Networking
the Griffin B Missile with an ISTAR sensor payload, the plan is to provide round-the-clock
360-degree surface to air protection for troops nestled on the frontline
through the use of a long endurance surveillance aerostat and ground launchers.
Testing
and evaluation occurred at Eglin Air Force Base at which a stationary target at
a 4km distant was targeted with global positioning, before being volleyed. The
second round of tests is scheduled to be carried out in March.
It is
rumoured that the first trials used Lockheed Martin’s Persistent Threat
Detection System (PTDS), which has been in use by the Army since 2004.
The
AGM-175 Griffin B variant was initially designed for used on armed unmanned
combat air vehicles, and employs a relatively small warhead of 13lbs and laser
designation, that helps to restrict the blast radius. It is currently being
integrated on the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 light attack aircraft.
Advances
in FOB security are not limited to US initiatives. Defence IQ recently spoke to
Daniel Klein, the European Defence Agency Capability Manager for the FICAPS
(Future Interoperability of Camp Protection Systems) programme, which is a
venture aimed to coordinate multilateral partnerships so as to increase FOB
protection.
“Given
that the forward operating bases and logistics installations are generally
fixed locations, ground based defence systems will form the primary means of
defence against such threats,” said Klein.
“Protection,
which was once considered a national issue, must therefore be thought of as a
multinational task. On the other hand, not all available systems are deployed
to the theatres of operation, and although we have the technology to counter
artillery or mortar attacks, the deployment of systems is not as widespread as
it needs to be.”
“Protection
of bases against what we call ‘unconventional attacks’ will be based on
extraperimeter surveillance, including electro-optic sensors, UGS (unattended
ground sensor) fields, and persistent UAS multi-sensor surveillance.”