Nellis JTAC gets Link-16 radios

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gariac

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The weapons school is buying JTAC ViaSat Link-16 handheld radios. Link-16 is pretty common around the range between aircraft. However the times I've listened to fighter weapons school training with JTAC, it was in the clear.

One of the interesting comms I heard was the JTAC setting up a strike on one of the targets that apparently had a mannequin outside it. The pilot said something like "confirm that is not a real man." Not a bad idea to verify this.

Though not very realistic, anything manned around the range is painted white. The Rolands for example.

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/ACC/99CONS/FA486118QC069/listing.html
https://www.viasat.com/products/handheld-link-16-bats-d

A bit OT, but here is the contract for the JTAC laser pointers.
https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/ACC/99CONS/FA486118QC063/listing.html
JTAC | IZLID ULTRA | B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc.

And the IR cameras:
https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/ACC/99CONS/FA486118QC067/listing.html
 

N9PBD

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So, many, many years ago, in the early 1980's, I was stationed at George AFB, near Victorville, California. Most of our wing's training was done on the Cuddeback bombing and gunnery range, up near Red Mountain, CA. Since George was the home of the Wild Weasels, and where Weasel drivers and Bears (guys in back) got their training, we maintained several radar simulators on the range. Some were installed in bunkers, with waveguides and antennas that stuck up out of the ground, sometimes through the bed of a truck to provide a realistic target. Power was routed to the bunkers through buried conduits. At one point, there were some open trenches while work was going on between a couple bunkers. One day a Civil Engineering squadron electrician was in one of the trenches on the south side of the range, working on cables. His line truck, was parked next to the trench he was in. The bombing circles (targets) on the north side of the range, several miles away, were hot, as were the strafing pits. A Navy A4 Scooter (Skyhawk) was cleared hot on the north side of the range to strafe the suspended targets. Apparently the Navy pilot was unfamiliar with Air Force ranges, and oriented north/south, rather than the west-to-east run-in line for the pits. The A4's 20mm cannon ventilated the CE line truck with a couple target practice (lead) rounds. Luckily, the CE guy was down in the trench, and other than soiled britches, was unharmed. I'm not sure what happened to the A4 driver, other than he probably wasn't welcome on the range anymore...
 

spacellamaman

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hey thanks


if you mean over the top by OT, let me just say that more info is better than less and i appreciate you including it.

there is a fair bit of JTAC and CCT training in my area (central NC) and though it's rare, i know that they have used such items but never witnessed it or had a clue as to what they use.

a while back as i was motoring out to observe,enroute i heard the aircraft say something about "rope me" blah blah, followed by something like "lemme show you the new one we've got......this is the new Bob Marley Sparkle mode" and i have been dying to find out what the deal was that but had no clue where to start researching it. now i do. Thanks!
 

autovon

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A few of us refer to the Harris flex UHF antenna on the milair manpack radios as the Bob Marley antenna and another non PG name.
 

gariac

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if you mean over the top by OT, let me just say that more info is better than less and i appreciate you including it.

there is a fair bit of JTAC and CCT training in my area (central NC) and though it's rare, i know that they have used such items but never witnessed it or had a clue as to what they use.

a while back as i was motoring out to observe,enroute i heard the aircraft say something about "rope me" blah blah, followed by something like "lemme show you the new one we've got......this is the new Bob Marley Sparkle mode" and i have been dying to find out what the deal was that but had no clue where to start researching it. now i do. Thanks!

I always thought of a sparkle code as...you know...a code. On Off Keying or whatever. I don't consider 4Hz flashing as a code.

At the Nellis Expo, they show some rather fancy laser designator. Maybe this simple laser pointer is just for training.
https://www.lazygranch.com/nellis_2011_displays.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PEQ-1_SOFLAM
 
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