By Geoff Fein
Raytheon [RTN] is exploring a variant of its Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR), currently in use by British forces in Afghanistan, as a potential platform for the Army’s Aerial Common Sensor (ACS), a company official said.
“It’s basically the exact same platform. We will do an upgraded radar and combine that with a signals intelligence and communications intelligence suite and that will form the basis of Raytheon’s entry into the Army’s ACS program,” Tim Carey, vice president intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance systems, told Defense Daily in a recent interview.
“We know the ACS program is one of the program that’s under review, but assuming that that program goes forward, we think that the ASTOR program provides us a very firm foundation to really bring a unique capability to the U.S. Army,” he said.
The Army is likely to issue the ACS request for proposal this month.
ASTOR is in use in Afghanistan, specifically in Helmand Province, by the United Kingdom’s Three Commander Brigade, Group Capt. Mark Harry Kemsley, told Defense Daily in the same recent interview.
Kemsley said upon arrival in theater, ASTOR was thrown right into the mix. He arrived in Afghanistan before Christmas 2008, just as phase three of the ASTOR program was beginning.
“On arrival, pretty much in the first or second mission, it was clear the tempo of operations was higher than we had anticipated,” Kemsley said.
But ASTOR’s trial by fire was a success, he added, as was the crews’.
“The customer very quickly asked us for a great deal more support than we had initially planned to give him, because he could regularly see the support that we were able to give him which he didn’t previously have,” Kemsley added.
ASTOR uses the Sentinel R Mk 1 business jet, equipped with radar, a variety of data links and communications systems, all operated by two pilots, two airborne analysts and an airborne mission commander, he said.
Phase three, which was the U.K.’s inaugural trial deployment, has been extended, Kemsley said.
“It was initially considered to be the initial deployment, but the deployment has continued, so we are going to keep phase three running until we reach…inital operational capability (IOC).,” he said. “The system is not yet full developed…we are still undergoing trials, development, and training of crews.
“But the initial deployment went so well we realize there are still things for us to learn and for us to develop. So phase three will continue now until we achieve IOC, which is…the early part of next year,” Kemsley said.
The U.K. currently has two combat ready crews and Kemsley expects to have four more in the next couple of weeks. “[We are] leaning toward a total number of 10 crews on the squadron by the time we reach FOC (full operational capability) which is in the early part of 2011 on current plans,” Kemsley said.
“We have now established a fairly well organized training system that is in three parts. The crews are both air and ground. The first squadron is made up of all three services- -we have a large contingent of army personnel on what is a Royal Air Force squadron, and a small naval contingent as well,” he said.
Currently there are about 340 people in the crew, and that will grow to about 420 sometime next year, Kemsley added.
The U.K. is looking beyond FOC to see what is can do with ASTOR, Kemsley said.
“The conversations I have had with Raytheon have begun to look at ASTOR beyond the obvious military ones we are currently engaged in…more humanitarian operations for example or military support to civilian powers. That is something I believe we are duty bound to explore given that this system is flexible, very complicated but sophisticated, and able to do a lot of these tasks very well,” he said. “We now need to explore those to develop [even further].”
Until ASTOR arrived in theater, U.K. forces in Afghanistan did not have a wide area surveillance capability, Kemsley said.
“We did not have a wide area surveillance capability that allows the soldier on the round to fully understand his environment beyond the rifle sight or the binoculars he is carrying. We are able to give him an understanding of his environment that stretches out for hundreds of kilometers around him,” Kemsley said. “That capability is very very key to the success we are doing in Afghanistan, given the size of the terrain we are working across [Afghanistan] and the shortage of troops on the ground. Putting them in the right place at the right time, cross queuing other platforms to support the soldier, is a real benefit for the U.K. forces and it is now beginning top pay dividends.”