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From a distance, the F-16s parked on the ramp at the Virginia Air National Guard Base in Richmond appear very similar. Each one carries AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles on its wingtips, a 370-gallon tank under each wing, and what appears to be a 300-gallon fuel tank on its centerline. But on closer inspection, one of those centerline fuel tanks on one aircraft looks a little odd. Flat surfaces and a rectangular outline of a door on its face distinguish this centerline loading from the others. In flight, the solid door rolls back to expose a window that protects an electro-optical camera that records ground imagery in great detail. In other words, the faceted tank is a reconnaissance pod. And it represents the rebirth of manned tactical reconnaissance for the US Air Force.

The last active-duty reconnaissance squadron-the 12th RS at Bergstrom AFB, Texas-was disbanded in 1992. With the September 1995 retirement of the last RF-4C from the 152nd Tactical Reconnaissance Group in Reno, Nevada, both USAF and the Air National Guard would have bowed out of the manned tactical reconnaissance business. The RF-4s had been put to pasture for several reasons. Of the more significant, the Phantoms had become very expensive to operate and maintain, especially for a single mission. Some believed other reconnaissance assets, such as satellites, U-2s, SR-71s, and low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, could compensate for the loss of manned tactical reconnaissance squadrons. Gen. Ronald Fogleman, USAF Chief of Staff, however, saw a near-term need. Before the last RF-4 flew to the airplane boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, the Air Force decided to revisit manned tactical reconnaissance.

Consequently, the Air Force contracted in May 1995 with what is now called the Quick Reaction Capability Organization of Lockheed Martin's Systems Development Center in Fort Worth to design, build, and test an F-16 reconnaissance pod. The first two pods were delivered within five months.

"Tactical manned recce gives us more flexibility," explains Capt. Jamie Reiner, a project lead and weapons officer at the 192nd FG. "A pilot in the cockpit provides better situational awareness. A pilot can react to changing situations. Unmanned vehicles are much less effective in maneuvering through bad weather, for example. But our biggest advantage with this system is the speed at which we can process images and disseminate them."

Recent advances in digital imaging deserve much of the credit for this advantage. An electro-optical back on a standard KS-87 camera accounts for the processing speed. (The KS-87 was used on RF-4s.) The digital camera is built by Recon/Optical, Inc. Instead of film, the camera back contains a wafer holding four million photosensitive elements called pixels (or picture elements). Technically, the sensor is called a large-area charge-coupled device focal plane array. The camera back sends single images or frames as four-megabyte digital files to a recorder that stores them on magnetic tape. The recorder, built by Ampex Corp., is used by other reconnaissance aircraft, including the U-2 and the SR-71. At a maximum imaging rate of 2.5 frames per second and a tape capacity of forty-eight gigabytes, the system can store over an hour's worth of continuous flight time (about 12,000 images). These images can then be downloaded to a computer and viewed almost instantly, thereby sidestepping the time and extensive equipment involved in chemically processing film.

Digital images offer several other advantages over traditional film-based images. They can be reproduced more easily. They can even be readily encrypted. They can be disseminated over a wide variety of channels, including satellite links, phone lines, and computer networks. They can be digitally enhanced-magnified, brightened, and contrasted. Furthermore, the sensor of the digital system can detect frequencies that extend slightly beyond the visible spectrum. Unlike film, it can capture useful images in near-dark conditions, allowing operations at dawn and dusk.

"In addition, our camera has a significant tactical advantage over other electro-optical sensors currently available," says Andre Lareau, co-inventor of the camera. "Other EO sensors rely on linear, instead of large-area, focal plane arrays. They are called line scanners because they build images by scanning small portions of an area at a time. The reconnaissance aircraft carrying them must stay relatively stable and fly a non-maneuvering path during the imaging process. These sensors also require extended exposure time in a threat area. Our camera basically takes a snapshot of an area. It can grab images while maneuvering."

The camera is operated from a small panel on the cockpit's left control console. The panel, built by Terma Electronik of Denmark, replaces the existing electronic countermeasure control panel and displaces the head-up display panel, which is moved farther aft on the console. The Terma panel has a discrete power switch for turning the recce system on and off and four multifunction buttons that select recce pod operating modes, parameters, and menu displays. The panel retains controls for the electronic countermeasure pod. The pilot marks images by hitting the uncage button on the throttle. The marked images, called events, act as reference points when the tape is reviewed. The camera can be set to look down angles of fifteen or thirty degrees. It can be fitted with lenses of three-, six-, or twelve-inch focal lengths. Camera angle and lens length are set on the ground and cannot be adjusted in flight.

The camera incorporates inertial navigation system and radar altimeter information from the F-16's data bus. With this information, it adjusts for ground speed and aircraft attitude to reduce image blurring. Interestingly, these adjustments are non-mechanical but are done electronically at the microchip level. The camera also uses INS and radar altimeter information in determining an optimum frame rate to fully cover an area. Each frame slightly overlaps the previous.

The system also records global positioning system information along with each digital image. Like most ANG F-16 units, the 192nd's Block 30 aircraft do not have GPS. To compensate, a GPS antenna is installed on the ammo drum cover, on the spine of the aircraft just behind the inflight refueling receptacle. The receiver is installed inside the pod. GPS information is available to the recce system only and is not accessible to the pilot in flight. The recce-specific GPS will not be needed if Block 30 aircraft are upgraded with GPS.

The aircraft integration and the pod itself are products of Lockheed Martin. The pod was certified to the flight envelope of a 300-gallon centerline fuel tank in flight tests in Fort Worth. It has plenty of room for additional sensors. The Recon/Optical camera first flew in 1993 on a T-33. It has since flown on an RF-4, F-14, and a P-3 in addition to the F-16.

The 192nd FG has four recce pods and the USAF is considering the purchase of twenty more. The additional pods will likely be dispersed among four or five other ANG units. The decision to buy additional pods is being driven by the capability the ANG has already demonstrated with the original four.

Virginia's 192nd FG began working with the recce system in April 1995, less than a month after Gen. Fogleman announced the need for the capability. "We were selected by the Guard Bureau to do this because they had confidence in us," says Col. Robert Seifert, the 192nd's operations group commander. "We stipulated early on that we did not want to become a recce squadron. And I don't think the Air Force wants a dedicated tactical recce squadron. Tactical reconnaissance will be an added capability to a general-purpose unit. We call it a 'special capability.'

"Maverick missiles are another special capability. About half of our pilots are qualified to shoot Mavericks. Of course, such categorization is aircraft specific. For an A-10 pilot, for example, Maverick missiles are a primary weapon. Every A-10 pilot is probably Maverick-qualified."

Seifert and other pilots who have flown the system say it is fairly easy to learn. "Flying the fighter and dropping bombs comprises about eighty percent of what it takes to take pictures," Seifert explains. "We are pointing the airplane at ground targets or subjects. If pilots can drop good bombs, they can take good pictures."

Capt. Reiner has been working on operational concepts for the recce pods. "We will receive tasking from an intelligence agency," he explains, "who will provide target coordinates. They may assign four or five targets for a particular mission. We will use our standard air-to-ground symbology to find these targets. For point targets, the agency will usually specify resolution, which will define the lens, camera angle, and acceptable range from the target. We trade field of view for resolution in selecting a lens."

Reiner says the fifteen-degree angle is normally used for point targets. The thirty-degree angle is more suited for area coverage and better at looking down into forests. The thirty-degree setting is normally used with a shorter lens to produce a wider field of view. The operating envelope is between 2,000 and 20,000 feet with slant ranges of slightly over a half mile to almost thirteen miles.

"We will fly in two ships for mutual support," Reiner continues. "Both aircraft will carry recce pods, one as a backup. The electronic countermeasure pod will be moved from centerline to a wing station. Each airplane will fly with two air-to-air missiles. We could also hang other ordnance out there on a wing station. We usually run the system a few seconds on the ground to make sure it is working. As we approach the target, we start running the camera. As we roll in, we hit an event marker when the target is in the field of view. We turn the camera off after we pass the target area."

After landing, the recce tape is removed from the pod and received in a ground station. The station is housed in a small portable shelter. The shelter constitutes one unit of a former photoprocessing and interpretation facility (called a PPIF and pronounced "piff"). Lt. Col. Ben Petrone, however, would like to get away from the PPIF designation for his one-of-a-kind ground station. "We've been tossing around acronyms, but haven't decided on one yet," says Petrone, the chief intelligence officer for the l92nd. "We want to get away from PPIF because people associate that term with large wet-based film processing facilities. Those facilities may have filled fifteen to twenty of these portable shelters. We can load this facility, its own generator, and the personnel to run the station on only one C-130."

The station contains two sets of the usual hardware for briefing pilots on potential threats before flight (these are called combat intelligence systems). These systems can download satellite-based reconnaissance information from anywhere in the world. Attached to one set is a recorder for playing back the tape from the recce pod and hardware for converting the information to a form usable for the combat intelligence system. The two sets are placed back to back in the middle of the shelter. One side is used for mission planning and the other for debriefing.

"We still have the same intel function we had before we picked up the recce operation," Petrone says. "Now, though, we can use the combat intelligence system to send out information as well as to receive it." The two-way arrangement may transform the relationship between fighter units and intelligence centers. The system will likely result in the assignment of imagery analysts, or photo interpreters, to recce-equipped units. These people will sift through the imagery and determine what to enhance and highlight before sending it on.

"How we configure the pod for a particular mission will depend on the tasking," Petrone explains. "A collection manager at our unit may have to communicate with the tasking agency to define their needs. They will determine the best time of day, camera angle, altitude, and other variables. We'll have to consider threats, flying restrictions, and topographical features as well. It is not always a simple assignment. In addition, we will be working for a mix of customers. Ground commanders may want a fix on what the bad guys are doing, locations of air forces, and choke points. Air Force commanders may use it for pre-strike photography, so that aircrews can get a feel for what an area will look like when they get there. They may also use it to assess battle damage. The system is brand new and one-of-a-kind. We are still putting all the pieces together and figuring out how it will work with existing systems."

For reasons of economy and schedule, the recce pod was kept relatively simple. Additional sensors and new technologies, however, may eventually be accommodated. Multispectral sensors and a datalink are prime candidates. Dual-spectrum systems with infrared as well as daylight sensors would allow the pod to be used at night. A datalink would allow images to be transmitted directly from the aircraft to a ground station. Hardware for allowing pilots to sort through images in flight before transmitting is also on the horizon. Soon, Recon/Optical expects to fly an expanded (twenty-five megapixel) electro-optical back that increases the field of view by a factor of 2.4 for a given lens. The new back is a drop-in replacement and uses data compression to maintain an output data rate equivalent to the four-megapixel configuration. The company is also working on infrared capability, which would add another camera to the pod.

The pod itself represents yet another capability for F-l 6 units. "You can look at the recce task as a simple addition," Seifert explains. "Essentially, it adds two switches. One turns the camera on and the other marks events on the tape. Pilots fly it similarly to dropping a bomb. Its operational simplicity helps. But we must still train pilots to use it and then keep them proficient. We also have to troubleshoot it, maintain it, process the information coming from it, and transmit that information to a customer. It's a new system. We won't know what is fully expected of us until we have flown it a couple of years.

"This new capability is a tribute to the airplane," Seifert continues. "The F-16 can incorporate all these different weapons and systems. Now we can strap on a recce pod, too. And the capability doesn't require that much extra training for the pilot. The airplane can do so many things, and do them all so well."