Top guns
Volume 11, No. 54, October 19, 2006
By Cpl Mike McSweeney
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Suit up: A 1 Sqn pilot and navigator gear up in Life Support Section before the mission to Shoalwater Bay.
Photo by AC Aaron Curran |
THE 105mm Hammel gun pounded the hillside and the sinuses of the soldiers firing it. Sudden shouting silenced the gun as another soldier worked overtime on the radio.
The words “clear hot” crackled over the airwaves and with that, two F-111C bombers screamed overhead and unleashed a lethal barrage on the Shoalwater Bay hillside.
The aircraft had barely banked left behind the feature when the 1 Fd Regt gun opened up again.
Held in October, Exercise Premier Gunner was not just an artillery exercise. It was also an opportunity to further develop the interoperability between Air Force and Army as both services work towards providing ground commanders with effective Close Air Support (CAS) options.
Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, formerly known as FAC-Gs, are specially-trained soldiers who provide the vital link between air and ground assets.
OC 82 Wing Group-Captain Leo Davies said the exercise provided the opportunity for the JTACs and the crews of his two F-111 squadrons to keep their skills honed.
“JTAC is a very perishable skill,” he said.
“What Premier Gunner provides is a chance for the JTACs to get a whole bunch of aircraft controls in and learn from those and keep their currency up.”
“It is also an opportunity for aircrew and their controllers to come up with a better way to get the job done. Operating effectively in a complex urban environment is one of our challenges in the future.”
Gp-Capt Davies said Army and Air Force were working together to develop the capability in Australia, which included looking at communications systems and updating doctrine and procedures.
JTAC Bdr Douglas Chapman said recent experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan proved the need for the ADF to develop the capability.
“It’s very important, particularly with the high deployment tempo,” Bdr Chapman said.
“For the Reconstruction Task Force that is deployed now [in Afghanistan], air is a vital asset.
“It is a vital asset for any ground commander.”
Bdr Chapman is posted to JTAC Troop – a pool of JTACs from various corps who can be attached to deploying units. Other units, particularly SF units, have permanent members who are JTAC trained.
One of the roles of a JTAC is to coordinate CAS missions with the Army Ground Liaison Officer (GLO) embedded with the air support element. The GLO is another vital link in the CAS chain, helping to prevent fratricide and ensuring the effective conduct of CAS missions by keeping aircrews well informed.
CAS is a more challenging role for aircrews, even in the planning phase. 1 Sqn F-111C pilot Flt-Lt Chris “Piggy” Lowrey said for a strategic target, they can plan for all contingencies and study the target in detail.
“You don’t get that in CAS,” Flt-Lt Lowrey said. “You don’t know where your targets are and you don’t know where you’re attacking from.”
“There are a lot of things that will happen within that five minutes of rocking up to the target area that you’ve just got to be flexible with.”
Piggy’s navigator, Flg-Off Steve “Midi” Thornton said once the aircraft is in the target area he is busy getting an update from the JTAC on weather, terrain, threats and target location.
“We’re talking to the guys on the ground, taking care of the systems management, making sure our kit is cued up depending on what sort of CAS profiles you’re doing,” Flg-Off Thornton said.
The different profiles refer to the altitude and style of attack.
“Low-level CAS is pretty challenging for both left and right seaters in the jet. It gets pretty busy,” he said.
Flt-Lt Lowrey said once the JTACs were satisfied the crew had correctly identified the target, they would give the crew the clearance to release their weapons.
“The JTACs these days are becoming harder with aircrews. Rules of engagement won’t permit rounds going 100m away,” Flt-Lt Lowrey said.
Flt-Lt Lowrey said crews were enjoying working with the JTACs on developing the CAS capability.
“I see this as the future of how we drop weapons.”
