Ground Surveillance and Control Elements of the Tactical Air Control System (TACS) With Modular Control Equipment

The TACS provides the Tactical Air Forces (TAF) Commander the capability to direct and control tactical air assets. The system is highly flexible and may be employed in support of a unified command, Joint Task Force (JTF), as an augmentation resource or as an independent element. This thesis focused on the ground surveillance and control elements of the TACS. The elements of the ground TACS are: Control and Reporting Center (CRC), Control and Reporting Post (CRP), Message Processing Center (MPC), and Forward Air Control Post (FACP). This study examined the capability of Modular Control Equipment (MCE), envisioned to replace the CRC, CRP, MPC, and FACP, to improve command and control provided by the TACS. The investigation revealed that the ground surveillance and control equipment in the TACS is deficient and no longer provides the deployment and employment capabilities required by the Tactical Air Forces (TAF) Commander. Modular Control Equipment would eliminate these deficiencies and improve command and control provided by the TACS. MCE satisfies all of the requirements specified in USAF ROC 8-75A (Improved Forward Air Control Post) and TAF Statement of Need 316-80 (Improved Surveillance and Control System). In addition, the Air Force is tasked to provide Close Air Support (CAS), Battlefield Air Interdiction (BAI), and Air Interdiction (AI) support to the Army Commander. Research and development efforts indicate that a Ground Attack Control Center (GACC) capability can be produced using MCE as the hardware baseline. This new GACC capability would enable the Air Force to control and execute ground attack missions on the AirLand Battlefield.

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