By Marina Malenic
The Air Force is preparing to deploy two squadrons of Hawker Beechcraft C-12 Huron twin-engine turboprop aircraft this spring to aid in gathering, analysis and dissemination of tactical intelligence, officials said last week.
Incorporation of sophisticated sensors, satellite links and communications capability makes the aircraft–designated the MC-12W–a complete collection, processing, analysis and dissemination system for battlefield intelligence, Brig. Gen. Blair Hansen, the Air Force director for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, said during a Jan. 23 Pentagon briefing.
“Intelligence was previously centered at a high level,” Hansen said. “Technology has flattened that. Now, it is immediately consumable.”
Approximately 100 personnel will be designated to man the two active squadrons and one rotational training unit of 15 aircraft apiece. Two pilots and two sensor operators will be aboard each aircraft during missions, which are expected to begin in April.
Hansen estimated the cost of the effort–designated “Project Liberty”–at $950 million. Each fully equipped aircraft will cost approximately $16.5 million.
“For the long term, the Air Force is serious and being suited up for the counterinsurgency mission,” Hansen said.
The new manned ISR effort has not been designed specifically for operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, though squadrons may be deployed in one or both countries. Instead, Hansen said, the Air Force is preparing for counter-terrorism operations anywhere in the world in what he called a “global whack-a-mole” effort against terrorists.
Senior Pentagon officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, have pressed the services–and in particular the Air Force–to provide more ISR capability to soldiers on the battlefield (Defense Daily, June 4). Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved a $2.2 billion package of ISR initiatives this summer (Defense Daily, Aug. 14). Gates has repeatedly criticized the services for focusing too much on high-end weapon buys geared toward conventional wars instead of on the more basic equipping needs of the current, low-intensity conflicts (Defense Daily, Oct 1).
According to Air Force briefing slides, Gates on July 1 of last year approved procurement of 37 C-12 class aircraft “to augment unmanned systems.” Hansen said 31 planes have been purchased to date and that the remainder of the funding needed–some $100 million–will be requested in the upcoming budget cycle.
Thus far, the Air Force has responded to the call for more ISR primarily by increasing its unmanned aerial system (UAS) purchases and activity. For example, the service last year accelerated MQ-1 Predator combat air patrols (CAP) four times, and the first MQ-9 Reaper deployment occurred last July–one full year ahead of schedule (Defense Daily, July 25).
Unlike either of those platforms, Hansen said, the new manned fleet was purchased through a sole-source contract with Hawker Beechcraft because “speed is of the essence.”
Last fall, Air Force and Air National Guard officials established a mission qualification training detachment for the MC-12s at Key Field in Meridian, Miss. The Mississippi Air National Guard is conducting Project Liberty training (Defense Daily, Oct. 22, 2008).