WASHINGTON, April 26 (UPI) -- The Air Force is conducting a combat experiment to test a host of new technologies and new ways to use them.
Among the projects featured in Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2006 is an effort to give Special Forces teams scattered in mountainous regions like Afghanistan the ability to use radios, whose signals are often blocked by the terrain.
The project is relatively simple in concept: launching a communications relay post on a helium or hydrogen balloon to an altitude of above 90,000 feet. Soldiers on the ground would bounce their radio signals up to the balloon, which would then have "line of sight" connectivity with other nodes in the system.
The system costs just $6,000, according to Air Force officials, and is lightweight enough to be carried in a pack.
The Navy is also participating in JEFX, now ongoing at Nellis AFB and seven other sites. The Navy is experimenting with the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle, to see what capability it can provide in tracking vessels at sea. The high-altitude Global Hawk can stay aloft for 24 hours and its sensitive cameras and electronic sensors can yield pictures of vessels clear enough to read their names and home ports. The Homeland Security Department is also participating in the interest of port security and container tracking.
The Navy is considering buying a high-altitude UAV but has not yet committed to the Global Hawk UAV, which is still in its early stages of development and has had some budget and scheduling problems.
The Army is also participating with surrogate Future Combat System vehicles, to work on communications that can improve targeting and prevent friendly fire.
JEFX '06, running from April 17 to 28, is the sixth such Air Force experiment, which focuses on command, control, communications and intelligence distribution on the battlefield.
