Gulf War Air Power Survey
Download 5.55 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Long-Range Communications Systems
- Tactical Communications Systems
- Maintenance of Meteorological Equipment
- Table 20 Meteorological Tactical Equipment
Appendix F The Weather Information System Weather support for contingency operations calls for full duplex (i.e., send and receive) teletype and receive-only facsimile circuits for all air bases and Army divisional size units. However, during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, various factors such as airlift constraints, communications engineering limitations, communications saturation, and the size of deployment led to deviations from this doctrinal concept of operations.1263 Moreover, the distinction between long-range and tactical communications systems became blurred during the Gulf War. Long-range circuits became tactical circuits in many cases. For example, the Standard Base Level Computer system and the Automated Digital Network were used by both the Air Force and the Army to pass weather information between units and headquarters elements within the theater. Long-Range Communications Systems The Automated Weather Network (AWN) and the Air Force Digital Graphics System (AFDIGS) were the primary systems used to transmit weather information to and from the Gulf region. To some extent, Automated Digital Network and the Navy's Naval Oceanographic Data Dissemination System (NODDS) were also used.1264 Weather data were transmitted by way of landlines and satellite links. However, the multiple conversions of the data from analog to digital format resulted in serious signal degradation. Frequent bridging of equipment, the use of different types of circuits, and multiple satellite hops were the principal causes of the degradation. Incompatible modems complicated interfaces between landlines and satellite links and between the automated digital weather switches in the United States and western Europe and the terminal equipment in the theater. In addition there was a shortage of terminal equipment within the theater to send and receive data.1265 A short-term solution implemented by the Air Force was to use the Standard Base Level Computer (SBLC) network connection. This system was a standard Air Force network used primarily by TAC for supply purposes. It had intratheater circuits as well as a long-range circuit to Langley AFB, Virginia. This system was largely operative in mid-January.1266 The Automated Digital Network system was used by CENTAF as well as ARCENT. In addition, it supported secure communications up to SECRET and was a reliable back-up hard-wired communications system. But, the system was slow and became saturated very quickly with weather data in its demand to support many customers.1267 CENTAF began receiving weather bulletins over the Automated Digital Network on 11 August and received a dedicated send and receive terminal on 28 September. ARCENT received their dedicated terminal on 18 October. Weather teletype circuits to CENTCOM and CENTAF were established by means of a landline from Air Force Global Weather Center through the Carswell weather switch to Forts Meade and Detrick, Maryland, and then by satellite relay to the theater. The CENTCOM Joint Operations Center had a receive only teletype transmission capability by 28 August and full duplex capabilities by 26 September; CENTAF had full duplex teletype capabilities by the end of August. ARCENT weather stations, although able to receive teletype data, never acquired full duplex capabilities by means of the Automated Weather Network. ARCENT received its teletype data from Croughton through an Army communications site at Landstuhl, Germany.1268 Both the Air Force and ARCENT had problems with facsimile transmitted weather data. The Air Force turned to the U.S. Navy for help in receiving facsimile data during the four-month period when long-range lines were not available. This was accomplished by means of the Naval Oceanographic Data Dissemination System, which transmitted from the Navy Fleet Numerical Weather Center at Monterey, California to the Air Force Desert Storm Forecast Unit. On the other hand, in early October, ARCENT sought to acquire facsimile data by means of a dedicated European Digital Graphics System circuit originating at RAF Croughton. The circuit routed through Pirmasens, Germany, but the quality of the data was not very good.1269 Tactical Communications Systems Tactical communications systems included Quick Reaction Communications Terminal (QRCT) for the Air Force and the Goldwing high- frequency radio system for the U.S. Army. Also, the Tactical Imagery Dissemination System (TIDS) was used for in-theater distribution of satellite imagery and a hard-wire tactical facsimile (TACFAX) circuit was acquired. The quick-reaction terminal, a slightly modified version of the Goldwing (officially the AN/GRC-27) was in the process of distribution to weather teams when the Gulf War started.1270 By mid-September, CENTAF communications and weather support personnel had coordinated a communications package. The configuration reduced the number of hard-wired teletype send/receive locations to four and required the use of high-frequency radio communications. The full duplex capabilities were installed between Carswell and weather sites located at Riyadh, Dhahran, Al Dhafra, and Taif. The plan called for the further dissemination of the weather data to in-country locations by means of high-frequency radio. This method gave them a receive-only teletype data capability at most in-country weather sites. Dhahran and Taif sites became operational in mid-January, and Al Dhafra did not become operational until early February.1271 After the VII Corps arrived in Saudi Arabia in November 1990, ARCENT subdivided its network into XVIII Corps, VII Corps, and SOCCENT nets. The VII Corps high-frequency network became operational on 21 December. They had brought with them the U.S. Army, Europe Automated Weather System, thus introducing a second high-frequency tactical communications system into the theater. However, the modems were not compatible with the Goldwings or the quick-reaction terminals used by other Army and Air Force units. They found it necessary to exchange floppy disks between the two for retransmission to weather teams.1272 Maintenance of Meteorological Equipment There were six pieces of tactical meteorological equipment deployed to the Persian Gulf region. Three of the systems had been recently procured, and many weather units had not received all the equipment nor had any significant training for them been accomplished. Table 20 lists the meteorological equipment deployed and the number of failures experienced with the equipment. The maintenance concept employed for the tactical meteorological equipment was a two-level maintenance concept. Equipment not repairable at the unit level was to be returned to the United States for repairs. The turnaround time for the equipment was inadequate to meet customer needs. By January 1991, the Air Weather Service was working towards establishing an in-country maintenance capability for the equipment.1273 Maintenance-related problems were primarily due to moisture, heat, dust, and sand. Moisture was the prevalent factor early in the deployment, while heat-related problems as well as difficulties with dust and sand surfaced later. Thirteen GMQ-33s were returned to the United States for repairs with seven being returned to the theater before the end of the war. Eighteen TMQ-34s were returned, fifteen because of failed components and three because of wiring problems. Only one MARWIN system had maintenance problems and the TQM-36, BOS, and TPS-68 had
Directory: sgp -> library sgp -> Sgp country Programme Strategy for op6 sgp -> Itu-d study groups sgp -> Internship with Congressional Campaign Exploratory Committee — Only 4 spots left! sgp -> Using Well Logs in the Petroleum Industry sgp -> Telecommunication development bureau itu-d study groups Download 5.55 Mb. Share with your friends:
|