E11a Aircraft - The US Air Force operates the E-11A, a heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000, as "Wi-Fi in the Sky" to improve battlefield communications. (Photo: David McIntosh)
One of the rarest visitors to Dubai Airshow 2021 is the US Air Force E-11A, a heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet that serves as the Battlefield Air Communications Node (BACN). The aircraft acts as a link that can overcome line of communication problems caused by mountainous terrain and other obstacles.
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Described as a "Wi-Fi in the Sky" system and designed as a critical solution to the challenges faced in Afghanistan, the first BACN payload flew on NASA's WB-57 Upper Test Stand. It was further tested and then used in the Global 6000, a business jet chosen for its maximum altitude of 51,000 feet and its 12-hour service life. Three more Globals are equipped with the system. The BACN payload is also mounted on five Northrop Grumman EQ-4B high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs were recently deployed during Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraq and Syria.
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BACN provides a bridge between many users using different types of communication systems, sometimes incompatible. A typical application involves connecting ground forces with close support aircraft in difficult terrain, allowing critical voice and data to be transmitted between them without reliance on satellite communications.
Originally designated the RC-700 during the test phase, the BACN-equipped Global 6000 was redesignated the E-11A. The Air Force assigned four aircraft to the 451st Tactical Airlift Wing, which was later redesignated the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Warfare Squadron, and operated out of Kandahar, Afghanistan, from 2010 until the withdrawal of U.S. forces, when they moved their base to TVD in Al-Dhafra in Abu. Dubai. Engine failure resulted in the loss of one aircraft in Afghanistan in January 2020, one of the EQ-4Bs was also lost.
In June, the U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to Bombardier for another Global 6000 as an attrition replacement, and up to five more will be purchased under an indefinite supply contract, an unspecified number, to join the current fleet of three aircraft. The aircraft will be assembled in Wichita, Kansas, and the cabin interior will be installed in Tucson, Arizona, where they will also be painted. Days before the order was announced, the Air Force said it would station a squadron of E-11A's at Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia as the base began phasing out its fleet of E-8 J-STARS. This article requires additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations from reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find Source: "Battlefield Airborne Communications Node" - News · Newspaper · Book · Scholar · JSTOR (July 2011) (Learn how and how to remove this template message)
The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) is a United States Air Force (USAF) airborne relay and gateway system located on EQ-4B and Bombardier E-11A unmanned aircraft. The BACN can transmit real-time information in the battlespace between the same and different tactical data links and voice systems through relaying, linking, and broadcasting data within and beyond line-of-sight.
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With flexible deployment options and the ability to operate at high altitudes, the BACN can overcome communication difficulties caused by mountains, other rough terrain or distance with air and surface forces. BACN provides critical information to all operational echelons and improves situational awareness by linking tactical and operational air and ground imagery. For example, an Army unit on the ground currently sees a different picture from the aircrew, but with BACN both see the same picture.
On February 22, 2010, the US Air Force and Northrop Grumman's BACN team received the 2010 Ctric Network Warfare Award from the Defense and Government Development Institute.
Individual tactical data links, such as Link 16 and EPLRS, are part of a larger network of tactical data links, including tactical data links, common data links, and weapons data links. Most military platforms or units are equipped with tactical data communications capabilities appropriate to their missions. These tactical data transmission capabilities are not necessarily compatible with each other, hindering the sharing of digital information between military units. The BACN acts as a universal translator or gateway through which tactical data channels work with each other. The BACN also functions as an airborne relay, connecting tactical data links equipped with military units that are outside of each other's line of sight.
Interaction between radio network signals is a constant problem. There are several systems designed to address this challenge, including the Air Defense Systems Integrator (ADSI),
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The solution is a "destination gateway" that will act as a universal translator to make data from one network compatible with another.
In 2005, AFC2ISRC and USAF ESC established BACN as an Objective Gateway technology demonstrator to provide voice and data communications between aircraft in a war zone. These four basic principles
BACN was successfully demonstrated at Joint Expeditionary Force eXperimt (JEFX) 2006 and JEFX 2008 and was selected for field deployment.
Provide critical air support to engaged forces while the enemy supports both ground and air forces.
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This project is not limited to combat. It provided World Food convoy commanders with "communication on the move". This capability allows convoys to remain in continuous contact with air support and command channels in difficult or difficult terrain, while reducing the impact of an attack as the point is constantly moving.
The BACN prototype was initially developed and tested between 2005 and 2008 on NASA's WB-57 high-altitude test aircraft during the Joint Expeditionary Force experiment and other experimental activities. The last two WB-57s were used for this mission in Afghanistan.
The BACN was also deployed for testing in the Bombardier Global 6000 and was initially designated RC-700A in the reconnaissance classification. This aircraft was later redesignated as the E-11A in the Special Electronic Installations category.
The Global 6000 was chosen for its high operational ceiling (up to 51,000 feet) and long flight duration (up to 12 hours). These flight characteristics are critical to providing a single data link and voice network over the challenging mountainous terrain of today's theater of operations.
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Additional E-11As were deployed to increase availability and flexibility. It was used in operations in Afghanistan.
BACN payloads have also been developed, installed and operated on a special variant of the EQ-4B Global Hawk aircraft to provide unmanned long-altitude communications coverage. The combination of BACN payloads on the E-11A and EQ-4 aircraft gives planners and operators the flexibility to adapt to mission needs and increase warspace coverage to 24/7 operations.
The effectiveness of BACN has increased the demand for more EQ-4B Global Hawk aircraft to be produced and installed with BACN for field use.
The BACN system remains in high demand and will be used more and more frequently by the Air Force over the years.
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BACN has been a controversial program within the Department of Defense. This has been caused by several problems, including personal clashes between service officials who conceived the project back in late 2004 and the traditional acquisition bureaucracy.
This is especially true between requirements developers at the former Air Force Command and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center at Langley AFB, Virginia, and their acquisition partners at the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, which is part of the materiel- technical base of the Air Force Command. .
BACN divides military planners and acquisition bureaucrats into two main fronts. First, how the "Airborne Network" will evolve beyond the existing tactical data channels on the current platform. Second, the BACN business envisages that the initial capabilities will be "outsourced" to commercial companies that will provide "air networks" as a service to the Ministry of Defense for the foreseeable future.
With increased electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) capability being contested in an era of great power competition, the idea of a "BACN network" was proposed by Professor Jahara Matysek (and former E-11 BACN pilot) of the US Air Force Academy. , as a way of making new choices in multiple domains, competing against peers. In particular, Professor Matysek noted that smart point pods (ie a Light-BACN payload attached to an aircraft via connection points) could provide multi-layer BACN "switching" connections and Tactical Data Link (TDL) services to fighters in combat space EMS- disputed. , without the deployment of dedicated BACN aircraft. For example, in the Pacific - where infrastructure is limited - the "BACN-mesh" concept can be used to create real-time images of the battlespace, proving useful when close enemies are trying to jam EMS locally. The "BACN-mesh" concept, if used correctly with many aircraft equipped with smart nodes, "will create a complex, unstable and mutually reinforcing communication network with multiple relay points". communications capabilities for coalition forces on the ground and aircraft in the air. Commonly known as the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, or BACN, these aircraft extend the range of communications channels and provide better communication between units. (Capt. Keenan Kunst/US Air Force)
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force awarded Learjet a contract worth up to $465 million Tuesday for a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet to be converted into an E-11A aircraft used to transfer data between platforms that don't normally share information.
The contract called for an immediate payment of $70 million
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