ࡱ> =?<c h jbjbSS *F11h]  &&&&&&&&  ,  &&&&& &&&&B&& ""&   h Task Force Afghanistan The Air Force Dimension by Major Mike Minnich FrontLine Defence, vol.3 no.4 Canadas Air Force has been significantly involved in supporting Canadian Forces operations in Afghanistan ever since our nations initial overseas commitment to the War on Terrorism (Operation APOLLO, which ran from December 2001 to August 2003). Early in 2002, Canada established Camp Mirage at an existing host-nation airbase in the Arab-Persian Gulf region (the identity of the host nation has never been officially acknowledged, at that countrys request). Camp Mirage serves as the theatre support base for operations to the north in Afghanistan. The Air Bridge Today, operating under Op ARCHER and organizationally an integral part of Task Force Afghanistan, Camp Mirage officially designated Theatre Support Element South West Asia (TSE SWA) is home to approximately 250 CF members and three CC-130 Hercules turboprop transport aircraft. This is the trans-shipment point for troops and supplies flown from Canada (primarily aboard CC-150 Airbus jetliners) that are subsequently loaded aboard the robust tactical-transport Hercs and carried to Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan. Also, Camp Mirage which has extra barracks space and dining-hall capacity to accommodate overnight stays by large numbers of transient personnel is the initial destination for troops in Afghanistan when they depart the theatre on leave or for other requirements. Typically, during normal operational tempo, one Airbus arrives weekly at Camp Mirage from the airbase at Trenton, Ontario. During the twice-yearly changeover of personnel in Afghanistan (and, on a different schedule, at Camp Mirage itself) when tours of duty wrap-up, the number of incoming and outgoing flights increases markedly, and sometimes chartered civilian airliners are also employed. Similarly, the sortie rate for the CC-130s normally 4 or 5 round-trip flights weekly also surges during these roughly three-week Rotation periods. To date, the hard-working CC-130s and their personnel have flown approximately 3,500 sorties to and from Afghanistan, and moved more than 13.6 million kilograms (30 million pounds) of palletized freight. The Hercules aircrews, maintainers and associated personnel constitute the Tactical Airlift Unit (TAU), which is a sub-component of TSE-SWA. The TAU has a small detachment of Mobile Air Movements Section cargo-handling specialists based at Kandahar Airfield to load/unload the never-ending flow of passengers and palletized cargo at the end of the long air bridge from Canada. So far this summer, the TAU has undertaken two significant additional operations: it has been tasked to support the Dutch Army as this Coalition partner moves equipment and supplies into Uruzgan Province for its new task force in southern Afghanistan; and from late June to late July, one Hercules aircraft and 13 personnel were temporarily detached to Kandahar Airfield to provide resupply to Coalition troops in combat operations in the field. These activities included both conventional landings at rudimentary airstrips for off-loading of the cargo plus air drops employing parachutes. The latter operations mark the first time since the Korean War (1950-53) that Canadian troops in combat have been resupplied in this manner. Eyes in the Sky Apart from air transport, theres another significant Air Force contribution to operations in Afghanistan: UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). These small, camera-and-sensor-equipped, remotely-piloted aircraft are employed for reconnaissance, surveillance, target-designation, and general eyes in the sky security requirements. The U.S. armed forces also utilizes UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles) as missile-armed combat systems. Although crewless, radio-controlled aircraft originally called drones have existed since the Second World War, technological advances over the past 15 years or so have turned them into extremely valuable and versatile battlefield assets. While there exists a vast array of UAV designs and models (both in-production and experimental prototypes) ranging from very lightweight, short-range, low-altitude models to much larger, heavier aircraft that can cover thousands of kilometers and fly at very high altitudes for up to 40 hours the specific system currently employed by the CF in Afghanistan is the CU-161 Sperwer, which is classified as a Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV). Measuring 2.7 m (8.8 ft) long and with a 4.2 m (13.9 ft) wingspan, the French-designed Sperwer is launched from a truck-portable mobile pneumatic catapult track and, once airborne, its tail-mounted pusher propeller is powered by a two-cylinder engine thats akin to that of a snowmobile. The CU-161 can relay real-time video imagery during daylight or at night back to its associated ground control station. Recovery of the UAV is achieved by cutting the engine, followed by deployment of a built-in parachute and airbags to cushion the landing. With a tactical operational radius of 80 km, an endurance of three to six hours, and a cruising altitude of up to 3,000 m (almost 10,000 ft), the Sperwer was first employed on an experimental basis by the CF in the Kabul area for several months in 2004. Building on the knowledge gained from that deployment, when Canada shifted its operations south to the province of Kandahar in late 2005, a TUAV Flight was incorporated into Task Force Afghanistan, and became operational in February 2006. Planned strength of the unit called for six UAVs, two launchers, two ground control stations, and two ground data terminals. The TUAV Flight is made up of approximately 60 men and women, drawn from both the Air Force (mainly Edmontons 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron) and the Army (the 5th Royal Canadian Light Artillery Regiment at Valcartier, Quebec). During intensive training at bases in Alberta prior to the units departure from Canada, it was anticipated that the unit would launch two sorties daily once in-theatre, but further details have not been released. While the Sperwer is classified as a battalion- or brigade-level intelligence-gathering asset, Task Force Afghanistan will shortly also be operating a much smaller Mini-UAV called the Skylark, which will be a company-level asset. This unit weighs less than five kilograms and literally fits in a backpack when disassembled. One trooper can launch it with a bungee cord. Its battery-powered motor gives it a flight endurance of two hours, and, like the Sperwer, this UAV can provide real-time imagery to let a company commander immediately see whats on the other side of the hill. -30- Major Mike Minnich is the Senior Air Reserve PAO. He served as a linguist and intelligence analyst in the U.S. Air Force from 1970-74, prior to moving to Canada. He joined the CF Air Reserve in 1981, and, in addition to Class A service, has also completed overseas assignments in Germany (1991), Somalia (1993), Italy (2000), and most recently (2005) a 6-month tour of duty in the Arab-Persian Gulf as Host Nation Liaison Officer with Theatre Support Element South West Asia at Camp Mirage. 2006 FrontLine Defence Magazine, Beacon Publishing Inc. /0d*<, - e h 565CJ /0Fde Q R F G 56:/0Fde Q R F G 56:*++,67<=, - f g h  6*++,67<=, - f g h (/ =!"#$% Vg+sU~@ҊH֌Yo{;Zx Wa1b *3t}yMA#čheVnr23ǹZƞ};%T%`w&Yd%߀WF4PXx>¸ Uؑ^nV;>X5_I%W9W tPn|iբBeVHP~vw) [4@4NormalCJOJPJQJmH <A@<Default Paragraph FonthF!  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