Listen up, this is a first for air combat

Leading Aircraftwoman Peta Munn, of No. 3 Control and Reporting Unit, surveys the air space over RAAF Base Tindal during Exercise Pitch Black.

Photo by CPL Darren Hilder

Sergeants Mark Wood and Joe Oliveri, the 3CRU members who engineered the Voice Over Internet Protocol communications system for Pitch Black.

INTERNET Protocol (IP) technology has been used by the Air Force for the first time in support of air combat operations.

After a successful experiment last year, Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) requested the installation of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications for the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at RAAF Base Glenbrook during Exercise Pitch Black 2004.

This meant that JFACC had the ability to transmit and receive on remotely located radios, by using either an IP phone or a laptop computer at RAAF Base Glenbrook.

Effectively, JFACC was put right into the cockpit of the aircraft flying in PB04. Sergeants Mark Wood and Joe Oliveri, of No. 3 Control and Reporting Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown, were called on to engineer the VoIP circuits.

SGTs Wood and Oliveri provided a voice link using newly purchased routers, special-application software and laptop computers to create a network that connected the CAOC directly to air-ground-air radios at Darwin, Tindal and Delamere Air Weapons Range.

They took the lead in the design, purchase, testing and installation of the VoIP network, and throughout PB04 were on hand to deal with any problems that might have occurred.

The CAOC reported that the technology was very successful, opening the way to further explore and define operational uses for IP technology.

 

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