April 12, 2015 at 11:04Tablet Air Strike: Android reduces time to air support from half an hour to four minutes
For years, the U.S. forces have used radio and paper maps to call for air support. Within thirty or more minutes before her arrival, using the same radio communication, it was necessary to adjust the movement of the target so as not to fall under fire themselves. DARPA simplified the process and reduced the interaction time between the soldier and the aircraft by using an Android tablet.
The PCAS air support system consists of a device for sending commands and tactical systems of military aviation proper. Soldiers use the KILSWITCH tablet - Kinetic Integrated Low-cost SoftWare Integrated Tactical Combat Handheld, which runs on the Android operating system. For several years it has been used for tactical and navigation applications, but now it has been introduced for the first time in the air support system.
The purpose of the development is to facilitate the interaction and exchange of data between ground forces and aircraft. The system works thanks to satellites, reconnaissance, and other surveillance channels, so that each of the participants knows exactly about any action of the other - including the moment when the bomb hatch opens.
On video - DARPA experiment. The tablet wirelessly connects to a system that sends information directly to an aircraft nearby. The tiltrotor is also experimental - V-22 Osprey, is now being tested by the US Army. It is armed with small-radius air-to-ground missiles AGM-176 Griffin and equipped with PCAS system software, which automatically receives data about the target’s location on the map and tells pilots to attack. In addition to these data, the system warns about the location of comrades, the terrain and other factors. So the pilots save time - according to the old tradition, they had to use voice communication to discuss each of these parameters, and in a hurry they could strike at their own.
The closest to the new PCAS system in the past was ROVER, which allowed a soldier on the ground to receive a video signal from an airplane and even manipulate guns. This is better than the radio, but far from being as useful as the entire PCAS system.
The PCAS air support system consists of a device for sending commands and tactical systems of military aviation proper. Soldiers use the KILSWITCH tablet - Kinetic Integrated Low-cost SoftWare Integrated Tactical Combat Handheld, which runs on the Android operating system. For several years it has been used for tactical and navigation applications, but now it has been introduced for the first time in the air support system.
The purpose of the development is to facilitate the interaction and exchange of data between ground forces and aircraft. The system works thanks to satellites, reconnaissance, and other surveillance channels, so that each of the participants knows exactly about any action of the other - including the moment when the bomb hatch opens.
On video - DARPA experiment. The tablet wirelessly connects to a system that sends information directly to an aircraft nearby. The tiltrotor is also experimental - V-22 Osprey, is now being tested by the US Army. It is armed with small-radius air-to-ground missiles AGM-176 Griffin and equipped with PCAS system software, which automatically receives data about the target’s location on the map and tells pilots to attack. In addition to these data, the system warns about the location of comrades, the terrain and other factors. So the pilots save time - according to the old tradition, they had to use voice communication to discuss each of these parameters, and in a hurry they could strike at their own.
The closest to the new PCAS system in the past was ROVER, which allowed a soldier on the ground to receive a video signal from an airplane and even manipulate guns. This is better than the radio, but far from being as useful as the entire PCAS system.
