Close-air support just a phone call away

Imagine being pinned down by enemy forces, with no relief in sight. Now, imagine picking up a phone and calling your friendly local fighter pilot, flying overhead only miles away, for help.

With the new Fighter Aircraft Communication Enhancement, or FACE, pod, ground units in combat are now able to do just that.

Fielded for the first time in late 2004, the FACE pod is a solution to communication problems often experienced by aircraft in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.

Used effectively in several theaters, the FACE pod allows ground units to communicate with aircraft ready to provide close-air support through the Air Support Operations Center in Bagram, Afghanistan.

"Aircraft communications are primarily line-of-sight," said Col. Greg Touhill, director of communications at the Combined Air Operations Center here. "The mountains in Afghanistan were creating communication issues for our A-10 aircraft in that region. This technology is a solution to that problem."

The pod enables ground units to relay their coordinates to patrolling aircraft, allowing them to engage the enemy as needed.

"Our engineers hollowed out a jamming pod, put two iridium satellite-based telephones in it, and interfaced that with the aircraft's radio," Colonel Touhill said. "Now, any aircraft that can carry a pod can use this technology with little or no modification, and it's highly effective."

A U.S. Central Command Air Forces initiative, the FACE pod was developed in cooperation with the Air Armament Center at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

"It's important that we keep finding innovative ways to solve operational problems," Colonel Touhill said. "The FACE pod is another example of how we are leveraging technology to support the warfighter."

Source: U.S. Air Force

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