissemination systems in direct support of current and future operations. This is an integrated intelligence and operations function. Also called ISR. (ISR) interoperability project. Seven nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established under the North Atlantic Treaty (Apr. 4, 1949) by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States. (NATO) Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) are working the project to integrate, exploit, and share data from ground moving target indicator A radar presentation which shows only targets which are in motion. Signals from stationary targets are subtracted out of the return signal by the output of a suitable memory circuit. (MTI) and synthetic aperture radar Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Radar, airborne or satellite-borne, that uses special signal processing to produce high-resolution images of the surface of the Earth (or another object) while traversing a considerable flight path. (SAR (Segmentation And Reassembly) The protocol that converts data to cells for transmission over an ATM network. It is the lower part of the ATM Adaption Layer (AAL), which is responsible for the entire operation. See AAL. SAR - segmentation and reassembly ) imagery surveillance platforms to the associated coalition ground stations (see Figure 1). The seven participating nations, all NATO members, include the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) has endorsed the project. The CAESAR Project will maximize the efficient and effective use of high-demand, low-density surveillance platforms and ground stations among the coalition member nations. The Project's goals are to establish interoperability through technical interface, architectural design, and operational standards for employing surveillance platforms and ground stations to support the U.S. and other coalition ground, air, and maritime commanders (see Figure 2). For the United States, CAESAR is an Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is part of the United States Department of Defense and includes the entire staff of the Secretary of Defense. It is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource (OSD) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). The Air Force is the lead Service for the demonstration and provides the technical management for the U.S. participants in the project through the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) Program Office, Electronic Systems Command, at Hanscom Air Force Base Hanscom Air Force Base, initially and briefly designated Bedford Army Air Base, is a U.S. Air Force facility in Bedford, Massachusetts. It is the headquarters of the Electronic Systems Center (ESC), one of the product centers of the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). , Massachusetts. The U.S. Army Intelligence Center (USAIC) provides operational management for the Project. Representatives from all the Services participate with the r epresentatives from the other member nations in coalition working groups. International memorandums of agreement and security arrangements, signed by the participating nations, establish and govern the Project. Project Objectives The specific objectives for the Project are to-- * Produce interoperable concepts of operations (CONOPs) and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) for use by coalition, joint, ground, air, and maritime commanders for the employment of multinational ground MTI and SAR assets. * Develop or improve existing technologies to achieve technical interoperability among the participating surveillance platforms and sensors. This includes interchange formats, registration, and exploitation algorithms mission planning and tasking tools, and architectures for networked and distributed processing (see Figure 3.). Each ground station is capable of receiving and sharing data in near-real time to provide a common view of the battlefield. * Conduct annual exercises to evaluate program technology and operational concepts. Integrate these technical and operational capabilities within the supporting commands and architectures of the United States, other coalition nations, and NATO. Participating Systems The national platforms participating in CAESAR appear in Figure 4 and a listing of all participants and assets is in Figure 5. The coalition systems participating in the CAESAR Project include the following: * Canadian Radar Satellite (RADARSAT RADARSAT Radar Satellite ) system and associated ground stations. RADARSAT 1 is an operational commercial satellite providing 7- to 100-meters resolution SAR imagery, depending on the radar beam mode and incidence angle. RADARSAT 2 is currently in development; when operational, it will provide radar images at better than 3-meter resolution and have an experimental ground MTI capability. * French Helicoptere d'Observation Radar et d' Investigation sur Zone or HORIZON system and associated ground stations. The targeting radar produces ground MTI and its platform is a Eurocopter Cougar AS-532 UL helicopter. * Developmental German inter- operable imagery workstation to display and exploit ground MTI and SAR information. * Italian CRESO (Complesso Radar Eliportato per la Sorveglianza) and associated ground stations. Installed aboard an Augusta Bell AB-412 helicopter, the battlefield surveillance radar provides ground MTI. The platform has an electronic warfare support measures That division of electronic warfare involving action taken to search for, intercept, identify and locate radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition. (ESM) capability. * Norwegian Mobile Tactical Operations Center A physical groupment of those elements of a general and special staff concerned with the current tactical operations and the tactical support thereof. Also called TOC. See also command post. (MTOC MTOC microtubule-organizing center. ) for receiving and exploiting ground MTI and SAR information. Norway is further demonstrating and integrating MTI and SAR information within the Norwegian command, control, and information system. * The United Kingdom is developing the ASTOR or Airborne Stand-Off Radar. This system's platform is a modified Global Express airframe carrying a multimode ground surveillance radar (GSR) capable of both ground MTI and SAR imagery. The standards under development for interoperability through CAESAR will apply to all U.S. platforms and ground station systems providing, receiving, or processing MTI and SAR data. This includes current and future Army systems, including Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL), Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. (TUAV), Aerial Common Sensor The Lockheed Martin Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) platform was a reconnaissance aircraft airframe, for the United States Army and Navy. The aircraft would have been able to detect troop movements, intercept enemy communications and radar transmissions, and communicate with other (ACS), and the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A). U.S. systems currently participating in the CAESAR Project include-- * E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS). * U-2 Advanced Synthetic Airborne Radar System (ASARS) Improvement Program (AIP). * RQ-4 Global Hawk The Northrop Grumman (formerly Ryan Aeronautical) RQ-4 Global Hawk (known as Tier II+ during development) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the US Air Force as a surveillance aircraft. UAV. * RQ-1 A/B Predator UAV. * Common Ground Station (CGS) and the Joint Services Workstation (JSWS). * The experimental Moving Target Indicator Exploitation (MTIX) Workstation. Project Background The CAESAR Project has only formally existed since 2000, but efforts have been underway since 1995 to work issues associated with interoperability of NATO member nations' ISR assets. The work began through the efforts of NC3A, located at The Hague, Netherlands. In 1997, France hosted six of the current CAESAR nations in the Paris Interoperability Experiment. At this experiment, one Joint STARS aircraft and a forerunner to the CGS (the Joint STARS Ground Station Module), and two French HORIZON helicopters with two HORIZON ground stations gathered and exchanged data on ground vehicle movement. Both the U.S. Joint STARS and French HORIZON successfully provided surveillance of ground and helicopter traffic in Kosovo in Operation ALLIED FORCE in 1999. However, this operation specifically pointed the need to establish greater interoperability and integration of ISR assets to support coalition military operations. Since then, CAESAR-related platforms, simulators, ground stations, and crews have participated in and further demonstrated interoperability in three SHAPE-sponsored exercises in Europe. These exercises were: * JOINT PROJECT OPTIC WINDMILL/CLEAN HUNTER 1999, an Allied Forces North (AFNORTH) theater missile defense (TMD) exercise. * CLEAN HUNTER 2001, an AFNORTH/AIRNORTH TMD exercise. * STRONG RESOLVE 2002, an AFNORTH/Joint Command North exercise with CAESAR assets primarily supporting the land component commanders in Norway. As a result of these exercises and other laboratory simulation tests, technical and architectural interoperability have become a reality. SHAPE- and coalition-endorsed CONOPs and TTP exist today. These documents will become a part of U.S. joint and Service doctrine through on-going coordination with U.S. Joint Forces Command; the multiService Air, Land, and Sea Application (ALSA) Center at Langley, Virginia; Headquarters, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and USAIC; and the U.S. Air Forces' Aerospace Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Center (A2CISRC) also at Langley, Virginia. The CAESAR Project has received numerous awards among the member nations. These include selection in the United States as the Department of Defense's "ACTD Operational Manager of the Year" award for 2001, and the "ACTD Technical Manager of the Year" award for 2002. The Project has funding as an ACTD through 2005, with supporting major exercises in planning for 2003 and 2004. There are quarterly meetings of the three coalition working groups: operations, technical interoperability, and architecture development. The project also plans follow-on ACTD and project efforts. Through the CAESAR Project, a unit with CGS will be able to receive information from the participating coalition surveillance platforms. Coalition commanders operating in the joint operations area An area of land, sea, and airspace, defined by a geographic combatant commander or subordinate unified commander, in which a joint force commander (normally a joint task force commander) conducts military operations to accomplish a specific mission. with compatible workstations can also receive the same ISR information, nearly simultaneously, from the designated U.S. and other coalition surveillance platforms. When networked through tactical communications, the CGS operators also collaborate with other workstation operators in the coalition network of ground stations and retrieve information from a shared database. Outlook Widely considered a Department of Defense and SHAPE/NATO "success story," the CAESAR ACTD and Coalition Project uses the philosophy of practicing before crises; these on-going efforts will allow expanded situational awareness and enhanced capability for targeting. The Project efforts provide commanders from brigade to the operational levels with greater access to ISR assets and enable a sharing of data. These efforts will support future operations and ultimately allow U.S. and other coalition commanders to gain a common perspective and improved understanding of the battlefield. While there is still work to accomplish, efforts are well underway to achieve interoperability with these critical high-demand, low-density surveillance assets. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] [FIGURE 4 OMITTED] Figure 5. CAESAR Participants and Systems for Integration. Canada Space-based radar ground MTI France HORIZON and ground stations Germany Interoperable exploitation work station Italy CRESO and ground stations Nc3a/shape Alliance ground surveillance (AGS) simulations Norway Mobile Tactical Operations Center United Kingdom ASTOR and Ground Stations United States Platforms: Joint STARS U-2, ASARS, Predator, and Global Hawk Ground Stations: Common Ground Station (CGS)/Joint Services Workstation (JSWS), Moving Target Indicator Exploitation (MTIX) Workstation Colonel Steve Bond is the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Systems Manager for Joint STARS, Common Ground Station, and Joint Tactical Terminal; he was recently assigned responsibilities for the objective Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A). He is also the U.S. Operational Manager for the CAESAR ACTD and chairs the Seven-Nation Coalition Operations Working Group. In recognition for the outstanding work performed by members of the CAESAR Project, Colonel Bond was selected the Department of Defense ACTD Operations Manager-of-the-Year in 2001. He holds a Master of Arts Master of Arts Noun a degree, usually postgraduate in a nonscientific subject, or a person holding this degree Noun 1. Master of Arts - a master's degree in arts and sciences Artium Magister, MA, AM degree in History from the University of Kansas The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU or just Kansas) is an institution of higher learning in Lawrence, Kansas. The main campus resides atop Mount Oread. and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Readers can reach him via E-mail at bonds @hua.army.mil. |
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