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Military Intelligence |
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| OV-1 MOHAWK | |||
| 1969 | |||
| (Source: Resource.org) Webmaster Note: I believe the special US Army flights designated "HAWK" described in the 1968 agreement presented in the following posting were aerial surveillance missions flown by OV-1 MOHAWK's of the 122nd Aviation Company (AS). Can anyone confirm? |
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11 MAR 1969 FLITE DOCUMENT NO. 7502037 LETTER OF AGREEMENT US ARMY SPECIAL FLIGHTS ON IFR FLIGHT PLANS
REG. NO.: REG. NO.: Z16/69
EFFECTIVE: 3-11-69 DATE OF EXPIRY: 1-11-71
REVISED:
SUBJECT: US-ARMY SPECIAL FLIGHTS
1. GENERAL
THIS LETTER SPECIFIES THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH US-ARMY SPECIAL
FLIGHTS OPERATING ON SPECIAL ROUTES WITHIN CONTROLLED AND UNCONTROLLED
AIRSPACE ON IFR-FLIGHT PLANS SHALL BE CONDUCTED. THIS LETTER SUPERSEDES
SUBJECT LETTER OF AGREEMENT DATED 1 SEPTEMBER 1968.
2. CALLSIGNS
AIRCRAFT WILL USE THE FOLLOWING TACTICAL CALLSIGNS:
HAWK A, HAWK B, HAWK C, HAWK D
IF THERE IS MORE THAN ONE AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR USING THE SAME TACTICAL
CALLSIGN, FLIGHTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED BY ADDING A NUMBER TO THE TACTICAL
CALLSIGN (HAWK A1 AND HAWK A2).
3. SPECIAL ROUTING
SPECIAL ROUTING WILL CONSIST OF A COMBINATION OF SOME OF THE BELOW
LISTED COMPULSORY REPORTING POINTS:
NOTE: THE SOUTHBOUND ROUTING FROM THE NORTHERN TURNING POINT ABEAM
FASSBERG TO HEHLINGEN VORTAC WILL BE FLOWN PARALLEL TO THE DIRECT COURSE
UP TO A DISTANCE OF 5 NM TO THE WEST.
4. FLIGHT PLAN
A DETAILED FLIGHT PLAN SHALL BE FILED STATING ALL REPORTING POINTS OF
THE SPECIAL ROUTING IN FLIGHT SEQUENCE. WITHIN THE FLIGHT PLAN THE
POSITION ABEAM FASSBERG SHALL BE FILED AS FSB. THIS I FOR FILING
PURPOSES ONLY.
4.1 OUTBOUND AND INBOUND ROUTING
STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEPARTURE ROUTES AND STANDARD INBOUND ROUTES AS
PUBLISHED SHALL BE USED TO JOIN OR DEPART THE SPECIAL ROUTING.
4.2 FLIGHT LEVEL ASSIGNMENT
ONLY ONE FLIGHT LEVEL BETWEEN FL 110 AND FL 190 SHALL BE FILED AND
ASSIGNED FOR THE ENTIRE SPECIA ROUTING.
NOTE: UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF PARA 30 OF THE AIR TRAFFIC LAW THE MOD
BONN APPROVED A WAIVER FROM THE REGULATIONS OF PARA 37(2) OF THE AIR
TRAFFIC ORDINANCE TO THE EFFECT THAT AIRCRAFT NEED NOT TO MAINTAIN A
FLIGHT LEVEL IN ACCORDANCE WITH SEMI-CIRCULAR-RULES WHEN OPERATING IFR
WITHIN UNCONTROLLED AIRSPACE.
5. DANGER AND RESTRICTED AREAS
IT WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF US-ARMY TO CHECK THE ACTIVITY OF
EFFECTED DANGER AND RESTRICTED AREAS WITH THE APPROPRIATE RANGE
AUTHORITIES.
6. RADIO COMMUNICATION FAILURE
GCI-STATIONS AND ATC-UNITS SHALL NOTIFY EACH OTHER IMMEDIATELY WHEN A
RADIO FAILURE HAS OCCURRED USING HANNOVER, FRANKFURT OR MUNICH ADNC AS
COMMUNICATION MEDIUM.
GCI-STATIONS SHALL ALSO NOTIFY HEIDELBERG AFOF IMMEDIATELY ON A RADIO
FAILURE.
THE FOLLOWING RADIO COMMUNICATION FAILURE PROCEDURES SHALL BE
OBSERVED:
SQUAWK MODE 3 CODE 76
PROCEED TO BAYREUTH NDB, STRAUBING VOR, KITZINGEN VOR OR FULDA
VORTAC, WHATEVER IS CLOSER TO THE AIRCRAFT POSITION
FOLLOW STANDARD INBOUND ROUTING TO METRO OR CHARLIE VOR MAINTAINING
LAST ASSIGNED FLIGHT LEVEL AN
HOLD OVER METRO/CHARLIE FOR 10 MINUTES PRIOR STARTING DESCENT
EXECUTE AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO HANAU AAF.
SQUAWK MODE 3 CODE 76
PROCEED DIRECT TO CELLE NDB MAINTAINING LAST ASSIGNED FLIGHT LEVEL
AND
HOLD OVER CELLE NDB FOR 10 MINUTES PRIOR STARTING DESCENT
EXECUTE AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO HANNOVER AIRPORT VIA THE HANNOVER
VOR.
7. ATTACHMENT
ATTACHMENT NO. 1 WITH HOLDING PROCEDURES IS PART OF THIS LETTER OF
AGREEMENT.
8. EXPIRY OF THE LETTER OF AGREEMENT
THIS LETTER EXPIRES AT THE DATE INDICATED IF NOT PROLONGED IN
WRITING. REQUESTS FOR PROLONGATION SHALL BE MADE BY HQ USAREUR AT LEAST
ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE DATE OF EXPIRY.
(SIGNED)
HQ USAREUR
(SIGNED)
17TH AIR FORCE
ADDITIONAL HOLDING PROCEDURES:
HOLD INBOUND MAGNETIC TRACK 281 DEGS, ONE MINUTE, RIGHT TURNS,
MINIMUM ALTITUDE 4500 FT MSL
HOLD INBOUND MAGNETIC TRACK 267 DEGS, ONE MINUTE, LEFT TURNS, MINIMUM
ALTITUDE 7000 FT MSL
HOLD INBOUND MAGNETIC TRACK 340 DEGS, ONE MINUTE, RIGHT TURNS,
MINIMUM ALTITUDE 4000 FT MSL
HOLD INBOUND MAGNETIC TRACK 260 DEGS, ONE MINUTE, RIGHT TURNS,
MINIMUM ALTITUDE FL 80
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| GUARDRAIL II System | |||
| 1979 | |||
| (Source: Resource.org) Webmaster Note: I believe the special US Army flights designated "ERIK" described in the 1979 agreement presented in the following posting were Guardrail missions. The GUARDRAIL II system fielded in USAREUR in the early 1970s, encompassed signal-intercept and direction-finding equipment mounted on RU-21 aircraft. The 330th Army Security Agency (ASA) Company flew these aircraft - flight operations and maintenance elements were located at Ramstein Air Base; administrative support and other elements were located at Sembach and Gruenstadt. Can anyone confirm? (For more details see the 330th ASA Co (AVN), Germany page. |
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GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF AGREEMENT EXECUTED 5 MARCH AND 23 APRIL 1979; EFFECTIVE 1 JUNE 1979.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN BUNDESANSTALT FUER FLUGSICHERUNG ZENTRALSTELLE AND HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATES ARMY EUROPE AND SEVENTH ARMY AND AMT FUER FLUGSICHERUNG DER BUNDESWEHR REGARDING U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FLIGHTS "ERIK" EFFECTIVE 1 JUNE 1979. ARTICLE I - GENERAL
THIS AGREEMENT SPECIFIES THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH US ARMY SPECIAL FLIGHTS "ERIK" WILL BE CONDUCTED OVER THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY. ALL CURRENT FLYING AND SAFETY REGULATIONS IMPOSED BY THE US FORCES AND THE APPROPRIATE CIVIL AUTHORITIES WILL BE COMPLIED WITH. IT SUPERSEDES THE LETTER OF AGREEMENT ON THE SAME SUBJECT EFFECTIVE SINCE 10 MAY 1977.
US ARMY SPECIAL FLIGHTS "ERIK" WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH U21 AIRCRAFT (TAS 210 KT, SHUTTLE SPEED 120-150 KT) AS IFR FLIGHTS ALONG ATS ROUTES AND SPECIAL SHUTTLE TRACKS AS SPECIFIED IN ANNEXES 1, 2 AND 3 TO THIS AGREEMENT.
THE SHUTTLE TIMES WILL BE INDICATED IN THE FLIGHT PLAN. THE SHUTTLING MAY LAST SEVERAL HOURS. "ERIK-FLIGHTS" WILL TAKE-OFF AND LAND AT RAMSTEIN AIR BASE. A NORMAL *IFR FLIGHT PLAN WILL BE FILED FOR EACH MISSION.
AIRCRAFT WILL USE THE TACTICAL CALL SIGNS: ERIK A, ERIK B THROUGH Z.
THE SHUTTLE PROCEDURES AGREED UPON ARE SPECIFIED IN ANNEXES 1, 2 AND 3 TO THIS AGREEMENT.
STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEPARTURE ROUTES, ATS ROUTES, AND STANDARD INSTRUMENT ARRIVAL ROUTES AS SPECIFIED IN ANNEX 4 TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE USED TO JOIN AND DEPART THE SPECIAL SHUTTLE TRACKS.
INDIVIDUAL FLIGHT PLANS SHALL BE FILED INDICATING THE SHUTTLE TRACK AND THE REQUIRED SHUTTLE TIME.
ONLY ONE FLIGHT LEVEL UP TO FL 240 SHALL BE FILED AND ASSIGNED FOR THE ENTIRE ROUTE. LEVEL CHANGES ARE POSSIBLE, HOWEVER, ON REQUEST.
NOTE: IT WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF USAREUR TO AVOID RESTRICTED AREAS AND DANGER AREAS OR TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE APPROPRIATE RANGE AUTHORITIES FOR A FLIGHT THROUGH THESE AREAS.
NORMAL RADIO COMMUNICATION PROCEDURES SHALL BE APPLIED. PILOTS SHALL REPORT ENTERING AND LEAVING THE SHUTTLE TRACK. CLEARANCE FOR THE RETURN FLIGHT SHALL BE REQUESTED FIVE (5) MINUTES PRIOR TO LEAVING THE SHUTTLE TRACK.
TRANSPONDERS SHALL BE SET TO MODE 3/C AND THE CODE ASSIGNED BY ATC. IN CASE OF TRANSPONDER FAILURE THE MISSION WILL BE ABORTED.
ATC UNITS AND GCI STATIONS SHALL NOTIFY EACH OTHER THROUGH ADNC IMMEDIATELY WHEN A RADIO COMMUNICATION FAILURE HAS OCCURRED. GCI STATIONS WILL IN TURN NOTIFY HEIDELBERG AFOD AND RAMSTEIN RAPCON OF THE COMMUNICATION FAILURE.
IN CASE OF RADIO FAILURE THE TRANSPONDER SHALL BE SET TO MODE 3 CODE 7600 AND MODE C. IF RADIO COMMUNICATION FAILURE OCCURS EN ROUTE TO OR ON THE SHUTTLE TRACK THE PILOT SHALL PROCEED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PUBLISHED RADIO COMMUNICATION FAILURE PROCEDURE VIA THE ROUTES SPECIFIED IN ANNEX 4 OR THE CURRENT FLIGHT PLAN TO THE NAVIGATIONAL AIDS LISTED BELOW, HOLD FOR TEN (10) MINUTES AT THE RESPECTIVE FACILITY AND THEN PROCEED VIA THE ROUTES SPECIFIED IN ANNEX 4 TO DBG FOR AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH TO EDAR.
DURING MAJOR AIR EXERCISES SUBJECT FLIGHTS MAY TEMPORARILY BE RESTRICTED OR SUSPENDED UPON REQUEST FROM THE BUNDESANSTALT FUER FLUGSICHERUNG (BFS) BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT WITH THE HEADQUARTERS US ARMY EUROPE (USAREUR).
ANNEX 1, 2, 3 = MAPS WITH DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHUTTLE PROCEDURES
ANNEX 4 ATS ROUTES TO BE USED BY "ERIK-FLIGHTS" TO JOIN AND DEPART THE SHUTTLE TRACKS
THIS AGREEMENT WILL ENTER INTO FORCE ON THE DATE OF THE LAST SIGNATURE AND REMAIN VALID FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD UNLESS CANCELLED, SUSPENDED, OR SUPERSEDED.
CHANGES OR AMENDMENTS MUST BE MUTUALLY AGREED UPON AND IN WRITING, WITH SIGNATURES OF ALL PARTIES CONCERNED.
THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED BY THE RESPONSIBLE AGENCY. DISTRIBUTION THROUGH PROPER CHANNELS TO ALL PARTIES CONCERNED WILL ALSO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE RESPONSIBILE AGENCY.
FOR THE BUNDESANSTALT FUER FLUGSICHERUNG ZENTRALSTELLE
(S) FUER
DATE: 23-4-79
FOR THE AMT FUER FLUGSICHERUNG DER BUNDESWEHR
FOR THE COMMANDER
(S) NOLLMANN
(NOLLMANN) OBERST
DATE:
ANNEX 1 TO LOA BETWEEN BFS/Z AND HQ USAREUR/AFSBW (MAP OMITTED)
ANNEX 2 TO LOA BETWEEN BFS/Z AND HQ USAREUR/AFSBW (MAP OMITTED)
ANNEX 3 TO LOA BETWEEN BFS/Z AND HQ USAREUR/AFSBW (MAP OMITTED)
TO LOA BETWEEN BFS/Z AND HQ USAREUR/AFSBW ROUTING TO BE FLOWN AND TO BE FILED BY "ERIK-FLIGHTS" WHEN PROCEEDING TO OR RETURNING FROM THE SHUTTLE TRACKS
POINT OF DEPARTURE AND DESTINATION IS RAMSTEIN AB (EDAR).
BREMEN CTA
EDAR AR4 RUD TAU LIM SIE ARP REN WRB A9 LBE SWG LCL SWG LBE A9 GIN R10 RUD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD L3 B29S A9 L17 SWG LCL LBE A9 R10 TAU L3 DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE VTN LBE/SWG FOR . . . (TIME)
EDAR AR4 RUD TAU LIM SIE ARP REN WRB A9 LBE LCL LBE A9 GIN R10 RUD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD L3 B29S A9 LBE LCL LBE A9 R10 TAU L3 DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE BTN LBE/BM FOR . . . (TIME)
EDAR AR4 RUD TAU LIM SIE ARP REN B29S NHM DLE LCL DLE NHM WRB A9 GIN R10 RUD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD L3 B29S NHM DLE LCL NHM B29S WRB A9 R10 TAU L3 DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE BTN NHM/DLE FOR . . . (TIME)
DUSSELDORF CTA
EDAR AR4 RUD TAU LIM SIE ARP REN MOH GSO LCL GSO GMH SIE LIM TAU RUD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD L3 ARP REN MOH SEN GS LCL GS GMH B1 L3 DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE ON R105 GSO BTN 20/15DME FOR . . . (TIME)
FRANKFURT CTA
EDAR AR4 RUD R10 GIN FTZ GED LCL GED GIN R10 RUD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD R10 GIN FTZ GED LCL GED GIN R10 TAU L3 DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE BTN FTZ/GED FOR . . . (TIME)
EDAR AR4 RUD G1 HAB KTG KTE ANU LCL ANU KTE KTG WUR G1S MOD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD G1 HAB KTG ANU LCL ANU KTE WUR G1S ECH DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE BTN KTE/ANU FOR . . . (TIME)
MUNCHEN CTA
EDAR AR4 RUD G1 MOO STB ALB AMG LCL ALB G1S MOD ECH DBG EDAR
EDAR AR4 RUD G1 MOO STB ALB AMG LCL ALB G1S ECH DBG EDAR
RMK UNDER ITEM 18 FPL: SHUTTLE BTN STB/ALB/AMG FOR . . . (TIME) |
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| ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | |||
| (Source: Email from George Riggs) | |||
| Walter – You have the information almost correct regarding the Guardrail II System and the 330th. The 330th Electronic Warfare Aviation Company (Forward) was part of the 2d MI Bn (Aerial Exploitation) during this time frame. (See my earlier posting that you have for 2d MI.) Flight line was on the south side of Ramstein Air Base. Barracks, orderly room, etc. were at Kleber Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, not Sembach. I know the 330th was at Kleber in 1976 as I was the 108th Air Defense S-2 then and we were also at Kleber. When I came back in 1978 and was assigned to the 2d MI, the 330th barracks and orderly room were still at Kleber. The Integrated Processing Facility (IPF) was located up on the hill overlooking the Rhine River Valley at Gruenstadt. This was on old SSM site, I believe for Mace, Matador or both – not sure on that though. The 330th Commander (a Major) spent a lot of time on the autobahn running between these locations. Add 2d MI HQ at Husterhoeh Kaserne, Pirmasens and 66th MI HQ at McGraw Kaserne, Munich and that was even more time traveling for meetings, etc. |
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| (Source: US Army Press Release, July 7 2011) | |||
| GUARDRAIL TURNS 40 ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. --- A dinner celebration on Aberdeen Proving Ground during the 2011 Special Electronic Mission Aircraft conference represented more than just an opportunity to bring together the numerous military, government and industry personnel that had been instrumental in the development and continued success of the Guardrail program, it served as an opportunity to reflect on 40 years of success with more to come. Guardrail aircraft were first employed in Germany in 1971 to monitor Soviet Block troop movements in East Germany and Czechoslovakia, and they continued to perform that function for nearly 30 years. At the end of the Cold War three Guardrail systems were deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm where they helped pinpoint the location of the Iraqi Republican Guard and provided over watch of other Iraqi troop movements to coalition forces -- and one of the systems operated in direct support of the Marine Corps’ movement up the coast in to Kuwait City. In addition to serving in both Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom, the RC-12 aircraft continue to operate in Korea as they have done so since the mid-1970s where the aircraft help monitor the demilitarized zone. The original Guardrail aircraft were Army U-21 aircraft modified to RU-21 configuration. Beginning in 1984, the RU-21 aircraft were replaced with upgraded RC-12 aircraft, and the last of the RU-21s were retired after the Cold War. The current inventory of Guardrail consists of 44 RC-12 aircraft made up of five different variations. Guardrail systems are supporting troops with a mix of legacy and modernized RC-12 aircraft in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Even as a major drawdown is ongoing in Iraq the system will be one of the critical capabilities that will leave last. “They (Guardrails) will probably turn the lights out in Iraq because they are providing overwatch for the departure route into Kuwait as they continuously fly along that route listening (for enemy activity),” said Mark O’Neill, the product director for Aerial Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems. From its earliest employment in the Cold War to current efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guardrail has continued to provide the most timely, accurate and relevant tactical signal intelligence, or SIGINT, to tactical commanders. Although current systems look very different and have undergone multiple upgrades to deliver cutting edge technology, the philosophy behind their use has remained the same since they first came off the production line in 1971. Intelligence gathered during Guardrail missions is sent back to analysts operating in ground stations outside hostile areas. “The reach back capability puts the pilots forward but it keeps a huge footprint out of theater. Now, it is just two pilots and all the data is remoted back,” said O’Neill. Continued success for the Guardrail program has been achieved through progressive upgrades over the past 40 years. The program is currently going through a major modernization that, in addition to improving operational capabilities, will also alleviate sustainment and training demands. With five RC-12X modernized Guardrails in the inventory and nine more to come, pilots, operators and maintainers will for the first time in the Guardrail history have common systems to work with as opposed to the differences the four various legacy systems that are still in the inventory offer. Guardrail is transforming to meet the emerging demands as the platform is being modernized to add greater ability to intercept enemy activities. “We took 1970’s technology off the receivers, increasing the throughput by a 100 times based on the upgrades in computer technology and processing speeds. Before, we might have been able to conduct 100 direction finding lines of variant in a minute now we can do 10,000,” notes O’Neill. The RC-12X includes expanded frequency ranges, a capability to locate signals in both stand-off and stand-in modes, and an adaptive beam-forming antenna array that is capable of locating emitters in the dense signal environments. Collectively, these capabilities provide a unique tactical focus to prosecute modern networked targets encountered in the current era of persistent conflict. The Internet-Protocol based architecture is designed for rapid integration of new capabilities -- often merely by loading new software instead of requiring new special-purpose signal processors. Upgrades to the system not only represent increased capability but also a change in focus to mirror the current irregular warfare environments the aircrafts operate in. “When Guardrail was originally designed it was designed as a stand-off Cold War asset, the airplanes were designed to look out and over into East Germany, however, in today’s fight you also want to be able to look in as close as you can,” noted O’Neill. “We have calibrated the sensors so that they can work at either range and increased the coverage area to support close in operations.” “The RC-12X aircraft represents the current state-of-the-art in airborne SIGINT technology, and were designed to be interoperable with other Army and Joint SIGINT systems,” said Col. Mike Popovich, the Training and Doctrine Command capability manager for intelligence sensors. “The RC-12X system is designed with an open architecture that is also capable of being easily upgraded through technology insertion of hardware or software developed by other services or government agencies.” “The Army is fielding the RC-12X systems as quickly as possible because they provide a critical capability to rapidly provide identity resolution, and their open-architecture design ensures that they are easily adaptable to remain relevant and capable of prosecuting future threats.” said Popovich. “Several of the new system have already been deployed and are providing uniquely valuable capabilities in the current operating environment.” |
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ABEAM FASSBERG (RADIAL 077 DME 7 NM FASSBERG TACAN)