Page 1 - Nellis Creech NTTR Bullseye 4-1-16

Vol. 66 No. 13
HHL16 provides new capabilities to JTACs
By Airman 1st Class Nathan Byrnes
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. —
Special Operations Command, De-
partment of Defense components and
members from the U.S. Navy, Army,
Marines and Air Force took part in the
operational assessment of the Hand
Held Link 16 radio produced by ViaSat,
March 21-25, 2016, on the Nevada Test
and Training Range.
The HHL16 provides a tactical data
link to joint terminal attack controllers
and pilots, and enables digitally aided
close air support integration.
“The HHL16 radio will give JTACs the
ability to transmit friendly positions and
send messages directly to fighter aircraft
via an extremely secure and encrypted
pathway,” said Capt. Richard Waters,
605th Test and Evaluation Squadron,
Hurlburt Field, Florida, tactical air con-
trol party air liaison officer, JTAC. “This said Waters. “Early involvement provides
capability significantly reduces fratricide the developers the insight they need to
and provides all players in the close air
support arena the ability to positively
identify friendly from foe.”
This operational assessment is the first Test and Evaluation Squadron lead joint
of many that the new HHL16 radio will
undergo during its improvement periods.
“The HHL16 radio is in the early stages
AF Hangar acceptance testing checklist paves way for new standards
By Susan Lawson
AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. —
Fire protection engineers convened
recently for the final acceptance test of
an aircraft hangar foam fire suppres-
sion system at Nellis Air Force Base,
Nevada.
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April 1, 2016
of development,” said Waters. “We are U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Nathan Byrnes
testing an extremely capable device that
has been manufactured in a very short A civilian contractor and a joint terminal attack controller use the Hand Held Link 16, which
time frame. What we have seen so far enables digitally aided close air support integration during the operational assessment of
with the testing has been extremely the HHL16 radio March 24, on the Nevada Test and Training Range. Link 16 was originally
valuable and useful for both JTACs and designed for air-to-air missions, but the technology has made the transition to ground forces
fighter aircraft.’ providing JTACs advantages on the battlefield that they didn’t previously have.
“The ability to have a portable radio
that can transmit messages onto the
Link 16 network is crucial for the future
of conducting close air support in the
21st century. We have always wanted a
standardized, secure method to imple-
ment digitally aided CAS and this tool
will give us that capability.”
The operational assessment of the
HHL16 and the data collected during the
assessment will help with the development
and timely integration of the device.
“It is crucial that we integrate as early
as possible with the organizations and
companies that manufacture the battle-
field systems we utilize in the military,”
make the systems more practical for the
warfighter.”
Staff Sgt. Edward Wambolt, 422nd
terminal attack controller instructor stat-
__________ See HHL16, on page 3
The addition to the 99th Air Base Force Civil Engineer Center at Tyndall depending on the fire protection engi-
Wing fuel cell maintenance hangar was AFB, Florida, has been developing neer overseeing the test. There was no
the first Air Force hangar fire suppres- standardized checklist to be followed uniformity even within agencies.
sion system to be tested with new Uni- for all future acceptance tests around
fied Facilities Criteria, which requires the world. “In order to provide a more reliable
fire suppression system activation by fire suppression system and reduce or
triple infrared detection technology. The standardized project acceptance eliminate false activations, we need both
checklist effort began after it was dis- oversight and consistency,” Biddle said.
Judy Biddle, hangar fire suppression covered that the hangar fire suppres-
subject matter specialist at the Air sion acceptance testing process differed ______ See CHECKLIST, on page 3
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ence? Please contact the 99th ABW Commander Action Group at
702-652-9900 or email 99ABW.CAG@us.af.mil by April 15.