Challenge
War games. Disaster response. National security. Each of these things falls under the purview of the elite technical developmental test team that is the 46th Test Squadron. Operating from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, as part of the 46th Test Wing, the 46th Test Squadron exists at the place where military tactics meet execution—where massive amounts of money and labor are at stake and failure to test a system properly is not an option.
Among the over three-hundred projects the squadron must oversee at any given time are initiatives such as hurricane response software, the outfitting of military aircraft with critical VoIP and datalink communications systems, and full-on war simulations. In short, it is up to the 46th Test Squadron to make certain the fabric binding our nation’s Command and Control for defense systems is ready when it matters most.
If it sounds like a movie, it isn’t. If it sounds like the ultimate challenge, it is.
Shock, Awe, and Observer
In the run-up to the second Gulf War, the 46th Test Squadron’s Command and Control Performance Team Lead Lee Paggeot and the 46th Test Squadron held the enormous task of ensuring military command and control center networks could handle the grand opening salvos the world would come to know as “Shock and Awe.”
 For this critical initial stage of the war to succeed, a network comprising multiple topologies and interfaces spread between far-flung bases and command sites—and some space-based systems—would need to operate perfectly. It would also need to support an immense data load, with huge volumes of intelligence and air tasking orders flowing to and from the command centers—signals that would determine what was attacked and when.
A network this important requires exhaustive testing and maintenance. A systems failure due to insufficient testing would be disastrous.
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“If systems go down and the enemy fires a missile at you, you’re blind. You pay the price,” says Paggeot. “If special operations groups get attacked, there is no response coming to help them. You’ve taken the strategic-level command system down.”
Paggeot and his team use the Network Instruments® Observer® analyzer to make certain that never happens. In a military network environment, applications can communicate over transmission control protocol (TCP) to airborne, mobile, and naval ground-base systems and dedicated facilities throughout the world. It is vital that command understands thoroughly each system’s application in a TCP environment.
Observer also plays a key role in analyzing conversations between multiple systems.
“Let’s say the Army system is talking to Air Force and for some reason the message is not getting through,” says Paggeot. “With Observer, I can reassemble the conversation back to SMTP and resolve that problem very quickly.”
Field Tests & Airborne Communications
When the Air Force scrambles a group of F-16 fighter jets, the mission cannot happen without proper communications capabilities. As airborne assets migrate to TCP-based network communications, pilots will rely largely on voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks for communications with ground forces.
To better understand how installed VoIP systems would function under different conditions, the 46th Test Squadron flew airborne assets through various ranges and altitudes and tested multiple configurations.
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About Eglin Air Force Base |
The 46th Test Wing is the Air Force’s test and evaluation center for air delivery weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control systems and Air Force special operation command systems. The Eglin Gulf Range provides approximately 130,000 square miles of water and air space. Their world-class technical facilities and natural resources, coupled with the creative thinking of its staff, produce affordable, technical solutions to contemporary technical problems.
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