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Live link to battlefield
By Lt Peter Martinelli

Edition 1164, April 19, 2007
 
Electronic warfare: Battlefield analyst Darren Carter shows Lt Adam Steven and Bdr Adrian Richards how their artillery fire missions are represented on the LIS map.
 
Hard-wired: Pte Joel Redden, 2RAR, scans for targets while his movements are tracked electronically.
Photos by Cpl Chris Moore
AS 120 diggers battled the heat and a fierce “enemy” in north Queensland last month, their every move was studied kilometres away in air-conditioned comfort.

The soldiers of A Coy 2RAR battled fictional Musorian Armed Forces during a combat readiness exercise that was wired in to one of the Army’s newest training assets – the Combat Training Centre’s $40 million Live Instrumental System (LIS).

Their movements in Townsville Field Training Area (TFTA) were beamed via ground relay systems and displayed on electronic maps in the white LIS trailer about 20km from the action.

“It provides us with a snapshot of reality of what we thought actually happened, compared to what did actually happen,” OC A Coy Maj Andrew Stevens said.

“It’s a very good measure of how effective our command and control was and how effective the operations we conducted were against the enemy.”

As the soldiers broke through the urban training facility of Line Creek Junction, incoming rounds were tracked by their Tactical Engagement Simulation System (TESS) vests.

The wearers knew of hits, near misses and wounds thanks to sound effects from the 4kg vests.

TESS also tracked incoming mortar and artillery barrages and wall-mounted pods located throughout the urban centre recorded hits both inside and outside of buildings.

“It lets the blokes know as close to reality as we can get how effective their fire positions are and how effective the fire support they are generating is,” Maj Stevens said.

Whenever a soldier was “wounded”, his virtual health would worsen if first aid was not applied with electronic medical tags.

The system can impose 74 kinds of combat wounds if the vest is hit by lasers simulating small arms, grenade or heavy weapons.
Vehicles could also be disabled and repaired through the TESS and LIS system.

Accepted for use by the Army last November, LIS can track units over a 900 sq km area.

During their time at TFTA, the diggers worked through realistic scenarios likely to be encountered during the “three block war”, a term coined by former US Marine Commandant Gen Charles Krulak and reinforced throughout the Army’s Future Land Operating Concept-Complex Warfighting.

The term refers to the scenario that soldiers could conduct humanitarian, peacekeeping and warfighting tasks in the space of three city blocks, a likely possibility in the current regional and global environment.

CTC Live CO Lt-Col John Simeoni said the LIS was an excellent addition to “what has always been the strength of CTC Live – experienced and well-trained observer trainers”.

“We now have the capability to monitor and record all aspects of the indirect and close battle,” Lt-Col Simeoni said.

“It gives us the ability to take snapshots of any stage of the battle highlighting the individual positions of all members of the combat team in relation to the enemy dispositions, and then couple this with recorded combat net radio orders to deliver ground truth to all commanders within the combat team and battle group.”